Then why post the article at all?
TriggerTreats
TriggerTreats
With much more credible information than the stuff already out there.
No, but you’re not doing your homework.
F/A-18E/F has the exact same seat limitation.
F/A-18E/F has the exact same seat limitation.
You sir, nailed it. I wish I could like your comment more than once.
F/A-18E/F has the exact same limitations.
But yeah, blame Martin-Baker Boeing Lockheed.
NATOPS FLIGHT MANUAL NAVY MODEL F/A-18E/F 165533 AND UP AIRCRAFT
No, it’s not.
NATOPS FLIGHT MANUAL NAVY MODEL F/A-18E/F 165533 AND UP AIRCRAFT
That thought’s crossed my mind a couple of times too. Seems that the AF has a better track record for air superiority aircraft (F-86, F-15, F-22) whereas the Navy has the edge on multi-role aircraft (F-4, F/A-18).
Although the ultimate irony being, with both the A-7 and F-4, the Navy started out with a good aircraft,…
Yeah, everyone I know who has any involvement in the F-35 wants to make it work because, as you said, there is no plan B. (Although ironically, F-35 already is - in a way - plan B, being born out of separate and canceled programs from the late 80s/early 90s to replace the F-16, Harrier and A-6).
In the early 1970s…
True. For a man who claims to be a champion of Defense procurement reform, Sen. John McCain never met a Navy program he didn’t like.
After 2009, when the F-22 production was ended, there was no point in the AF going back to Congress with the 381-minimum requirement. The damage had been done. USAF leadership had lost the battles for CSAR-X, KC-X, T-X, NGB and now F-22 so the focus became preserving F-35 since that was the only tactical aircraft…
What weapons would those be?
The USAF never wanted 187; they wanted 780. The first cut came in 1994 when then SecDef Cheney rolled back the number of aircraft. The USAF has long maintained that the minimum requirement was for 381 F-22s. That’s to equip 10 rotational expeditionary forces, each with one squadron of 24 Raptors. Those 240 Raptors…
Plus those tanks helps the Raptors make those interceptions with less tanker support. I don’t think F-22s have any divert field options on those intercepts, so external tanks are a win-win.
was supposed to be easier to build and more reliable in the first place.
The minimum USAF requirement was for 381 F-22s. That’s to equip 10 rotational expeditionary forces, each with one squadron of 24 Raptors. Those 240 Raptors would be supported by 60 training aircraft, 15 test and evaluation aircraft, 32 for backup, and 34 for attrition during the aircraft’s service life (roughly 10% of…