(X-32, one AMRAAM and one air-to-ground weapon shape per bay.
Click image to make larger)
Click image to make larger)
The above is a photo of the Boeing X-32 during the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) competition which ended in 2001 with the Lockheed Martin X-35 picked as a winner by the U.S. DOD.
The photo is important because of the two competing aircraft, only the Boeing X-32 had weapons bays. The X-35 was given a pass by the U.S. DOD with the assumption of weapons bay risk-reduction and knowledge being proven by LM because of the F-22.
I wonder who gave them that idea?
During the competition, the X-32 had to take stuff off the aircraft to demonstrate vertical landing. "Holes are heavy" stated a Lockheed Martin F-35 test pilot some years ago. Adding weapons bays to a design has an affect on the weight assumptions (doors, appliance compromise, etc.). The LM F-35 had less of a weight penalty and demonstrated vertical landing without having to take things off the aircraft.
Note that because of the JSF STOVL design requirement and the kind of STOVL appliances used by the F-35, weapons bays would be nothing like that of the F-22.
(F-35 weapons bays)
It would be unlikely you could have the main weapons bay of an F-22 on the F-35 with the presence of a lift-fan.
(F-22 weapons bays)
Now, we have an admission from one of the key LM F-35 program persons, that weight assumptions for the F-35 were wrong.
F-35 weight risk was predicted by independent experts years ago.
The designs of all three JSF variants are presenting with critical single points of failure while even the most basic elements of aircraft design (e.g. weight, volume, aerodynamics, structures, thermal management, electrical power, etc.) will almost certainly end up in what Engineers call "Coffin Corner".
