Posted on 06/29/2016 8:56:34 PM PDT by sukhoi-30mki
The USAF considered it so inferior to the F-15 in concept (single engined, lightweight, less payload carrying capability) that they considered it a stopgap or supplemental fighter. F-16 squadrons were supposed to die while holding an enemy air fleet at bay until the F-15s could come in and save them, like the cavalry in a movie. The fighter mafia mocked the F-16 by calling it a "lawn dart".
The F-35 is conceived to replace a variety of first line airplanes, the F-16, F/A-18 and A-10 in this country as well as several european airplanes like the Tornado for example. The F-35 is also designed to compete and maintain an edge in the modern air battlefield environment.
It has more advanced elements than any current US design, even the F-22, does in battlefield communications networking. It uses a helmet cueing system that the the F-15, F-16 and F-22 don't have (the F/A-18 does now) where the pilot looks at the target rather than points the plane at the target. It gives it's pilot 360 degree visibility and unprecidented situational awareness. The Pilot can literally visualize targets underneath the airplane, a blind spot for all conventional airplanes up to now...
Finally,it is designed from the ground up to be stealthy, survivable and lethal. All elements any pilot would love to have in a combat environment. With all that capability, it is coupled with the most capable analytical data processing system available, a pilot.
Drones go where they are pointed do what they are told to do and are controlled by someone half a hemisphere away. There are time delays between drone sensor acquisition, data linking, remote situational interpretation, response uplinking, the drone reacting to the response and even that reaction is based on the signal at the start of the process, not real time.
That is why drones are used as targets.
Thew F-16 is far superior to the F-35 today... it’s actually flying for one and doesn’t need another $20B to $100B software fix just to solve the F-35 Autonomic Logistics Information System.
Bookmark.
One of the most prolifically distributed and desired fighters in the world. The big one I remember is hydraulic problems on the F-14 Tomcat.
President Trump will bring it back. That's why they're holding on to the tooling." I hope you are right, And I hope he brings back the A-10 as well.
Originally designed as a day VFR fighter.
where?
There were problems with the 16s fly by wire systems resulting in some early ones going pointy side down. That is how it came to be known as a “lawn dart”. I am no fan of the 35 but I’m sure it’ll eventually be a great plane. Strap enough cash to the hard points and you can fix anything.
Actually, “Lawn Dart” was a result of many crashes, and most all crashes in the early years were the result of I-GLOC.
Back in the 80’s, the joke was;
Question: “What’s the quickest way I can get a piece of an F-16?”
Answer: Buy an acre of land in Germany.
Gen 6 technology.
Integrated networking. . .
“Drones go where they are pointed do what they are told to do and are controlled by someone half a hemisphere away. “
Yes, but not all are flown by pilots, some are capable of autonomous operation (change route due to threats and weather).
Autonomous operation does not equate to intelligent operation.
True.
the same place they keep the A-10 tooling...
Republic of Fairchild is no longer in business.
Seriously, where would the tooling be for the A-10 and F-32
it's gone, that was my whole point... 8^)
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