CAS has been important in every conflict since WWII. It doesn't matter who is invading who. It's been extremely important to the Ukrainians and they aren't invading a foreign country.

Yeah satellites make a lot of sense. Most are highly customized even if they are based on a standard basic platform.

Spacecraft are actually a good example of where 3D printing could be really practical. There are less than a dozen examples of most spacecraft, and those are rarely identical in the way aircraft or cars are manufactured identically.

3D printing large parts for aircraft is extremely inefficient. That bulkhead likely took days to manufacture, and they probably don't have many beds that size to print on. 3D printing is a great tool for rapid prototyping or making one off parts though.

I'm in agreement. But I can't help but hope this ends up being a super reliable and well-liked platform, that we were all just a bit too paranoid about.

I'll take the "pig" over the catfish.

Kaliningrad was populated by ethnic Germans (and known as Konigsberg) until 1945, when the remaining Germans either fled or were kicked out. Kind of reminds me of a similar story when the (then ethnic majority) Tatars were exiled from their homeland of Crimea in 1944.

The second largest air force in the world behind the USAF is the US Navy/Marines.

Ski boats are even more fun with a sufficient application of alcohol and gradeschool level sociopathy.

Yeah I'm from Louisiana so I know a little bit about enjoying nature. In fact I'm currently in south Mississippi working in oil field construction. I'm hardly "people of the city". That being said, paddle boating is still dull as hell.

How neat? Really?

Helsinki Syndrome as Richard Hammond calls it.

The US is not going to support the Kurds in absolutely every scenario. We have to weigh the options, and breaking a crucial alliance with Turkey to support the Kurds would not be a prudent geopolitical move. We played both sides of the Iran-Iraq conflict because it was the smartest way to prevent either country from…

We patrolled the northern no-fly-zone for years after the Gulf War to protect the Kurds. The US military then developed a strong partnership with them during the Iraq War. We also happen to be allies with Turkey, despite their position on Kurdish autonomy, because they control the Bosporus and are one of the only…

When they started beheading American aid workers and recruiting American citizens (who can then easily return), they made it our business.

Yes I know exactly what you are talking about. I've just never heard it called that before. I like to have fun with bombers, and we learned quickly that it's better to split two bases between you and a wingman than to split up and take out the bases individually.

"Finger four"?

To get there sure, but to loiter for hours and pop any targets that present themselves the wings will be out to improve fuel economy.

An arcade mode playing mouse user....we gotta a real ace here!

That's pretty close (and probably much cheaper than any fighter). I think you are correct about the B-1's ability to leave the area quickly. When B-52s are used they usually don't loiter. One advantage of the Buff is it's mission readiness. They spend way less time under maintenance than the B-1B, and there are about…