There is quite a business in putting turboprops on DC-3's.
Jet fuel is more common at remote airports than av-gas.
You typically lose some range though.
Posted on 12/23/2016 5:32:33 AM PST by RoosterRedux
While we have a lot of sunk research costs in the F-35 that are unrecoverable, the question is how to allocate our money today, and the F-35 would be a waste at current prices.
If Trump cannot negotiate a more reasonable price per plane, we should take that money and use it for what the military really needs. First and foremost, we need more soldiers in all branches of the military. Obama has shrunk the armed forces down to unconscionable levels.
Secondly, we need more drones – a lot of them. Just think: if one F-35 crashes, we have lost nearly $200 million. If a Reaper drone crashes, we lose only $15 million. Drones are much better suited for the kind of wait-hunt-chase warfare we are in now than fighter jets.
We need naval drones as well. The image of our giant aircraft carriers threatened by tiny Iranian speedboats with missiles is ridiculous. Our Navy needs a smaller footprint with bigger payloads. We need more drones and more submarines armed with cruise missiles.
Finally, bring back the A-10s. They were very low-tech, but they were great planes, low-flying, full of destructive power, and armored so they were hard to bring down. Sometimes older, proven technology doesn't necessarily make for a bad choice. Low tech paired with low prices means you can buy in higher volume.
(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...
That's what I'm thinking, he doesn't intend to kill the program, he's negotiating a better deal.
He might even throw a curve and say he might just buy the Rafale instead.
Ed is a dumbass
The meeting with Lockheed Martin was attended by my count 5 three and four star generals that exited the building while Trump was standing by the door talking to a Fox reporter. They were not smiling, not one of them
I think that in the presence of the Lockheed Martin CEO, Trump made it clear to the generals and colonels (I counted 15 people in the air force exit stream) that they need to get their act together and get purchasing people that know what the hell they are doing.
The same for the 747. Bells and whistles that have bells and whistles need to be culled.
I think the meeting was not to chastise the CEO’s but rather the Air Force leadership that has programs totally out of control. While not a full blown riot act, Trump conveyed the message that the Air Force was not only complicit but the primary cause for excess costs
The 2019 cost of an F-35 is slated to be $88 million- just about what an upgraded F-18 will cost.
Trump is just negotiating with the sharks at LMCO to get the best possible price - they play hardball so it's best to have the bat in your hands when dealing with them.
Smart move to start a bit of competition
Build more F-22s instead for the USAF and seek a purpose designed replacement for the F-15 and F-16 fleet.
I'll let the navy types make their own recommendations but it looks like a variant of the F/A-18 is the only option near term.
“Military didn’t ask for them had no need of them.”
190% false.
He is also dealing harshly with the air force. The five generals seen exiting the meeting did not look happy
“The F-22 is superior to any competitor in the air or in pre-production.”
That is like saying a Ferrari is superior to a pickup.
Apples and oranges.
Not like you need a high tech stealth fighter to bomb terrorist locations in the Mid East. A P47 would do just fine.
Now you need a few F22, F35s for any engagement with an advanced country and balance of power stand off stuff, but let’s be thrifty here and get bang for the buck. Pun intended.
“The 2019 cost of an F-35 is slated to be $88 million- just about what an upgraded F-18 will cost.”
Since when has any cost forecast been met? It is always a lie to get continued funding. The F-35 has had over $1 trillion spent with little to show for it.
“The F22 would need a new avionics package that would give it networking ability like the F35.”
Piece of cake, really. Far cheaper and quicker than trying to get the F-35 platform.
“The F-22 is obsolete “
No, it is not. It is far from obsolete.
“the production jigs are long, long gone.”
Fine. Make new ones. They did it before.
“You would have to retrain an entire workforce. The result would take many years and be very expensive, let alone the costs of producing an actual plane.”
It is worse than that. If you want produce new F-22s you would find a thousand tiny places where something is obsolete or should changed... Most of which you have no choice about. and then when you make the tweak something else breaks because you don’t have the original engineers there to tell you WHY it was done that original way. Costs would quickly sky rocket. Your better off taking the original and designing a new one that is the same basic capability. Same with the A-10.
Both of you are understandably incorrect. The very engineers who designed the F-22 are around. With Sequestration, many jobs dried up, and they went on to other jobs utilizing their talents. Many of the engineers were quite young in the pits. You will lose some of the older engineers, but certainly the majority are still out there, many underemployed at this time, they could retire, but hope the Trump Administration will give them another 10 years of employment. As for changes in design, your talking about materials, or new technologies that can be re-designed and retrofitted to engines, frames, wings exhaust nozzles, the talent is there, saying its too late is wasting that talent. To keep our design edge robust, you must keep employed and challenged the minds of our youth, the experience of our seasoned engineers, to pass on knowledge and experience to the engineers coming thru the ranks, and most importantly keep them employed and challenged to promote new people in schools wanting to become engineers and keep our edge in the world.
Now the Head Of the USAF Is Jumping On the F-22 Production Re-Start Bandwagon - Tyler Rogoway
Everyone Who Wanted More F-22s Is Being Proven Right - Tyler Rogoway
Want More F-22s? Here’s What That Would Take
The F-22 Raptor Fighter Jet Might Return to Production
Déjà Vu for the F-22? Why the Air Force Could Bring Back the Raptor
Would be nice if you were correct but others, more knowledgeable than me, say otherwise.
The F-22 and the F-35 have different missions and capabilities. The F-22 is an air superiority aircraft. There is nothing in the skies or on thenproduction line that can defeat it in that role. But don’t believe me. Ask the pilots who fly them, as I have.
There is quite a business in putting turboprops on DC-3's.
Jet fuel is more common at remote airports than av-gas.
You typically lose some range though.
I believe this is part of Trump’s negotiating skills. Rush just said we are now going to get “2” air force ones instead of 1 for the same money. Funny what a face to face meeting with Boeing can accomplish.
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