Posted on 02/25/2021 4:07:10 PM PST by maddog55
The U.S. Air Force’s top officer wants the service to develop an affordable, lightweight fighter to replace hundreds of Cold War-vintage F-16s and complement a small fleet of sophisticated—but costly and unreliable—stealth fighters.
The result would be a high-low mix of expensive “fifth-generation” F-22s and F-35s and inexpensive “fifth-generation-minus” jets, explained Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Brown Jr.
If that plan sounds familiar, it’s because the Air Force a generation ago launched development of an affordable, lightweight fighter to replace hundreds of Cold War-vintage F-16s and complement a small future fleet of sophisticated—but costly and unreliable—stealth fighters.
But over 20 years of R&D, that lightweight replacement fighter got heavier and more expensive as the Air Force and lead contractor Lockheed Martin LMT -1.4% packed it with more and more new technology.
Yes, we’re talking about the F-35. The 25-ton stealth warplane has become the very problem it was supposed to solve. And now America needs a new fighter to solve that F-35 problem, officials said.
(Excerpt) Read more at forbes.com ...
Wasn’t the F-35 meant to be the version of the F-22 that’s carrier capable?
No. Completely different mission concept.
The F-22 is a pure air superiority fighter. The F-35 is multi-role including some ground attack. (But NOT close air support like the A-10.)
I’ve been saying this here for many years.
As far as old planes are concerned,I always liked the B-58 Hustler.
Yup. B-58 was a victim of Pentagon budget wars. It had capabilities that have never been duplicated, especially it’s ability to penetrate enemy airspace at 100 ft. AGL. They tried to make B-52s do that, but the stress of low level turbulence caused them to break up. I’ve read that even the B-1 can’t do what the B-58 could do at ultra-low altitudes.
“There are a hundred different ways to interfere with broadcasts to UAVs. “
But we maintain secure communication with subs - for just one example.
Security on communication slows response- but it doesn’t have to be dibilitating- though it can be.
Will Joe sell them to China and Russia ?
I entirely agree. The military & contractors can’t deliver adequate big-ticket items anymore.
I am sorry, but it would be “catastrophic” as you describe close to the dam. Cities 100km or further away would have an hour, two hours, or far longer to evacuate.
Yes, the economic damage would be catastrophic (especially a major city like Wuhan), but remember that we are talking about China here. The welfare of their citizens is not all that high up on the priority list for the CCP. If there was any disruption of electricity it would be on the civilian population and not on military assets.
The dam would be viewed as a “civilian target”. Our own media would label it as such. The catastrophic result would be labeled a war crime by much of the world.
It WOULD NOT drop the Chinese electrical grid. It would cause short-term disruption, but again, as I stated above, they have plenty of capacity to overcome it.
Such a strike would be viewed as “total war” and on par with a nuclear strike. You think we are going to practice “total war” against a massive country with over a billion people? I don’t.
But don't worry. The defense contractors will soon have drone prices pushed up to the cost of an F-35.
“The defense contractors will soon have drone prices pushed up to the cost of an F-35.”
Too true LOL!
And the media will proclaim that “fair”.
After all the media has to make a buck.
Nice design, but with the turbojets of its day it was a gas hog.
CC
Aviation experts have warned that the multirole fighter is incapable of performing so many different roles, being mediocre at all tasks. No aviation expert here, just going by what aviation experts have said.
Best to target the leaders and kill them. The rest of the Chinese people are being held prisoner by the communists.
“Wasn’t the F-35 meant to be the version of the F-22 that’s carrier capable?”
That may have been the beginning of the problem. Soon some general wanted it to be able to have access to rough terrain, terrain which was in tight quarters, e.g. can it include VTOL capability, how about this and how about that until everybody was satisfied that it did what each of those flag officers wanted, except with all the ornaments hung on the treee, there was no room for the “gift”, i.e., it wasn’t mission capable.
Well, it looks like the amazing A10 will live to see another day. Perhaps, for the mission it is intended for, the most perfect airplane ever.
They tried to make it all things to all people and predictably, its not particularly good at any of them according to reports at least. “mission creep” often seems to seep into these huge procurement programs if there isn’t strict control in place to prevent it.
They’ll make up for it in volume with more money.
It’s not so much the bean counters, but the mission-techno-wizards that screwed up. The F-22 is an air superiority fighter. I am unaware of any fielded fighter elsewhere that can stand up to it.
But, the techno-geeks in the military decided there can be a single fighter designed to do all missions, from direct ground support (A-10s excel at this), to air-to-mud (F-16’s mission), to air to air (F-15’s), without trading off the missions versus the capability.
If the aircraft is designed for the mission, it usually works. If the aircraft is designed for several missions that directly contradict each other in terms of requirements, it rarely does.
Hence, the all-everything F-35 may just be a millstone.
I like the A-10, a primo tank buster. Each aircraft has its specialty. The nature of the beast, so to speak.
Such a hi-lo approach will also permit the Air Force and its industrial partners to research, develop, and field more new fighter types, with even small production runs having value in proving up and fielding new capabilities. And China and other adversaries would have to wonder about the potency of a force of F-16 follow-ons equipped with advances like those now established in the F-35, perhaps even with laser weapons.
As for whether the F-35 is a success, its biggest problem now is that demand exceeds supply and production capacity. Not only are US users eager to fill out their squadrons slated for the F-35 in its three models, but allies are clamoring for the aircraft due to rave reviews from their pilots and air combat analysts.
Notably, Israel, a country that does not permit itself the luxury of illusions about military aircraft performance, has found its model of the F-35 to be highly effective in combat. Even the best Russian radars and defense systems in Syria and Iran are unable to handle it. Israel seems to want a third F-35 squadron.
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