Whats everyones opinion of the possibility the AF brass is making a bigger dal out of this to get more F22’s.?
Fox did a report on it and I can believe it to some extent...like the kid who tells his dad his bike is broken to get the newest one....
The article gets into that, and I think there is a history of military brass doing such things.
First thing that occurred to me. With F-22s just going into production, need to throw the old ones out and just up the quantity of the new gold plated ones.
I say replace them all with drones ...
Metal fatigue has been a subject for jets for almost 50 years -- there is an ol' Jimmy Stewart film with Marlene Dietrich about this subject (it is the center of the plot of the movie).
The F-15's have a titanium frame. I imagine that since this is a high performance jet, 30 years of service is too much for the original structure.
If the jet was built totally out of titanium, it might not have this problem (the SR-71 is supposedly an aircraft that is made substantially of titanium, for example).
High performance jets can stress their airframes...
In a country where we traditionally fight the last war with the last wars weapons and we get our butts kicked for being unprepared, someone has to be visionary. We need to give our pilots the best equipment and the best chance of survival. It is time for the F-22.
“Whats everyones opinion of the possibility the AF brass is making a bigger dal out of this to get more F22’s.?”
I’d say you’re right on the money.
When your old car starts breaking down, and costing you more in repairs than it would, to buy a new replacement. Then it’s time to:
Buy a new one.
The new car is invariably superior, more dependable, and costs less once it’s paid for...