Posted on 01/17/2015 5:51:36 AM PST by sukhoi-30mki
Je suis American!
Which one is The Jericho? “Let one of these off the leash, and the bad guys won’t even want to come out of their cave.”
This is an illustration of how it’s always been with American warcraft builders. America likes multi-capability fighter bombers (we used to refer to the F-4 as a pig in Danang.)
The Commies build fighters, period. They have a few missiles and a cannon but that’s about it. The reason U.S. aircraft prevail in dogfights is superior training and that’s about the only diff.
IMHO
Its not enough. There is never enough.
There’s one thing it didn’t show: the B61 nuclear bomb. Given that the B61 is the primary gravity-dropped nuclear weapon in the US stockpile, one wonders if the F-35 has been tested to drop such a weapon.
Probably not as the current CIC would probably not retaliate in kind if the nuclear weapons would be used against the American homeland.
Hopefully if it ever comes to that, the current CIC is no longer around.
For all those who wonder why we don’t use the F-22 instead of the F-35, the answer is in station 4 and 8. The ability to carry large diameter bombs is not something the F-22 can do.
On the ground. Word is it can’t fly required missions.
I am curious.. How much of all this weaponry can the F-35 carry at once? Also, I thought it would have more 50 cal. bullets than that, considering how fast they are used up.
When configured for A/G, the JSF is no longer a true 5th gen jet. The F-22 can carry internal A/G loads and remain 5th Gen.
Still, both are better than any Russian, Chines, Indian iron pigs that are flying. . .
That is why I said station 4 and 8, the two internal bays. The internal bays are built for two normal sized JDAM type weapons up to 2000 lb. so they can deliver those two weapons while maintaining the stealth profile.
and with 10 more years of work they’ll try to attach the first weapon
They aren't .50s.
I am not sure but with all that junk hanging off it I don’t think the stealth features are going to be much good. It will give it the radar cross section of a school bus.
F-35, late and billions over budget. It barely flies with no attached arms, needs a trailing dedicated tanker and costs so much we only will buy a few. We’d be better buying the Red Chinese version built with stolen plans as it at least will cost less.
Those are 25 mm shells. The USAF F-35A CTOL has an internal gun and carries 180 rounds. The USN and USMC variants have an external gun pod which carries 225 rounds. Software is used to fire the gun, which is the problem they are having now.
By comparison, the F-16 has a M61 20mm cannon that carries 511 rounds. The F-15, 500 rounds; F-18, 578; F-22, 480. The A-10 carries 511 30mm shells.
The F-14 carried 675 20mm shells. The F-4E, 639. Earlier F-4's carried the SUU-23/A gun pod with 1200 20mm rounds.
In WWII, the P-51 Mustang carried 1880 .50 cal rounds shared among 6 Browning M2 machine guns.
Well...this oughta bring out all of FR’s aviation “experts”...can’t wait to read all of the “informed” posts vs. inane opinion. /s
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