17 out of how many??? seems like a damn high number...
Posted on 10/16/2018 2:01:55 PM PDT by Beave Meister
The U.S. Air Force is assessing what damage more than a dozen F-22 Raptor fighters suffered when Tyndall Air Force Base sustained a direct hit from Hurricane Michael. Up to $2 billion in fighter jets were trapped on the ground because of maintenance issues and forced to ride out the Category 4 hurricane. Photographs show the hangars where F-22s were parked suffered severe damage.
First, the good news: Although Tyndall Air Force Base took a hard hit from the hurricane, all 3,600 military personnel and their families living on the base were successfully evacuated beforehand. The 93 Air Force personnel who stayed behind to keep an eye on the base are all safe and accounted for.
On the other hand: Up to 17 of Tyndall’s F-22s might have sustained damage or been destroyed during the storm. The aircraft, each of which cost $150 million, were unable to escape with the rest of the base’s F-22 fleet to Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. The jets left behind were parked inside hangars and officials hoped for the best.
(Excerpt) Read more at finance.yahoo.com ...
“They needed to be in hardened concrete shelters, as did some of the other not easily replaceable planes.”
That is the ultimate answer. Then a mad scramble wouldn’t be needed. Concrete and steel are cheap. Should be solid concrete 3 feet thick and a MASSIVE I-beam and concrete roof. If you wanted to get a little fancy have polar cranes that can lift the birds 15 feet off the floor and have flood protection too. 43,000 pounds is easy. Hell, a large Warn winch can lift 12,000. a 50,000 pound lift is childs play.
Setting The Record Straight On Why Fighter Jets Can't All Simply Fly Away To Escape Storms
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As for many of the childish notions that many have thrown around over the last 24 hours with great authority—like flying aircraft away on transports or wheeling them out on trucks—they don't help inform the public of the realities of these types of evacuation operations. No, these planes aren't just Lego sets that you can take apart and pour into a C-5. Removing wings on an F-22? That is a massive undertaking, let alone getting a C-5 in and loading it up to fly away to someplace. Once again, limited capacity in a limited timespan, and that is a long-lead type of project.Throwing jets on flatbed trucks? People don't realize how large of a flying machine a Raptor is. They are roughly 44 feet wide, 62 feet long, and weigh over 43,000lbs. They are not something you just throw on pop's flatbed and skidaddle out of dodge. Nor are they made to be transported that way in the first place. And to where? You are talking about a highly sensitive asset packed with classified material. Its skin treatment alone presents a national secret risk. These aircraft are supposed to sit in last minute hurricane traffic heading somewhere as they hog up multiple lanes? The whole notion is ridiculous. And if they can't seek refuge in time, you have a flying machine strapped to a flatbed. Good luck with that.
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Beat me by 2 1/2 minutes. But I think I deserve brownie points for posting an excerpt...
Should roll…should roll. I’m sure many COs are still living under the impression that this is still Obama’s Air Force. Hopefully our guy will make those in charge pay dearly
Now you've gone beyond hyperbole into BS territory.
Empty weight 43,340 pounds. Not hard to find lowboys that can handle 50,000 pounds. For that matter, M1 tanks weigh a LOT more, and they are frequently transported and can even be airlifted. We are talking 100 miles to Eglin, 150 to Pensacola. So, your weight argument won't fly.
The problem IS the Air Force brass. In a known hurricane risk zone you don't start your planning 2 or 3 days before the storm gets there. The planning should have been completed years ago, and updated regularly.
Mighty tortured reading of my post, there.
Or do you not know the difference between "Air Force" and "Naval"?
No, but there might be some hard questions about why 17 planes were needing maintenance and whether equipment is kept in operating condition.
If these were maintenanced faster and kept in flying condition, the losses wouldn’t have been as great.
17 out of how many??? seems like a damn high number...
According to the article:
“including F-22s that weathered the storm. All aircraft are intact and initial indications are “promising.””
So, maybe not as much damage as the reporters thought might be the case.
And the article further notes that these might have been trainer jets, not the combat-ready jets.
What bother me is the lack of spare parts.
New avionics package on a restart of production line.
Could somebody explain why the existing avionics package that was on the last F22 built not work on a new F22
Or Are the so unique that each airframe is that unique that no two are the same
That article you posted had as it’s main feature that the airmen all needed to run away and protect their families and get them evacuated. Loved that maudlin line about how commanders value -people- more than just some old airplanes. LOL
The writer somehow failed to realize that a military unit saying it cannot mobilizilize for a mission because everyone has to run take care of their families indicates something very bad about our military.
Essentially he said the unit could not do it’s work because they needed to go protect their families. Sad.
It also indicates the number of single moms they have working there.
That article was a bunch of whiney excuses.
And the skin coating is secret so secret that there is nowhere else they could go? Laughable... Take em to Atlanta airport and post guards around them. That secret skin excuse reeks of rationalization for piss poor execution.
This whole affair shows the laughable state of our military and it’s leadership. No American should be satisfied with their performance last week at Tyndall.
No excuse whatsoever for leaving 6,000,000,000 dollars of fighter planes on the tarmac in a strong hurricanes path
Within close range were Maxwell, Warner Robbins, Eglin and Saufley field, and Keesler and McDill and Jax Naval Complex...no more Cecil field?, Moody, Whiting and New Orleans RESERVE West Bank
The south is full of air bases and naval strips thanks to geography and the Dixiecrats
Just off the top of my head
“”Why would heads roll?”
Because you shouldn’t park 2+ billion dollars worth of delicate, immobile equipment in a hurricane zone?
Good bye squadron commander.
The Chicom weather machine knocked out more F-22’s than their air force could.
Take wings off and put em on a truck!
I have wanted that since Trump won!
The F-22, not the F-35, should be the first priority.
That would have built a lot of the wall.
“The big issue in restarting production would be dealing with the now aged avionics suite. A redesign would fix that.”
Simple, just put the avionics and cockpit of the F-35 into the F-22 airframe and use the new F-35’s improved radar absorbing coatings.
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