The F-35, the newest U.S. stealth fighter ill-suited to air-ground mission due to outdated electronic warfare suite http://t.co/xQGfbkX8sg

— lawhawk (@lawhawk) December 26, 2014

The point of stealth is that it makes it tougher for radar to paint and identify the incoming planes so that by the time they might be able to get a reading, the stealth plane has already hit its targets and is outbound.

To achieve stealth, the fighters limit the number of external weapons hardpoints and use internal bays to fire missiles or drop bombs. Electronics and avionics suites are also internalized.

The F-35 was designed years ago, and hasn’t taken advantage of the latest in targeting pods that current fighters, including the A-10, F-15, F-16, and F-18 use to paint their targets. Those targeting pods provide an expansive picture of events on the ground and can relay them as well. The F-35? Apparently, its targeting systems don’t have that capability, and a fix would be a costly one.

In other words, the F-35 will not be as useful in air-to-ground situations as the F-16, A-10, and other aircraft that are significantly cheaper per unit, and have long shown their value.

Figures.