Originally Posted by
KC10 FATboy
If we are buying the F-35 to be a fighter (air-to-air), but we are going to employ it as a bomber, I think that is a mistake. 99% of the fighters I've refueled (F-14, F-15, F-16, F-117) were employed to be a bomber, but, the air-to-air capability was there.
I would submit that in a fighter-bomber role, the A/C needs to be able to be an air-to-air fighter all the way into the target, drop its bombs and be an air-to-air fighter all the way back home. Just because it is not designed to be an Air Dominance machine, it still has to be able to fight its way in and out.