Originally Posted by
USMCFLYR
I agree that the F-22 seems to be an orphan, but the F-35 , if it ever becomes to be (you can tell I have little faith in any present timelines) is already a leap in technology above the F-22 from the briefs that I saw. The potential of that aircraft, especially in the targeting systems and the amount of SA gathered and displayed, is far above anything flying right now.
But wouldn’t it be possible to put those same avionics and targeting systems into a cheaper airframe? Or in the sense of standardization, why not design an avionics, weapons, and targeting package that are the same for all fighters. Of course there could be minor modifications of software and hardware for specific cases.