Re: China successful test of orbital hypersonic weapon

That is what are well trained and equipped Taiwanese defence force is for, to meet that initial wave of attacks for the first 24 to 48 hours, before foreign help arrives. I truly doubt there is anyone who thinks that an invasion of Taiwan wouldn't ultimately be successful, but the damage to Taiwan ...

Re: China successful test of orbital hypersonic weapon

Why does everyone think this will be great war which is easy to win? It did not work in Korea, Vietnam and the Middle East as well as with the trade war. Because there isn't a land border where tanks and soldiers can just cross the border like in every war you mentioned. Every Chinese ship will be ...

Re: New defence pact AUUKUS

I believe the driving reason for China's push to create an independent, internally consumer driven economy is precisely so they can have a freer hand to do what they will without the risk of ruining their economy and prosperity. Right now they are dependent on outside consumption and exports and re...

Re: F-15X has no mission!

Bean-counting is only one aspect to look at, not everything can be expressed from a strict financial point of view. There's intrinsic value that can't be quantified.

Re: USS Bonhomme Richard (Wasp-class amphibious assault ship) is on fire

LyleLanley wrote:

This event threw a huge monkey wrench into the Navy’s deployment availability forecast by severely disrupting the operational and maintainable periods of the rest of the gator carriers.

Re: Could a SSBN launch on the surface?

What if a blue whale was skimming along above the SSBN when a missile leaves the tube?

Re: XB-70 variant proposals; including a tanker

You have to understand the thinking at the time, engineers were being pushed to accomplish the impossible. Big risks were made, they truly dared to dream. And that's why these proposals seem ridiculous to us today.

Re: RC-135W disguising as a Malaysian plane

Yes, because you can just go to the E/E bay and repin/reprogram your transponder in flight to another random number..... The lies in this article are as blatant as the news media. You assume a bog standard transponder on an RC-135W? Amusing. This is a SPY PLANE. I'd be surprised if they did not hav...

Re: RC-135W disguising as a Malaysian plane

Perhaps they were testing China.

Re: USAF PCA and other 6th gen fighters

Curious as to why the USAF felt the need to disclose this unless China 6th Gen Developments are farther along than the public knows.

Re: Russian SU27 buzzes the BUFF over the Black Sea

If we would have went forward with the XB-70 as the backbone of our strategic bomber force, this relatively minor incident would have never happened.

/s

Re: What do military pilots eat aboard?

Don't you want to keep food intake to a minimum on long deployment flights since, er..how do I put it nicely...what goes in, must come out? Being strapped into a cockpit of a fighter jet, you don't have that many options available when you have to go... Your body can hold it in for a while if you r...

Re: USS Bonhomme Richard (Wasp-class amphibious assault ship) is on fire

Yikes, I wonder what our adversaries learned about this. Sabotage & Arson are how you bring down the US Navy!

Re: F-35 News Thread - 2020

Probably taken offline for a refresh/hardware update lol.

Re: What airports does JANET fly to?

Tugger wrote:

Janet flights are a bit like Fight Club....

(Also I think DigitalSea is having a bit of fun with it.)

Tugg

Re: What airports does JANET fly to?

The Janet Flights you speak of, do not exist, please immediately cease all references to them.

Re: The F16 and Mach 2

For the F-16, Mach 2 is not necessary. It's a grocery getter and errand runner aircraft for the military. Interceptors like the F-15 & F-22 require it because they are policing the air-highways. The F-16 was designed as and entered the service as a lightweight Interceptor. Not to deliver grocer...

Re: The F16 and Mach 2

For the F-16, Mach 2 is not necessary. It's a grocery getter and errand runner aircraft for the military. Interceptors like the F-15 & F-22 require it because they are policing the air-highways.

Re: USS Bonhomme Richard (Wasp-class amphibious assault ship) is on fire

Maybe this was China's payback for the fire on their LHD a little while back.

Re: F-35 vs F-18 Growler for Penetrating Air Defense

Good point. I can be more specific. Let's suppose the US or France attack a large, technically capable peer. Something like Russia or China with S-400s and Su-35s and much more (even some P-18 low frequency radars, or pick something better). We want to win the air war and dominate the sky long term...

Re: Fictional scenario refueling

If you want realism, you should explore the Air-to-Air refueling variant of the F-117 that's similar to the one used in Executive Decision . It was used to hook up to various aircraft and perform LO refueling similar to how the variant in the movie offloaded passengers. https://thenerdsuncanny.files...

Re: F-35 vs F-18 Growler for Penetrating Air Defense

You can have stealth & jamming by having the F-35 performing EW while simultaneously striking the enemy targets.

Re: China claim they will sanction Lockheed Martin

I'm sure this will give the defense industry a good laugh across the sector.

Re: Updated: U.S. has formally kicked Turkey out of the F-35 JSF program

Maybe that was the plan the entire time lol.

Re: USAF PCA and other 6th gen fighters

Is there a possibility this is just smoke and mirrors? From which perspective? That the USAF/USN are further along than they are suggesting or that the House Armed Services Committee are just trying to justify their position and role in the process and the information requested isn’t required? Both...

