Air Force Flying New Fighter Prototype

We are already spending hundreds of billions on the F35 which has dubious value. Why this? It is clear the plane we truly need is a single engine turboprop armed with machine guns and missiles. Why are we using $250 million dollar planes with missiles that cost $100,000 or more to take out $15,000 Toyota pickup trucks? We are not going to a conventional war with China or anyone else. If god forbid there is a war it will be over in a half hour and most of the planet will be dead. No need for planes.

I swear I’ve seen that plane before: why, it’s the SR-71 Blackbird, retrofitted with guns instead of cameras.
Part of the military-industrial-prison complex reconnaissance recycling program, aka planned obsolescence
for war and profit (not necessarily in that bureaucratic order). Or as those flying aces of yesteryear, John
Lennon and Paul McCartney, whispered in my ear: “Blackbird bombing in the dead of night/take these old
spare parts and make a buck/all your life/you were only waiting for this contract to arrive.” And so it goes.

No mention as to who the defense contractor is that built the new toy, but likely either Boeing or Lockheed. If Lockheed, then it is competing with its own baby, the F-35. If Boeing, I wonder if it will have an MCAS system? (Yeah, I know; snarky remark). In either case, we had better be sitting down when someone finally announces the price tag.

The F-35 is pushing 20+ years old, so it is becoming technologically obsolete already. So, maybe this is the Air Force’s answer to the F-35’s retirement. I wonder if this new “wonder weapon” will have a human pilot or an autonomous system?

I spent 15

I spent 15 1/2 years in uniform plus 12 more as a major contractor employee supporting flight test on and around Edwards AFB on major weapon systems. My point being I knew a few things both about flight test and what’s going on there. Although I’ve been gone a while, I follow things as in depth as I can in various ways.

IMHO, the F-35 is somebody’s idea of a joke. Fighters are for — umm — air defense and dominance. These days, in order to get through the ground and airborne radars, stealth is an added requirement to ensure survivability. Stealth has become such a ‘buzz word’ to an extent that being stealthy seems to transcend usability and affordability and maintainability. Some of the comments here are — therefore — right on point. If an F-35 is going to be used in air dominance, it has to be able to shoot lots of missiles and bullets at the adversaries and NOT keep returning to Base to be rearmed. But if all of that is stuffed internally, there’s a physical limit to it’s capabilities. For example, along that line of thinking, the F-117A could only carry two 1,000 pound bombs internally. An F-35 can be flown “dirty,” but then it gives up its stealth capabilities. A fighter jet without weapons is as good as a gun without bullets. The USAF disposed of the F-117A in order to get the F-35 and made a BIG mistake, IMHO.

Someone at the very top decided that the F-35 was going to be the Swiss Army Knife of airplanes and totally forgot about the McNamara / TFX fiasco of the 60’s. So beyond even stealth, the darned thing has to be able to crash into carrier decks for the Navy, rise vertically from among the trees for the USMC and do all manner of wiz-bang jobs for the highly technical USAF. NONE of the three services (plus our Allies) got anything near what they thought it was going to because common design requirements were SO detrimental. They have a pretty sweet Aero Club, though. You won’t find many officers willing to say that but — I have. Among them is a General. At Airventure a few years ago, I confronted two officers sent to put on a Dog and Pony show for the F-35 about why certain weapons had not yet been integrated into the airplane. You shoulda seen the shocked look on a Captain’s face as he looked to his Major to get him out of it. And we haven’t even addressed the fact that the KC-46A isn’t doing ITS job yet and so range and loiter time is a problem, too. Bottom line, the F-35 is a piece of you know what. Any time you ask an airplane to do all sorts of missions … it does few jobs well.

Beyond the above, there’s another problem. Flight testing has become an end unto itself anymore. There are hoards of people who are employed doing just that and reporting on same and they don’t have anything to do if they’re efficient and get the job done fast. Now toss on the requirement to constantly keep upgrading the systems aboard these airplanes and you have a major problem. We’da never won WWII in THIS sort of environment.

I see now where the USAF Special Ops wants to replace the CV-22 with a pure jet. They just GOT those things. The USAF is now building F-15EX — a modernized Eagle — because it’s a darned good airplane and can be made better. I remember passing St Louis in 1969 when it was announced over AM radio that McDonnell Aircraft had won that program and now — 50 years later — they’re going to build new ones. Why? Because the Eagle was a dedicated air dominance fighter — that has never been shot down — and was dedicated to a single mission.

In the early 80’s, a close air support turboprop airplane was forced upon the USAF for evaluation by a Florida Congressman. It was — essentially — a P-51 with a turboprop. The USAF was SO against it that they never established a formal Test Force at Edwards AFB for it … they just gave them to the Test Pilot School and told them to do some reports. You couldn’t pry the pilots out of the things. John M’s comment is — therefore — apropos. I always felt that they shoulda built those things by the thousands and made every 10th person entering the USAF a pilot of one with the others for support roles. An extreme example but … none the less true. These days, the F-16 might be a better example.

So THIS airplane — the NGAD fighter — is likely a reaction to the fact that the F-35 just isn’t gonna do it for us but no one is willing to actually SAY it. I say … cancel that program and move on. Re-start the F-22 line, as well. When you need stealth, us it or this NGAD airplane and build more new F-15’s and F-16’s.