If I was a JTAC, I'd have an arm-trembling death-grip on my lucky rabbit's foot if I had to give Mr MSOCS the old Cleared Hot on the basis of radar imagery.
Thankfully Bill, you're a journo not a JTAC - however I would point out that there would be more than just a hunch and a Cleared Hot based on "radar imagery" in the scenario we're talking about. But you know that
Glad Rag - My reasoning is plentiful. In a contested, degraded, opposed battlespace, I'd rather be in an F-35 doing CAS than any other platform. It's no good being in an A-10 titanium cockpit if being shot down by a radar-guided SAM is an assured outcome. You're no good to the "grunt on the ground" if you can't get near where he/she needs you or you're a smoking pile of wreckage.