On paper, the F-111 had a payload of 31,000 lbs versus only 23,000 lbs for a Strike Eagle. However, this is an overly simplistic comparison because the primary limitation in practice for both aircraft is how many *hardpoints* they have available.
The F-111's practical payload is four air-to-ground weapons, or six without the Pave Tack pod, but in that case it loses the key ability to self-designate. The *only* weapon the 111 can carry that a Strike Eagle cannot is the SRAM nuclear missile, and that was specifically limited to the FB-111A.
The Strike Eagle's practical payload is much more variable and flexible since the CFT weapon rails can carry anywhere between one and six weapons each depending on their size and weight, and then there's the centerline and wing pylons. In practice, the typical loadout would be four or five precision guided air to ground weapons, two drop tanks, a targeting pod, and four air to air missiles for self defense. And of course, the Strike Eagle is compatible with the full range of modern PGMs, versus the F-111 being limited to LGBs since no version of it had the wiring to be compatible with weapons requiring pre-launch programming.
In other words, the claim that the F-15E doesn't match up is completely BS. The only area the F-111 comes ahead is unrefuelled range, and that's honestly not a big deal when you have the aerial tanking capability that the USAF does.
