A Quick F-35B Question

Just a really quick question on the F-35B (STOVL F-35). In its VTOL form, can this aircraft launch weaponry? I was just trying to figure out how effective the F-35 fulfills the strike part of its job (Joint Strike Fighter). In doing so, I had to start wondering if the F-35B could hover while releasing weapons. It would be interesting to see an F-35B simply hanging in the air battering a convoy with some AGMs, or moving overtop a facility, dropping a few presents in the form of JDAMs and making a getaway.

Is this at all possible, or is the F-35B unable to release ordnance while in VTOL/STOVL form?

JDAMS are dependant on the dropping aircraft's spped to give them that bit of range that they have. Also, given the ability to standoff and drop PGM's it would not be adventageous for the JSF to hover over a target and drop even at altitude where its heat bloom would make it a sitting duck for a IR missile, and lower down, an RPG does not care if the target is stealthy.

I see no reason why it could not fire a missile while in hover however. Attack chopters can fire the Hellfire missiles from a hover as well as thier stinger based A2A's. But again, it makes the JSF an easy target if its hovering.

The only reason the F-35B needs to come to a stop in mid air is to effect a vertical landing. Attempting anything else (including vertical take off) would be madness and makes no sense. A strike jet hovering in mid air to deploy weapons might as well start waving 'shoot me down' flags and playing music from loudspeakers

Originally posted by waynos
A strike jet hovering in mid air to deploy weapons might as well start waving 'shoot me down' flags and playing music from loudspeakers

After having seen some of the stunts done by pilots in the F-22, I suspect that some of them might do just that to tick off targets that can't effectively fight back . Does anyone remember the Langley airshow in which the Raptor wheelied all the way down the runway after landing? Exactly the sort of thing that wouldn't surprise me with pilots in the even newer JSF.

I'm not sure about with the F-35, but I know the Harrier was very limited in the hover time they could get. They had to carry gallons of distilled water with them to hover. If that's the case with the F-35, you'd not only run into the "Shoot me down here" syndrome, but you'd run out of hover time before you could do much.

A JDAM is not powered, it glides via inertia to the target. So if you're hovering close to the target it wold not be wise to drop a JDAM because it will fall like a rock directly beneath you. Of course there is an exception, the F-35B can hover at high altitude as well...

[edit on 19-5-2007 by WestPoint23]