Speaking of the RAG, I haven't heard of any plans for a 2-seat JSF trainer. How will that work? I can just imagine a metric sh1t-ton of sims before actually flying. After the TS sim experience, who in their right mind would volunteer for the pipeline? I mean, they won't have the Jdizzle or Yeller there will they?
The A-7 never had a 2-seat version, and that worked out OK.
When we were standing up VFA-122 a team from the JSF program dropped by to ask "how would you do this if you didn't have 2-seaters". The main thing was extra sims, but also better cockpit recorders, longer briefs and debriefs, and maybe even datalink to see what the student sees. Lots of chase aircraft sorties(which is how the A-7 did it; the F-117 uses T-38s to chase). Not being able to demo maneuvers is going to be the biggest limitation, so I guess the RPs will just have to keep trying until the lightbulb comes on.
The decision is all about the $$$, and I think all those chase sorties are going to cost more than building a T-bird, but what do I know.