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Wow, do I feel out of touch. Next thing you know, someone is going to tell me the "Eagles" disbanded or that the Raiders moved back to Oakland. Thanks for bringing me into the 21st Century Digger. Regards, RF

This concept has been argued on here before. Basically, the Marines don't trust anybody else to provide air support because everyone abandoned them in WWII, so they want their own stealthish fighter for denied airspace. The whole line of reasoning on the F-35B is full of contradictions. The MEU will be hitting the beach and launching F-35s off of a Navy LHC, but for some reason the Navy forgot to send a carrier to take down the IADs first. Pretty unimaginable, especially since the LHC will need the regular contingent of cruisers and destroyers for protection against subs and stuff. Okay, let's assume the carrier broke down or sank enroute, and the Marines still need some jets to kill things with radars; that's why they're stealthish, right? Well, first of all, I'm saying stealth-ish because, since they have no internal gun, they'll be carrying a gun pod. They're also going to have a shit ton of external stores because there are only six of them on an LHC. Six fucking jets. Which means two flying, two turning/on alert, and two broken. So possibly only two jets ready to fight with, best case with no bombs or tanks, ten AMRAAMs amongst them. I'm no fighter guy, but I bet they would have a hard time dealing with, oh I don't know, ELEVEN airborne threats. Well that's what the Navy and Air Force are for right? Then why do we need F-35Bs? Radar-guided pop up threats only? The whole thing is nuts. The Marines would be better off flying Hornets or F-35Cs off the big boat while flying as many Cobras as they want from the helicopter boat. And of course the B-model has had enormous development costs while making the A and C-models fat and worse overall.

Day Man... I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul!

Spoiler Alert: the Gatling gun doesn't work. Something to do with a mil error in the helmet mounted sight. But they did solve the overheat problem by not using too many computers.

Ballwash article from a dude who has zero SA. Put on your thick skin: Strikes get beat by a 2 bag Viper every time (assuming no gross BFM execution errors), yet the Strike is a very capable fighter that kills the shit out of the enemy. Is the Strike a "useless fighter" because it can't kick the shit out of a Viper in BFM? Absolutely not, that'd be an absurd assertion. Should the Viper go away because we suck at slow speed fights and get our ass beat by name-your-high(er) alpha capable fighter in a slow speed fight? Again, dumb. Look at some EM diagrams - it's not bravado or bar talk, it's simple physics. To say a jet is worthless because it can't perform 1v1 BFM to the level of another aircraft is retarded. We all have strengths and weaknesses; this article is attempting to make a minor problem into a massive one. FWIW, I think BFM is important and awesome (and I'm disappointed the F-35 is shitty in the realm), but it's a weakness that has to be dealt with and is not even close to being a "show stopper." By the way, the F-4 was shitty too, and took its whips in Vietnam, but it also took its turn killing MiGs far more maneuverable than itself in the WVR region. Fighter pilots will overcome and be creative - all is not lost.

Mods- Feel free to delete if this is not allowed and I apologize in advance. Friends, I have decided to run for U.S Congress in the 6th Congressional District here in the DFW area. I can no longer sit on the sidelines, watching the out of control spending, the rampant corruption, the constant threat of military benefit cuts, and the do-nothing career politicians who care more about keeping their jobs than they do about service to this nation. I'm fed up with it and I'm confident my background will provide a good foundation to stand up to the problems in D.C. This campaign is going to be brutal. I'm going to run for the Republican nomination against a 30 year incumbent, Joe Barton. The odds are severely stacked against me. However, I'm confident I can win. We have an excellent strategy in place and a clear path to victory. If I didn't think I could win, I wouldn't waste my time. I appreciate any support, advice, and connections you guys can give me that may give me a leg up. We will need all the help we can get! I have been on the forum for over 10 years now and I truly value the opinions and ideas you guys have. Thanks! Steven