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| PATUXENT RIVER, Md. - At a test range near Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md., two F-35B test aircraft accomplish a formation test point March 17. Lockheed Martin test pilot David "Doc" Nelson flew BF-2 and Royal Air Force Squadron Leader Steve Long piloted BF-3. The F-35B and F-35C variants are undergoing test and evaluation for delivery to the Marine Corps and Navy respectively. (Photo courtesy of Lockheed Martin) |
You know, in the near future, these images could be portraying fully loaded Lightnings. Compared with combat loaded F-16s which have fuel tanks, an ALQ-131 and hung with missiles, these Lightnings could just cruise along without being hampered with external stores - just love those internal bays!
ReplyDeletenow you're getting it. nothing hanging...ingress at high subsonic speed...supersonic dash before release...and high subsonic egress...
ReplyDeletesounds like a winner without all your junk hanging in the wind.
you know Sol if people knew you were talking about planes that last sentence could sound really dirty, LMAO, sorry but i had to comment!!! :)
ReplyDeleteAre you seriously suggesting that F35 will not in the future be hung with all sorts of armaments and conformal tanks.
ReplyDeleteYes it's fine with internals for a first strike but then you need something which will carry a decent load,like F16.
You guys are really kidding yourselves,as an air superiority aircraft this will be a winner,then it will be turned into a multi purpose aircraft and will be hung like errol flynn.
Stop playing silly buggers,stealth I believe is going to be outdated by new radar systems and will be secondary to payload.
Look at F22 which nobody is conveniently talking about during the current crisis in the middle east.
The excuse from Norton Schwartz for this aircraft not being involved in the middle east is that it is 'too far from the USA' what a load of bollocks as it has already deployed to South Korea on exercise.
The truth is that the US built a fifth generation stealth aircraft with a second rate communications fit so that it is unable to talk to any other aircraft other than another F22.
F35 is going to be a winner but not just with the weapons (limited) it can carry internaly.
Michael: It wouldn't matter if the F-22 had the greatest, stealthiest, communications suite on the face of the planet, it would be a dumb idea to waste it over a country that effectively HAS NO AIRFORCE OR AIR DEFENSES. You know, those things the F-22 was designed specifically to deal with?. It'd be as assinine as using an AWACS to carry the mail.
ReplyDeletesferrin,
ReplyDeleteNo Airforce or Air Defences?, What the hell do you think we have spent a couple of weeks taking out AIR DEFENCES!
No I'm afraid your defence of F22 whilst admirably patriotic of you is incorrect.
It has recently been stated that it was costs that stopped it being fitted with MADL which precludes it operating with anything else except another F22.
It is completely idiotic to build the most expensive air defence aircraft in the world and not be able to deploy it.
The only thing assinine (sic) is to build an aircraft that cannot carry out its intended task.
Talking of white elephants !
michael.
ReplyDeletewrong answer ole boy.
the french were the only ones that flew into the teeth of the opposition ...everyone else waited for cruise missiles to take out the air defenses. as far as MADL is concerned guess what. the link on the F-35 is more advanced and allows communication with legacy aircraft via LINK 16 which is the NATO standard. quite honestly the only reason why MADL isn't the new standard is because the F-35 went from being a tri-service to an international program.
that's what changed the USAF's plans.
study your aviation history chap.
Michael: "air defenses"? Clearly you have no idea of what you speak.
ReplyDeleteSolomon,
ReplyDeleteI really wish you would make up your minds,now you are saying the French flew into the teeth of air defences,and one other poster still insists that they have no air defences.
I will not go into the reasons that the French wanted to be in the forefront of this attack on Lybia,suffice to say that it is politicaly motivated. That is not taking anything away from the critical role they are playing.
Yes I am aware that the link on F35 is more advanced and allows comms with other a/c via link 16,that is the whole point I am trying to make.
Please,you still have not denied that F22 cannot do as above as is useless in a combat zone.
It is not what changed the USAF's plans, it was no matter how hard you try to hide it,MONEY.
As much as it might irk you having been for years used to throwing cash at problems,you are now facing the same problem as everyone else in the western world,lack of MONEY.
sferrin :- Your post is not even worthy of my time.
Michael: Your problem is you don't know that you don't know. You're convinced you know but you're painfully clueless. That's not an insult, it's just a fact.
ReplyDelete