since we are NOT ALLOWED to engage BVR, it damn well better be...
Posted on 01/08/2017 3:25:48 PM PST by huldah1776
WASHINGTON — According to some reports, America's fifth-generation stealth aircraft doesn't excel at dogfighting.
But fortunately, the F-35 Lightning II is not built for dogfighting.
While some analysts have argued that the air-to-air-combat capabilities of the F-35A won't match some of its peer aircraft, pilots who spoke to Business Insider pointed out that the US's fifth-generation fighter is designed in such a way that dogfighting may be an afterthought.
"If you were to engage an F-35 in say, a visual dogfight capability," US Air Force Brig. Gen. Scott Pleus began, "the capabilities of the F-35 are absolutely eye-watering compared to a fourth-generation fighter."
"The airplane has unbelievable maneuvering characteristics that make it completely undefeatable in an air-to-air environment," said Pleus, who has 153 flight hours in the F-35A and is the director of the F-35 integration office.
"So if it's a long-range contact, you'll never see me and you'll die, and if it's within visual-range contact you'll see me and you're gonna die and you're gonna die very quickly."
(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...
We’ve come full circle with another “F-111” that tries to be all things to all services, but is a compromised multi-role, multi-mission aircraft with a wildly bloated price tag. Relearning old lessons.
AF F-18??
You're not going to be my first resource for information on US military aviation technology.
since we are NOT ALLOWED to engage BVR, it damn well better be...
Jerks can cause a lot of trouble...
F35 stinks.
Lockheed Upbeat Despite F-35 Losing Dogfight To Red Baron
Read more: http://www.duffelblog.com/2015/08/f-35-loses-dogfight-to-red-baron/#ixzz4VDk4ZjMz
And they added a gun pod because missiles were not the end-all to dog-fighting.
And that takes away its stealth.
Then add a gun like the F-22, pull the trigger and the internal gun pops-out and fires and then quickly closes. . . keeping its stealth capability.
“The venerable F-15s could easily perform both roles well. For much less money”
That would be the F-15E that we fly right now.
And there is an F-15SE - the Silent Eagle, which reduces Mighty Rhodan’s radar cross-section a bit.
The F35 is a boondoggle. Scrap it!!
“The F-35 has a very awesome gun.”
With a fraction of the needed ammo load to be useful.
F-16XL, with an F-22 engine w/ the Trust Vectoring. The fuselage is longer, no reason why it won't fit now and also add the Diverterless Supersonic Inlet.
The F-16XL supposedly would carry as much as a F-15E, and upping the Thrust to 35,000 lbs via the F-119 engine with the Vectoring would be awesome IMHO. Add to that, the simplicity and weight loss of the new inlet.
Ok Flyer Freepers especially the Military guys, how and why would this not work ( other than the Fighter Mafia getting heartburn ) ? I look forward to your feedback!
with very limited ammo.
and they have a somewhat stealthified version now, the f15 stealth eagle.
Afterthought?
Military intelligence is not cumulative... they tried no gun for the A-4, Vietnam late 60’s. Even with missile first fire priority the A-4 had a 50% gun kill rate. Gun was a retrofit at first but not for long. What were they thinking.
Why the Hell this country has a long tradition of never learning from its own mistakes in the field of aircraft and weapons procurement is a bit of a mystery to me because it couldn't possibly be that ignoring reality is far more profitable than dealing with reality. /sarc
To be fair, the F-16 also can expend all the ammo in its cannon in less time than it takes to throw a cat across the room. The days of long belts of .50 cal lasting for a long dog fight went away early in Vietnam.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.