
I think there needs to be some clarification about CAS.
A COIN Aircraft and a CAS aircraft are different things:
A COIN Aircraft can be a Tucano, AC-130, UAV, NVG equipped P-47 (LULZ) or even an A-1 skyraider, UAV or helicopter. Its stands no chance beyond small arms opposition.
A CAS Aircraft is expected to be SHOT AT. A lot. And with more than small arms. If CAS wasn't dangerous, why does an A-10 need armor and redundant systems?
Charging the F-35 with being poor at COIN is not really much of a slight because even an A-10 is overkill in our NVG P-47 COIN scenario.
And speaking of, this idea of taking a 1940's air force (that suffered high casualties at the time, against equivalent 1940's tech) with NVGs against a force thats armed with 1980s/1990's tech, and thinking for one second that the 1940s force would "still win, despite casualties" Has got to be completely delusional. America does not win wars when casualties increase. they stop and pull out, withdraw, exit strategy whatever you want to call it. Could the US win Militarily? Im sure if we threw enough corpses at the situation we could. Would the Public ever let that happen? No. and hell No.
If you think for one second that this NVG P-47 Schwienfurt raid against MiGs and SAMs would end in anything other than disaster, annihilation, and a high body count, you have really got to read a history book or two. The US took thousands of casualties in vastly more superior aircraft against early generations SAMs and AAA in the 1960/70s. It was so bad that after the War people starting asking questions like "Is there a way to make an aircraft invisible to radar?"