Re: USAF PCA and other 6th gen fighters

Is there a possibility this is just smoke and mirrors?

Re: Germany cancels P-3C modernisation; looking for replacement

Maybe they could buy some Russian hardware to supplement their energy deals.

Re: P-8 Poseidon, fighter escorts needed?

889091 wrote:

If required, can/how does the crew bail out in-flight?

Re: Second tier advanced fighter projects news and discussion

South Korea has completed the selection process for the precision-guided munitions and guidance kits that it plans to integrate with its future Korean Fighter eXperimental (KF-X) multirole fighter aircraft. https://www.janes.com/defence-news/news-detail/da27bd71-e47e-4cf6-81aa-456bf5824514 It sound...

Re: what are typical capabilities of missile propulsion systems -

[There are loitering munitions in service, although the lines between loitering munition/missile/cruise missile and "kamikazie" UAV are very much blurred and often arbitrary. It's no longer a technological limitation as it is a political one. There are major political ramifications to a m...

Re: P&W and the F-15EX?

SuperiorPilotMe wrote:

DigitalSea has proven himself to be an idiot of the highest caliber imaginable so I do not doubt at all he means GE90.

Re: Second tier advanced fighter projects news and discussion

[ That is factually true, and they are engaging in a massive military build-up, but that's not to say the same thing as that they're our active enemies. We have competing interests with all of our closest allies including Britain, Canada and Korea. There are other means to compete strategically oth...

Re: Second tier advanced fighter projects news and discussion

Keep drinking the OAN Kool-Aid. That's the attitude that starts wars (and global pandemics, so I hope you're feeling particularly comfortable right now too). I'm sorry but I don't know what OAN is. And the concern for China isn't something necessarily driven by the media, especially here in the Uni...

Re: P&W and the F-15EX?

Ozair wrote:

Perhaps over the last twenty years GE has included some technology from the GE90 into the F110 but there is no GE90 that will ever power the F-15EX or any other fighter aircraft.

Re: Second tier advanced fighter projects news and discussion

Will China start rapidly subsidizing the military modernization of countries like Iran & NK in response to this? Absolutely no reason to. Don't read too much into "the enemy of my enemy is my friend:" China and the US are not necessarily enemies and I for one prefer a completely diffe...

Re: P&W and the F-15EX?

There's nothing wrong with using the General Electric GE90 to power the F-15EX, PW can take a hike. Hah, assume you mean the GE F110, the GE90 is a little too heavy and wide for the F-15... GE & the USAF conducted a study that showed the GE90 fan blades can reduced significantly to allow for tw...

Re: P&W and the F-15EX?

There's nothing wrong with using the General Electric GE90 to power the F-15EX, PW can take a hike.

Re: Second tier advanced fighter projects news and discussion

Will China start rapidly subsidizing the military modernization of countries like Iran & NK in response to this? I know they think they can win the long game via a strong economic plan but there's nothing set in stone that says that strategy is guaranteed. At what point do they start pushing bac...

Re: Crazy and bizarre military aviation stories

NE Iraq towards the end of 2012, had a tanker flying a standard refueling track, a glowing orange cigar shape object had passed within 500ft over their starboard wing and paced ahead of the aircraft before finally shooting up into the sky. Secure comms were unusable until it left the area, initially...

Re: New Boeing Combat Drone

It would be pretty awesome for the drone to be able to carry its own warhead as a suicide drone once its expended its armaments.

Re: US to potentially sell F-16's to Taiwan

Can't imagine it would be too hard for China to throw enough financial incentive at a pilot to defect if they were ever given the F-35. Money grows on trees in China.

Re: Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider Production And Delivery Thread

Ozair wrote:

The USAF is close to selecting a first base for the B-21, both of the options being existing B-1 bases which makes sense given the B-21 will replace the B-1 initially before then replacing the B-2.

Anyone have a preference?

Re: Musk on fighter jets vs. drones

Additionally, I always find it amusing when commentary compares a manned fighter that has been tested and certified to its flight envelope against drones that today operate with significantly more restricted flight envelopes. I don’t see significantly more capable loyal wingmen emerging either, the...

Re: 2 Syrian su24s shot down by Turkey's f16s

Turkey does not need air superiority over all of Syria. They just need to control the air space behind the front line in order to prevent Syrian Air Force from bombing the rebel. How close would the Syrian air defense be to the front line to clear the Turks from over the Rebel's air space without r...

Re: Musk on fighter jets vs. drones

He's not wrong and with where China's going, it's inevitable and we will adapt as necessary. In Top Gun 3, Tom will be the name of the fighter A.I.

Re: Shenyang FC-31 / J-31

What are the chances that China will leapfrog full production of a 5th gen carrier platform in favor of a 6th gen (or 5.5) in order to keep pace with US developments?

Re: F-35 News Thread - 2020

My guess is the squadrons are likely trained, sufficiently manned and capable of conducting operations across their full mission set. The difference to FOC is probably that FOC is related to the finish of development and test phase. I don’t believe the USAF has declared that OT&E has finished a...