no such thing as a stealthy bomb truck... MORE F-15
Posted on 05/18/2019 11:01:13 AM PDT by Mariner
Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT), seeking to give its F-35 a leg up against a rival fighter offered by Boeing (NYSE: BA), is dramatically reducing the F-35 sticker price for the next batch of jets it will sell to the Pentagon.
The aerospace company is offering the base model of the fifth-generation F-35 for $80 million apiece in negotiations with the Pentagon, according to a report from DefenseOne. That's an 11% reduction from the $90 million price last September when the last tranche of the fighters was ordered.
The F-35 has been marred with lengthy development delays and cost overruns, but the plane is now operational and is steadily becoming a key part of the U.S. arsenal. The Pentagon is expected to finalize its next order for the fighter this summer. Analysts have been expecting each batch to come in cheaper than the last, but the amount of this latest reduction is likely to take some by surprise.
New for the price of old
(Excerpt) Read more at yahoo.com ...
Currently the F-35 has a slightly higher 10 year cost, assuming a typical 300hrs/yr in flight.
But now Lockheed is saying they can reduce that too.
Remember, it was Trump who first proposed buying some F-15s.
Aint competition grand...
F-15 is better. And proof Lockheed was screwing us on the price
no such thing as a stealthy bomb truck... MORE F-15
“F-15 is better”
Only in never neverland.
It flies faster, farther with bigger weapons load and pulls more Gs.
But it can be targeted from 100 miles away.
And the F-15 will never have the 360deg awareness and weapons integration of the F-35.
Right now the only thing the F-15 is better at is as an ANG interceptor where the day-2-day is getting on a Bears wing and seeing him off. Don’t need stealth for that. The other application is as a non-stealthy “missile truck” to network with the F-35. But if the F-35 is priced under the proposed F-15X then there’s not much need of that. A portion of your F-35’s can lug the missiles on wing pylons and just hang back outside the immediate threat envelope.
The F-15 is an air superiority fighter - the F-35 is a bomb truck with limited dog fight capabilities and no mach for a SU-35. We need both. If it a choice, go with the F-15 as it costs far less to maintain
That's a matter of opinion.
The next war will require stealth to fly in enemy territory until air dominance is declared. F-15s could fly HVAP missions and launch stand-off weapons. But without stealth, they are limited the where they can fly.
And proof Lockheed was screwing us on the price.
Strongly disagree.
Production F-35s are being delivered FFP (Firm Fixed Price). Any cost overruns are eaten by Lockheed.
The article does not mention how many F-35s the Air Force would have to buy to get the $80M price. I expect the number required to get the $80M price is much higher and over a longer time frame than the previous tranche.
“The F-15 is an air superiority fighter”
Not for much longer. Already the Russians & Chinese are arming with helmet-cued high off-bore missiles. You get into a knife fight with a Flanker and there’s a good chance you get shot. The only question is did you get him too? We shouldn’t be trading 1 for 1.
Another thing... A2A combat is getting pretty rare. Aircraft, indeed entire airforces, will be detroyed on the ground by missiles & stealth aircraft like the F-35. Kill ‘em wholesale, not retail.
bkmk
I think we need both, stealth and numbers. War isn’t just a single mission, it is multiple mission types and changes. Sure, stealth aircraft like the F-22 and F-35 are needed to operate in a high threat environment. But how long does that last? A few hours, a few days? Once air superiority is established, there are still lots of missions that a very capable aircraft such as the updated F-15 would excel at.
There it is.
Capitalism at it’s best.
Yes, I know, these are government funds, but the corporations are competing.
Good deal...
“And the F-15 will never have the 360deg awareness and weapons integration of the F-35.”
Why not? That’s all just electronics.
“But it can be targeted from 100 miles away.”
The F-35 can be targeted within 35 miles, which is close enough.
“The F-35 can be targeted within 35 miles, which is close enough.”
It can be tracked with VHF radar at 35 miles, you’ll know he’s there.
But you cannot TARGET him at that distance as those radars, both in the opposing aircraft and in the terminal guidance of the missile operate at much higher frequencies for precision.
You have to get VFR on a stealth aircraft to shoot him down with either cannon or short range heat-seeking missiles.
But it is very, very difficult to get that close to one. He sees you from at least 100 miles away via IR sensors.
Or take it out on the ground/flight deck.
I'm something of an aviation history buff and can't even begin to count the number of different aircraft in the US operational inventory on VJ Day. Granted we'll most likely never see that type of variety again, but it reinforces your point that even slightly different missions may warrant very different airframes.
The last time some idiot geniuses proclaimed all air wars were to be standoff we got into Vietnam and went back to guns and fighter pilot schools.
Very expensive electronics (avionics). Existing systems could not plug n play into the F-15. It would require a full development cycle...SRR, PDR, CDR, supplier competitions, supplier procurement, integration & test.
Expensive and time consuming.
Concept is to leverage existing hardware & software to minimize cost and reduce schedule.
the number of different aircraft in the US operational inventory on VJ Day.
That’s all avionics.
Jamming is your friend.
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