That's not a major problem as there is no real weight issue with the F-35C, just the cost of retro-fitting the current 32 aircraft, reinforcing the resistance to a multi-aircraft buy prior to the completion of testing without resolving where the cost of rectification lies.
However, I am more interested in comments later in the article linked above. Especially for an aircraft which is, reputedly, operational as a CAS aircraft with the USMC.....
Another task for the F-35 team is adding a moving target capability, as reported by Aviation Week on Feb. 15. There are currently no plans to install weapons capable of hitting moving and maneuvering targets, such as an insurgent driving away in a pickup truck. These types of weapons were designed for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and can hit targets traveling at speeds of up to at 70 mph. They are now making their mark in the air campaign against the Islamic State group. Because the F-35’s laser designator cannot lead the target, its basic inventory of late-1990s guided bombs will fall short if that target moves briskly.
The JPO is now working with the U.S. Air Force and Marine Corps to integrate Raytheon’s GBU-49 Lot 5 Enhanced Paveway II, which automatically corrects for target speed and direction as well as wind conditions. The Marines have expressed a preference for the Raytheon GBU-53B Small Diameter Bomb Increment II, but that is not slated for full integration and flight clearance until Block 4.2, around fiscal 2022 or later. It is not clear if GBU-49 will be automatically selected for F-35 or competed against the latest Boeing Laser Joint Direct Attack Munition and Lockheed Dual Mode Plus. Whatever the decision, it cannot delay F-35 Block 3F.
“I’m working to figure out how we can fit that in sooner rather than later, whether it becomes part of Block 3F or if it gets done at the tail end of 3F,” Bogdan told reporters after the congressional hearing. “The big deal there is to get it done before the middle of Block 4, when we get the moving target capability.”
Bogdan says the F-35 was originally due to be fielded with a cluster bomb that could hit moving targets, the CBU-103 Wind Corrected Munition Dispenser. But the Pentagon has pledged to stop using cluster munitions that leave unexploded ordnance by 2018.
GBU-49 can operate through poor visibility but is not an all-weather weapon. “SDB II is the weapon we all want, and that’s an all-weather moving target [glide bomb],” says Lt. Gen. Jon Davis, deputy commandant for Marine Corps aviation.
So, 5 years+ before they can hit a moving truck????
Further to the above, and in an associated article in the same edition, they are looking for a "quick fix", however - and please correct me if I am wrong - they'd all have to be slung as an external load buggering the stealth and reducing range. In which case why bother with the expense if you already have F-16, F-15, A-10 etc which can hit moving platforms?
Ain't politics and face saving wonderful.........
http://aviationweek.com/combat-aircr...hey-don-t-move
Despite being fixated on the GBU-49, the Air Force wants to hear from all weapons vendors that have moving-target weapons that are “mechanically, electrically and logically compatible with the F-35 Block 3F aircraft operational flight program” and could be integrated without disrupting the wider rollout schedule of May 2018. The service is specifically looking for 500-lb.-class types that can hit targets traveling at 70 mph in one direction, or performing maneuvers up to ±0.2g at 40 mph.
While Raytheon’s GBU-49 appears to be the main contender, other options could include an improved 500-lb. Boeing Laser JDAM or Lockheed Martin Dual Mode Plus. All three dual-guidance options are capable of striking targets moving at about 70 mph.
The market-survey notice issued Feb. 10 says the weapons would be purchased and fielded as a “quick-reaction capability” for Air Combat Command, with the first production contract expected in the third quarter of fiscal 2017, with deliveries six months later.