Why does this “fighter” need a gun pod? Didn’t we learn anything from the F-4 Phantom fiasco? Put the gun INSIDE!
At least it’s designed to use the pod at the outset, unlike the F-4.
With all the lift fan mechanism up front and swivel linkages in the back of in the B model, perhaps there was no room for an internal gun.
Nope.
We didn’t learn anything from the F-111 program, either.
As we see “partner” nations stagger and gasp at the cost of this beast, they’re going to drop out of the program, sourcing other fighters for their needs. This will mean that the US Taxpayer will have to shoulder a bigger proportion of the ballooning costs of this beast to bring it to completion.
The F-4 was my first thought also.
The Phantom II was the first fighter aircraft to be completely reliant on its own radar and detection systems rather than ground based fighter control and was the first fighter to be designed without guns or cannons—being armed with missiles only. However, the elimination of guns proved to be a detriment during close-in air-to-air encounters in Vietnam, which resulted in the installation of guns starting with F-4C.2
http://www.aviation-history.com/mcdonnell/f4.html