Army Kills Comanche Helicopter Program

FOX NEWS ^ | Monday, February 23, 2004 | AP

[BulletBobCo]

WASHINGTON

[Blood of Tyrants]

From what I have read about passive radar, current stealth technology will soon be obsolete, rendering the F-22 another plane without a mission.

[ladtx]

Amazing. Concievably someone could have worked on that program for an entire career only to have it cancelled. That would have to be a little ego-deflating when your grandkids ask what you accomplished in your lifetime. "Nothing, kids, nothing at all."

[Tacis]

And, they are keeping the Osprey program? Each Osprey has to have a warning sign painted on it's underside to inform folks on the ground that they may have to dodge a plumeting scrap heap.

The program got in trouble after a series of crashes when some military types were discovered fudging numbers to make the aircraft look very much better than it was.

They have been exmining the aircraft very carefully for the past two years and, I believe, have finally discovered a way to fudge the numbers on performance that is almost foolproof.

[xrp]

Here is what UAV technology will eventually lead us to:

[Rokke]

I'm a big fan of airpower, but I agree that the F/A-22 program should go the way of the Comanche. The F-22 is currently a giant ball and chain on all other Air Force modernization programs. Much of the research and development for the F-22 has found its way into the F-35. Cancel the F-22 and accelerate the F-35.

[hopespringseternal]

Contractors love to turn these things into neverending stories. Look at the space station and many government programs. "Yes we can do it with a year of study" inevitably turns into a neverending stream of "we need another six months to one year."

Cost-plus contracting often winds up being a blank-check payoff to the industry.

[Tree of Liberty]

From what I have read about passive radar, current stealth technology will soon be obsolete, rendering the F-22 another plane without a mission.

The Raptor has MUCH, MUCH more going for it than just radar stealth.

[Paleo Conservative]

Take half of the money saved and build more smart bombs, MOABS and of course, thousands of next-generation cruise missles.

I think a next generation replacement for the A-10 would be a better investment than a new helicopter. The A-10 is much more survivable than the helicoptors with which it shares the antitank role.

[HoustonCurmudgeon]

I am always proud of the Marines. They do more with less money and materials than any other service.

ROFLMAO That's because talk is cheep so they get more for less because you just can't shut them up!! ;-)

[TADSLOS]

Looks like another DIVAD or Osprey project. All hype not much performance.

Pretty much. I flew the full motion sim at the Sikorsky plant last year. Lots of bells and whistles (literally). The sim flys great, but you have to produce and keep up with trends (FCS). I saw it coming when the Comanche PM lost 600M of UAV funding to FCS. They gave up ownership of UAV lashup and control.

[shadowman99]

Paul Sr. is going to kick junior's butt now. They already built the bike!

[devnull]

ladtx wrote:

... when your grandkids ask what you accomplished in your lifetime. "Nothing, kids, nothing at all."

But I did stay at a Holiday Inn

[Benrand]

I love that show. I was thinking of Paulie while reading this thread.

I heard Paul Sr. put up a 415 bench.

[TADSLOS]

Amazing. Concievably someone could have worked on that program for an entire career only to have it cancelled

Actually, there are plenty of people who did and jumped ship last year. Mostly design engineers. What does that tell you?

[Rokke]

Ha. That was one of the first things I thought of too. How pathetic is that?

[JeeperFreeper]

The Marines still use the Cobras and Bell (Hueys) along with others for heavy lifting. Many have Vietnam era airframes. And the Marines still manage to close with and kill the enemy.(The Marines have their own boondoggle, the Osprey.)
The problem is Congress. National Guard soldiers have to go to a war zone without bullet-stopping SAPI(small arms protective inserts)plates for their flak vests, but the Pentagon spends billions on unneeeded weapons to sate the ambitions of a politicians hooked on pork.

[Blood of Tyrants]

Yes, but much of that technology can be incorporated on other aircraft. Thrust vectoring and super cruise (speed > Mach 1 without afterburners) are more of a function of engine and externals than the plane itself. Therefore I have a hard time justifying the $200 million (or is it $300 million) per copy price tag.

[TADSLOS]

Paul Sr. is going to kick junior's butt now. They already built the bike!

LOL! Trust me, the Comanche Bike was much farther along in overall development. I really love that show, too. Some funny and ingenious stuff.

[leadpenny]

The Osprey was my first thought also. Someone on the Army side is going to say, "What about that piece of crap?"

[xrp]

Unfortunately, the F-35 doesn't quite have the F-22s high speed intercept capability, although the AMRAAM air-to-air missile makes high speed intercepts almost moot, nowadays.