Ping
This is what happens when your President ceases being an American and starts being a “citizen of the world”.
So why did they retire the SR71?
Despite my life long admiration of Luke, von Richthofen, Guynemer, Bishop et al., unmanned combat aircraft are the future of aviation.
We are losing the future, on this and so many other fronts.
/johnny
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Well...Well...Well...As an ancient leatherneck I am mighty glad that the BAMs are back...
Here is a fact about Northrop. That company is a bloated, insanely politically correct and horribly mismanaged leviathan that is sucking America dry. If any of you hold their stock, dump it post-haste.
That company is now a government sponsored social experiment gone wrong. Northrop Grumman divisions all over the planet are reducing their work forces by 40-50%. Women and minorities are last to go—at any cost—and they make no secret of it. I fully support women and minority hiring-if they can do the job. Sadly, many cannot.
Anyone know what the phrase “lass pass sic mont” means?
Sad state of affairs at that place.
I’ve seen it first hand. Their MANAGEMENT can’t read or write, but if they are in a protected class they have lifelong job guarantees.
The Global Hawk was very inflexible, couldn’t carry some of the latest sensor technologies that the U2 can, less capable (lower payload than U2) and had a lower operating altitude than the U2. It could only reach its maximum ceiling at the end of its mission profile when it was essentially out of fuel.
This is why the U2 program was kept beyond its initial retirement date. The USAF kept the GH on life support, giving Northrop an extreme amount of latitude and time in getting the aircraft up to its claimed capability.
Northrop couldn’t do it.
The GH just didn’t meet expectations.