I have to agree. The Tomcat came from the same era of designers that thought the F-111 was the wave of the future and could be used by all of the armed services on all of their missions. The F-111B, designed for the US Navy was a flop. The early Air Force versions had mixed reviews, and it wasn't until the late 70'so that the aircraft came into it's own as an accurate low level bomber with various computer and software upgrades. The Tomcat's story sound familiar yet? It's not the only combat aircraft to suffer a similar fate. Look at Tornado, MiG-29, Jaguar, just to name a few. Make things too complicated, and there's a good chance the airframe or software won't keep up. So far, only one modern combat aircraft has been able to achieve most of its designed mission goals, adapt to newer roles (With some limitations), and still retain most of its initial performance and combat effectiveness. Three guesses. F-16 The F-18 and the Russian Su-27 family might also be contenders, but the Russians took the French route to aircraft design: Design an airframe, make sure it works. Then, create variants of that airframe for specific roles and missions and using them ONLY in those roles and missions. Upgrade as required for only those specific roles and missions. If upgrading is out of the question or something new comes along, sell it!