Well, at least my point seems well taken. The major contracts rotate so directly that I can’t imagine there isn’t direct correlation between who gets what and how it keeps them propped up.

Middle Eastern dessert:

I fully expect this footage to show up in some future Iranian/North Korean propaganda film showcasing their new 7th gen fighter design. You heard it here first.

...program.

You plan and optimize for a worst case - a peer state competitor. Then you handle a bunch of inbreds in toyota truck tanks with what you have.

The biggest boondoggles of post-cold war acquisitions have all suffered from Congress moving the goal posts and then deciding they cost too much after they get the bill for the re-engineering. A good PR campaign might help fight that.

Because we’ve got a long way, socially, to go before we’re ready for no-man-in-the-loop self firing weapons (land mines are controversial enough without giving them agency), and server ping time is a bitch when you’re trying to hit targets that move faster than a toyota on a goat path.

I don’t.

B-but ‘hurr-durr-even-number-head-on-ACM-will-still-happen-do-you-even-Vietnam-bro!?’

From what I can tell, it’s pure marketing. The same way McDonalds burgers look amazing on TV. I don’t know if you’ve been to D.C., but I was amused to find on my first trip, adverts on the side of buildings for missile systems and aircraft, the same way you would see cigarettes and car ads in the rest of the country.

Simple fact is that people cannot be hacked or have their connection interrupted. Manned aircraft are also infinitely more aware and abstract thought is a lot easier when you are in the moment. We won’t see a reduction in manned aircraft, we will just see an increase in unmanned aircraft.

I love that Northrop Grumman is still carrying the torch for flying wings.

“Yeah, but who even needs tails anyway?”

If that happened, Billy Bob would try to wedge his 350lbs ass into it and break something. Easier to just not allow it at all then only letting certain people in.

“#2: Zero or negative G maneuvers in excess of 10 seconds”

and i believe you should be able to graze your cattle wherever you want for free!

I don’t know if it’s intentional, but I love how in the first picture of the B-2 refueling, the shadow of the boom seems to overlay the silhouette of Tacit Blue perfectly.

Duct Tape! To the right of the seat, close to the hull of the aircraft.

I’ve been to the Air Force museum on multiple occasions, and what really struck me about this plane is that is looks like a mock-up when you are up close. The smooth edges, odd design and, at the time, blacked out windows all added to that appearance.