Posted on 11/29/2015 8:12:51 PM PST by Mariner
The U.S. Air Force might buy 72 upgraded F-15, F-16 or even F-18 fighter aircraft due to low F-35 production rates and the high cost of the F-35.
The U.S. Air Force âis struggling to afford 48 F-35s a yearâ for the first years of full-rate production a senior Air Force officer told Aerospace Daily & Defense Report.
Full rate-production is slated to begin in 2019 and the U.S. Air Force wants to buy 60 planes in 2020, and 80 F-35 per year after that. This year, the Air Force is to receive 28 F-35s, whereas in 2016 the number is slated to increase to 44. By 2038, the service wants to have 1763 F-35 aircraft in service. However, this procurement schedule might not be financially feasible for the Air Force.
F-15s and F-16s will serve longer and will outnumber F-35s and F-22s through the late 2020s.
Boeing is proposing an âF-15 2040Câ series of upgrades that would extend the life of the fourth-generation F-15C air superiority fighter to complement the fifth-generation F-22 Raptor. The 2040 version would double to 16 the number of air-to-air missiles the fighter carries, extend its range and improve its lethality and survivability with upgraded electronics.
An F-15 2040C would also extend the fighterâs production line in St. Louis, which with 84 F-15SAs destined for Saudi Arabia has firm orders through 2019. Boeing previously offered a stealthy âSilent Eagleâ version for South Koreaâs F-X III fighter competition, but that country last year settled on the Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II for the requirement.
(Excerpt) Read more at nextbigfuture.com ...
We should keep the planes and send them nukes.
We can still ping him!
15s backing up 22s is a common sense approach for once.
“Is the F22 still bogged down by that Oxygen problem?”
No details, but someone here says that has been 100% done.
The only thing they should be buying is F22s.
Thousands of them.
slightly related sidebar:F-16s Could Fly for 92 Years In theory
“The F15 and F16 are outdated compared to the SU-37.”
I’ll give the Russians solid credit when its due. But I don’t agree. First, with the SU-37, they have built a grand total of 2. And the Russians love the extremely slow maneuvers where someone comes to a dead stop in the air...etc. Great for airshows, but you are almost autodead if you try a stunt like that and let your energy state get that low against an F-15.
Second, the SU-37 has the stealth of a B-52. At best, the SU-37 roughly equals a 15,,,,,, 40 years later. And that’s if the claims are true. We’ve been down this road with the MiG-25.
It wasn’t nearly what it was assumed to be.
To be honest, against an Israeli or USAF pilot, I think an F-16 could go against it all day long. Aside from sensors, there isn’t that much improvement to be made as long as you have a human in the plane.
And true advance will be a drone. That is where new realms of speed and maneuverability will be realized.
Only AFTER we get this anti-American Fascist out of office.
Interesting, during the Syrian Civil War, Assad’s military lost half of their planes and helicopters because their bases where they were stored were seized and destroyed by the rebels.
The F-15C would kill SU-37's at will. Especially since 2 of the were ever built or will ever be built. Only 40 of the SU-35 have been built.
The F-15c is still the second best fighter in the world after the F-22.
You have to get rid of the Fascists that support him out of the country, too.
“The F-15 and F-16 are proven systems we already know.”
So aren’t the P-51 and F-86.
Should we keep buying them?
Excellent news? Why? They’re not built, yet. Who’s going to fly these “planes”? The Muslim Brotherhood?
The biggest problem with the F-35 is that it was sold as a fighter to replace the F-16 (originally a high maneuverability day fighter) and F/A-18 (grew out of the F-17 dayfighter that lost to the F-16) rather than as a stealthy light-attack successor to the A-7, F-117 and AV-8B.
It’s going to turn out to be a much better platform than people think, when considered as a stealthy light attack plane first, and a fighter somewhere a bit further down the list.
Pukin Dog! There’s a name from the early FR days! What happened to him?
The F-15 is still on top based on what I have seen in comparison to our foes. Russia has capable aircraft, but still think we come out ahead with the F15 and American trained pilots and the rest of the team. The F-16 is still considered a top-shelf aircraft with an American pilot and in a top to bottom comparison to the F35 the upgraded F16 still comes out on top based on what I have read.
The F22, assuming they fix the oxygen problem, is where we should put some of the F35 money. Keeping and upgrading the A-10 would be a smart use of the F35 budget. The F35 is supposed to be the “do everything plane” and I am fearful it will be the “does not do anything well” plane.
UAV’s are the future in my opinion so scrapping the F35 - filling some gaps with upgraded planes already in the fleet will get us there. Putting all our eggs in the F35 basket appears to be a mistake to me, but what do I know - I was Army, but I have read a good bit on the F35 because it is such a huge program and budget line - we can’t afford to get it wrong.
Hard to compare older aircraft with planes that are still successfully fulfilling the mission right now.
The MB flying USAF assets?
Yeah, sure. That'll happen. In somebody's delusional nightmare.
Even so, you can still see the pings. ;)
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