by78
General
Sot they kept some side nozzles IR shielding over more control surface area if it's the case.
It's possible the new design didn't make it in time and/or might be added in the future, and I don't see it as much of a tradeoff between IR suppression and greater control surface area. The new design should also obscure the nozzles just as well in most situations, except when the stabilators need to be deflected significantly, such as during takeoff and dogfights, but those are mostly very transient. In those situations, IR suppression is probably moot, as you likely have more urgent things to worry about and/or major blunders to fix, such as a failure to secure the perimeter around the airfield or shaking the hostile off your tail.
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