re: #479 William Barnett-Lewis

It’s trying to be too many things for too many buyers and is going to make, in the long run, the F111 look like the best aircraft of the 20th century. I really think It’ll have a fleet career rather like the F7U, presuming it ever gets to squadron status, and the Hornet will keep flying on rather like the B-52 despite how many replacements now?

The Navy has long memories, and remembers what it was like trying to turn a light bomber into a fighter jet. It just don’t work. This time, they’ve got the exact opposite problem, trying to replace dedicated bomb trucks with the Air Force’s latest toy jet. Stealth is of limited value when the mission profile calls for lugging large amounts of heavy ordinance. And the Navy flies twin-engine aircraft for a reason, and it’s not because they look pretty.