A friend sent this link to me and I thought some of you might be interested in it. Glad it’s on our side.
http://www.es.northropgrumman.com/solutions/f35targeting/assets/eodasvideo.html
Jim [cptn]
Very interesting. Thanks for sharing.
Mark
I don’t think it is… I thought the F-35 was dead… And with the advent of Ivan’s Sukhoi PAK FA, irrelevant… I’d say, speaking from a semi-professional viewpoint (and as an armchair general currently stationed at Ft Living Room) put the money into aquiring more F-22s to eliminate the threat from defending air superiority fighters and then flood the AO with A-10s (Don’t care about airframe life! Fire up the damn assembly line again!) to eliminate the ADA threat for the strike packages… Besides, the F-35’s overweight already, wing-loading is higher than F-15Cs, and the Raptors are already certified for JDAMs and SDBs, including dropping non-gliding JDAMs from 25 miles away…
Personally speaking from the worm’s-eye level, that’d be the smart thing to do… The JSF Mafia doesn’t like it, but they ain’t gonna be on the ground either…
I think it speaks volumes that the new head of the F-35 program is a Navy three-star. The Navy needs the -C model to eventually replace the Hornet. If there are any further signifcant delays in the program, they’re probably going to have to keep F/A-18 E&F production going to maintain full decks. After the A-12 debacle the Navy can’t afford another failed development program.
FWIW, the Vice Admiral in charge is Dave Venlet, who won the DFC as Cdr Hank Kleemann’s F-14 RIO in VF-41 during the first Gulf of Sidra incident.
Mark
I think that too many people are still measuring up the F35 to the older standards of wing loading, thrust, g pulls, etc. The F35 is a replacement for the F16 in with the primary purpose of A2G. It’s not a dedicated air-to-air platform. It’s primary mission is not the same as the F15. But when needed in A2A, it will shoot down the enemy.
Well… what ever enemy fighters that’s left after the F35 have bombed out the enemy’s airports and hangers. Good luck getting airborn after the first wave of F35 armed with smart weapons penetrates air defense.
Frankly, I don’t see a war anywhere in the near future, or even in the next 50 years that’ll be a traditional, Force-on-Force with set-piece battles and the like… The last one was the Iraq invasion and that was over & done with in two weeks with an Iraqi Army that wasn’t just combat ineffective, but destroyed, bashed, beat, picked up, then beaten again, buried, and scattered to the four winds…
But I’m reminded of Curtis LeMay and the B-47/B-52 controversy… The Bomber Generals were constantly putting up proposals for improving the existing B-47s, and bringing several new models into the force as time went on… LeMay didn’t want to hear about Stratojets and said so… “How damned deep do I have to bury the damned B-47s before you sonsab*tches stop digging it up?” were his words. Needless to say the B-52 went forward finally and the '47s went to it’s new mission of guarding gates at Offut, Sheppard, Whiteman, and Barksdale AFBs…
Frankly, I’d love to see the Key West Agreement go away and the Army get it’s own tactical air force with fixed-wings again… Let the USAF do it’s thing with the behind the lines missions, but leave moving mud to the Army…
I agree with Mark.
If the USAF doesn’t get the F-35A, OK.
The Navy and USMC really need the airplane. The Marines are looking to replace the AV-8. Its a supersonic STOVL. That helps the gators. The Navy needs the “C” to replace the legacy Hornets that are being worn out carrying the current burden since no nearby country will let the USAF operate from their bases.
Far too often, IMHO, the concerns of the USAF dominates dialog about US aerospace industry. While giving the AF their due, they ain’t the whole show.
the USAF doesn’t seem to want the F-35 anyhow… boo… they’ve decided to focus on far more cheaper UAVs (1 million apiece) and F-22s (which cost a billion apiece and take 100hrs of maintenence for every 1hr in the air…)
but I’ll let you guys keep on keeping on…
The “Fighter Mafia” runs the show…