Why is it some of the canopies are this metallic yellow? They remind me of astronaut visors (I’m imagining then that they have the same reflective qualities, in which case I’m guessing the two bubble types are to suit the operating conditions).

I was wondering, for those proponents of the idea to restart the F22 production lines and instead build it in more numbers, hypothetically, had the US gone with this route, could having the F22 as the mainstay of the fleet been a good substitute for a slightly greater number of smaller F35s?

noticed a Bose branded headset. I’m curious having noticed it in use by other USAF pilots. Is Bose an official supplier? Is there even such a thing as the ‘official brand partner for the US military’ in the way sports teams have their suppliers?

Oh I have no doubt they’re there, just operating under different names and lending their expertise to different spheres now.

That’s an interesting point.

Actually now that I think about it, I just got it mixed up with the jet itself. I’m too used to long haul jets like the 777 and 787 (I doubt I’ve flown on a 737 actually, whenever I’ve had a short haul flight it’s been on an Airbus).

I’m sure if need be you could jerry rig at least 1 underbody station for a missile/torpedo maybe (?). Still for the nations that might opt for such a solution I think the greatest value for them is to let it be known that they have the capacity to be aware of any submersibles encroaching on their territory (if direct…

Sure is sad considering the industrial history and especially aerospace expertise they once had. The way I look at it now is that those gifted aeronautics engineers aren’t gone, they just make up the bulk of the brains behind F1 and other top tier motorsport disciplines as opposed to working on military aircraft. At…

Ah my bad then.

Other than the size and weight limitations of this smaller platform, it’ll be interesting to note what % of the capability it has in relation to the P8 (as Tyler says 80% functionality at 60% of the price is a damn good compromise).

Britain could really use a few maritime patrol aircraft stat, considering the gap they’ve been left with. Ultimately I imagine operational synergies with their great ally across the pond will lead them to choose the Boeing over the Japanese entry Tyler wrote a post about a while ago. I’d love to see other…

why is the landing gear left exposed in that manner? Surely if it’s a derivative of the civilian platform they could’ve left the landing gear stowage similar? (Although I guess one could argue it would need to be a strengthened under carriage for the kit on board and rougher operating conditions)

Does anyone know what that round almost turret like appendage is?

for such a cutting edge jet it’s really quite amusing the sad squeal it seems to make when it’s powering down.

Another one to add to the today-I-learned. Thanks for that, it was very comprehensive. A lot to take in.

I recognise his handiwork

I wonder if somewhere in the background there’s the Korean Sgt Bilko

well isn’t that an incredibly slick video. Even if the only purpose is for the spectacle of it all, it definitely works. Absolute smorgasbord of kit on display.

All excellent points that I completely agree with. For all the fancy flying wing type designs conceptualised for civil aviation, surely their designers would be better placed finding military applications.

seeing as PRK still relies on sending out their subs however antiquated they may be, with Tyler stating they are still pretty hard to detect, surely this makes the area an excellent case study to test out the latest tech in anti submarine warfare. Now I’m not proposing an ostensibly US vessel be found lurking in…