Posted on 07/08/2013 7:13:17 AM PDT by lbryce
Excellent flying by that driver.
I don’t think that low speed aerobatics are going to win anything any more. Qeustion is: Is it fast and does it have the avionics to compete?
Those engine nacelles should reflect radar like a mirror, same for the tails.
Absolutely. They've astounded the US military, scientific community with their insight, development of technology from an entirely new, un-thought of perspective, approach.
Kind’a looked like a Harrier jump jet taking off.
In 1982 I worked for Northrop Aircraft.
The company took a bunch of us out to Edwards AFB to see the F-20 Tigershark.
It was AMAZING!
The thrust/weight was incredible.
It rolled about 50 yards down the tarmac, pointed the nose at the sky, and went to 50,000 feet in about 2 minutes.
As the pros on this forum know, we lost two out of the three F-20s to pilots blacking out during 9 G turns.
For it’s time, it was an incredible accomplishment.
20 years ago I saw two Ukrainian Air Force Mig-29’s do the same type of take off at an airshow in Illinois. Went almost straight up after wheels being off the ground for just a few seconds. Extremely impressive
I specifically included the phrase most spectacular I've ever seen to qualify my overall take on the video.
BTW, the best airshow aircraft for maneuverability I ever saw was the A10.
That book is a great read. A friend of mine who worked at the CIA at the time went up to Wright-Patterson to inspect Belenko’s disassembled MIG. I remember him telling me in 1982 about that experience and then saying “we’re going to win the Cold War.”
The same supposedly benevolent liberal overseeing of minorities that brought us "a fine, articulate young man" to "the crease in his pants", to "the most intelligent President we've ever had [see Hannity Archives]"....
I guess one could reasonably conclude from such that "well-intentioned racism" is far better than just plain ole "abject racist racism."
I’m not nearly as impressed with the Russian stuff as I am disappointed in our strategy to stay ahead of it.
Yeah, nice airplane but only because it’s finally looking quite comparable to our own.
And we’re falling into their trap with the very expensive yet very caplable F-22 but in very limited numbers. An F-22 can only carry so many weapons.
We need to create small, inexpensive jet-powered drones in large quantities to turn the tables on them. Small, stealthy, long legged, AESA equipped, missile platforms.
Long range missile launch - defeated with countermeasures or maneuvering, or never allowed due to rules of engagement
Medium range missile launch - defeated with countermeasures or maneuvering, or never allowed due to rules of engagement
Short range merge - nice to have the ability to maneuver and a gun that can’t be defeated with countermeasures.
“Content not available on mobile” :(
The collective “us”.
We invented most, if not all of the technology the Russians are using and I know our pilots are better.
Our military is being defunded, the current administration (and past) is loathe to pony up for new technologies (we want drones instead of Raptors), and the advancement of defensive minded principles (hawks) seem boorish.
Good?
LOL! I hope it never has to fly in our air space.
Yes, they is the luckiest jockey on the planet - except I suspect he is a “rider” and not a “driver”.
Ditto.
However, where you are wrong is taking that as a disadvantage. You see, the FoxBat was meant to protect the USSR from supersonic ingress by nuclear capable bombers like the B-58 and B-70, both of which were capable of supersonic dash speeds (Mach 2 for the Hustler and faster for the proposed Valkeyrie) and carried nuclear weapons.
The Soviets needed a plane that could quickly take off, head towards oncoming supersonic bombers, which were not maneuverable themselves, light them up with its huge radar (first PESA radar in the world), and shoot them down before they dropped their nukes.
In such a case they needed a plane that could go extremely fast on an intercept (rather than dog fight) course, pick out targets with a large radar, and shoot down an oncoming supersonic target. Period. Who cared if the engines were shot afterwards ....two dead engines were perfect substitutes for saving a city for getting nuked.
It is the CIA that saw overhead photos of parked FoxBats and decided, as always 100% 'accurate,' that it was a Soviet super fighter when it was actually a Soviet super interceptor. It took the defection of tje Soviet pilot for the realization that the FoxBat was no super fighter, although that belief did help in birthing one of the greatest manned jet fighters ever (the F-15 ...I doubt any other manned fighter, including the Raptor, will ever get the Eagle's combat record).
Anyways, the 'inadequacy' of the MiG 25 is often brought up. Yes, it is a useless dog fighter (although it did manage, in Iraqi hands for the matter, to bring down a F-18 during the Gulf war). However, the FoxBat was never meant to be a dog fighter but rather an interceptor, and in that it was superb.
In the meantime, Saab and the Swede’s are marketing the Gripen NG as the “Sukhoi Killer.”
The Japanese had a far more superior fighter in the Mitsubishi A6M Zero than we did in the Grumman F-4F Wildcat, but superior pilots and tactics proved to be the deciding factor in a dogfight (if anyone remembers the “Thach Weave.”)
The Gripen NG and F-35 were not designed to be lone rangers. They are both designed for tactical superiority at BVR distances. Once the fight gets close (if it even gets there), superior pilots and tactics will win the fight. You can put a good pilot in an average plane and a poor pilot in a superior plane and the outcome will always be the same: the better pilot will win.
“All things being even I’ll take raw speed and power over tail-dancing ability.”
The fighter pilot’s creedo: “Speed is life.” A plane dancing on its tail is what some would call a sitting duck.
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.