F-35 issue. It's a GAS HOG!

Thanks to Filippo for the link!

via Aviation Week.

A recent, lengthy journey by U.S. Marine Corps F-35Bs traveling from Arizona to Japan has sparked a quiet debate within the Pentagon about how often the stealthy fighter needs to refuel during ocean ...

The rest is behind a paywall but gives a tantalizing tease to the next F-35 issue.  It's a freaking GAS HOG!  It's really very clear now.  Have you wondered why this so called long range fighter has prompted the USMC to fast track a refueling system for it from the V-22?  The same V-22 that is supposedly a low quantity, high demand airframe?  It never made sense to me.  How could General Davis talk about how he needed many more V-22's and at the same time work toward transforming some of them into tankers for the F-35 that supposedly out ranged anything currently in the Navy/Marine Corps inventory.

Long short.  They/He/Lockheed Martin lied.

Whats especially tantalizing about this story?  Lockheed Martin published what I thought was a throw away story in 2015 that talked about refueling the F-35.

What if it wasn't a throw away?

What if this was a pre-emptive strike against critics once this news got out?

Regardless this is stunning news.  From my chair the F-35 can't work as they're hoping.  Not only is its internal carriage of current missiles too small but our missile tech hasn't keep up with the threat.  To make it work the small internally carried missile (Cuda) that matched the AIM-120D would have to be in service now and they would need to be able to carry at least 8 and probably more like 12 in the bays.

But if it can't meet range specs and has to carry gas bags then its last real ace, stealth (limited stealth at that), no longer applies.

If Mattis has any integrity....If Neller has any moral courage the the buy of this airplane will be sliced by more than half (if not outright canned) and a plan B started immediately.