Posted on 08/14/2011 11:58:36 AM PDT by skeptoid
It's the most expensive fighter jet ever built. Yet the F-22 Raptor has never seen a day of combat, and its future is clouded by a government safety investigation that has grounded the jet for months. The fleet of 158 F-22s, including those in Alaska, has been sidelined since May 3 after more than a dozen incidents in which oxygen was cut off to pilots, making them woozy. The malfunction is suspected of contributing to at least one fatal accident, in Alaska. At an estimated cost of $412 million each, the F-22s amount to about $65 billion sitting on the tarmac. The grounding is the latest dark chapter for an aircraft plagued by problems and whose need was called into question even before its first test flight.
(Excerpt) Read more at adn.com ...
Right...now, I know the F-22 does have faults, and it is galling that the main fault right now is the DAMNED OXYGEN SYSTEM!
But to make that statement in the name of the article seemed beyond stupid to me.
Didn’t I just read off Drudge late last week that all LockheedMartin Stealth Fighters (F22 and F35) are presently grounded.
Should have gone with McDonnell Douglas (F22) and Boeing (F35)?
To be historically accurate, a Leopard 2 would not be toast against an M1. The Leopard is arguably a better platform as we often found during war games with 1st panzer.............
I liked "medieval" as in "Lets get all medieval on their @$$".
Medevac is important too.
Regards,
GtG
“Corrosion is a big issue; it wasnt addressed properly during design. Plus the aircraft is just too dang expensive. Remember the Sherman vs. the Tiger? Mass produced cheaper weapons will win the war.”
Cheap Mass production only works if you have an insurmountable numerical advantage.
The Sherman was a terrible tank, but your right if you got enough of em you can win. Of course the same is true of sticks and stones a terrible weapon compared to a gun, but you got enough people welding them sticks & stones and you can overwhelm a numerically vastly inferior gun welding opponent.
China out numbers us 5 to 1, where as in World war 2 we out numbered the Germans and Japanese.
The best weapon is one that is so scary no fool ever messes with you.
http://www.dakotavoice.com/2010/06/f-22-slaughters-f-16-in-war-games/
“The F-16s still manage to make some kills even against the futuristic Raptor.”
http://www.f-16.net/f-16_forum_viewtopic-t-8620.html
“The 57th Adversary Tactics Group undertook some interesting tactics not contained in the overall [scripted] intelligence scenario. These involved surprise threats, generally Red Air [enemy] fighters, entering the air battle unexpectedly. White Force [exercise control] staff would confirm that the threat was Red and Blue Air [the good guys] had to react. The tactic worked. An F-16C pilot assigned to the 64th Aggressor Squadron gained the first-ever F-22 kill in Red Flag. [94th commander] Lt. Col. Dirk Smith told AFM: At least half of the 94th FS crews had less than 50 hours in the F-22 and no matter how magical the F-22, any pilot can make a mistake. The beauty of Red Flag is that we were able to go out and practice our tactics in a challenging scenario, make a mistake, learn a lesson, and be that much better prepared for actual combat.”
Heh, actually, that is what I thought too, when I first read the error!
I have seen those monster fans in repair garages they save a lot of money on hvac.
Heh, basically, they went outside the parameters...that USUALLY works really well, because everyone else involved has walled off certain scenarios...kind of like in real life as in "What are you talkin' about? THAT will never happen here..."
HESSIANS AND BRITISH AT TRENTON: "The Colonials won't attack. The weather is too poor, and it is the week between Christmas and New Years..."
UNION GENERAL JOHN SEDGEWICK AT SPOTSYLVANIA: "They couldn't hit an elephant at this dist..."
AMERICAN ADMIRALS AT PEARL HARBOR: "Eh. The Japanese wouldn't attack us there. Harbor is too shallow, too well defended...they would have to sail half way across the Pacific..."
HO CHI MINH 1972: "Nixon will never mine or attack Haiphong Harbor. Too many foreign ships at risk."
The author is just a liberal dufus making fallacious assertions...:)
Those are spare Osprey rotors.
JK. Check out The Big Ass Fan Company. Click on the "Powerfoil X" tab.
You are welcome...
I am sure there WAS a Texas Ranger somewhere who DID drink from a hooprint!
Big Kelly Johnson fan...
But the F 104 IIRC never flew a combat mission either. Of course, it had a very specialized mission and wasn’t down in the weeds dropping napalm on the Cong.
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