John Cook wrote:
Henry J Cobb wrote in message ...
What good would it do to carry a short range air to air missile in such
a way that it increases your radar return to the extent that the enemy
will now be able to engage your fighter beyond the range of that missile?

Thats a very good point and one I hadn't really thought about, now
does the US JSF require Aim9X's to be externally carried??, or any air
to ground weapons roughly comparable to the Brimstone?, if so why the
difference?.

http://www.aviationweek.com/shownews/03paris/hard01.htm
The only way to carry an AAM when the JSF is in stealth mode, with
internal weapons, is to carry it on the inner weapons bay door. The
missile's seeker has a very restricted field of view in this position,
making LOAL almost essential. The UK plans to use the AIM-9X's rival,
the MBDA ASRAAM, from the JSF bay door, presumably in a LOAL mode.

-HJC