Time for a new AIM-54 Phoenix-like missile. A B-52 or B-1 or whatever the arsenal ship turns out to be could carry a lot of them on a rotary launcher in the internal bays as well as on hardpoints on the wings. It also be interesting to pair such a missile with the F-15C/E so that they could stand-off behind a forward…

The F-22 was a quantum leap 10 years ago. I agree that is in a class all in its own (for now), but in 5 or 10 years, China and Russia will be selling their stealth (and in China’s case—our stealth) to anyone willing to shell out the cash. It’s not like Japan and Korea are not developing their own stealth aircraft.…

We sold Japan the F-15, which I’m sure at the time pissed other countries off. Besides, China can suck it. They’re building their man-made island bases and expanding their Navy. They’re the ones making everyone in the region nervous.

That’s fine with me. They’d probably build 10 or 20 in the U.S. which could pay for starting the line, and then build the rest under license. I’m pretty sure that’s what happened with the F-15J. In any case, it would be a means to an end in getting production of the F-22 started back for the USAF.

I’m sure the Japanese would gladly fund restarting costs if we actually agreed to sell them some aircraft. We sold F-15s to everybody and their brother not long after they entered operational service. Why should we withhold the F-22 from close allies? Heck, with what we’ve learned from operations over the last decade,…

Rodman was at the test. Definitely an H-Bomb.

Wow! With only 12 aircraft you can’t afford much attrition. The Spanish must baby these things (or only let the best-of-the-best fly them). The U.S., India, and UK were on average losing about one Harrier per year throughout the 2000s.

Tyler. The specs for the ship show that the only anti-aircraft capability for the Kunikov is four SA-N-5 — the naval version of the SA-7. I’d have thought they’d at least have a mounted platform like the one below, but maybe having a guy on deck with a MANPAD is the way they do it on this ship.

Lol. You’re right. I thought it would have at least some type of genuine anti-aircraft capability, but the standard surface-to-air armament is four SA-N-5 — the naval version of the SA-7. So, I guess what we’re seeing is normal.

Maybe it’s because the ship is so close to the land that it’s defensive systems could not react fast enough. I mean, they’re surrounded and on the low ground (sea). If an aerial threat came in low (NOE) from behind the surrounding hills, their radar wouldn’t probably know until it was too late. This guy with the…

Tyler. I don’t think you understand Russia’s objectives. Their number one objective is to keep Assad in power. Assad is fighting an insurgencey. It is very hard to beat an insurgencey directly, because they choose the time and place to fight. In order to win, guerrilla fighters need the support of the populace. It is…

G thirty-three...G as in glorious revolution thirty three.

I recently spent some time in a similar command and control center at the Hilton.

Uh oh. I zoomed in on one of the computers and noticed this:

Well...that’s embarrassing.

IOC 2025. LMAO.

What the Air Force should do is upgrade about 500 F-16s to the “V” configuration, buy 500 new builds of a variant of the F-16V with the Block 60’s F110-GE-132 and new composite materials to reduce weight to F-16A levels, and then purchase 500 F-35As for the opening round of a high intensity conflict.

This is one of the most clear and thorough videos I’ve ever seen that described an aircraft crash (or anything really). Its creators were very thoughtful and really put a lot of effort into creating a clear picture. It’s really a work of great design.

Mork calling Orson.

Unless they’re dropping arms to the Kurds, they might as well be pushing out palates of $100 bills to ISIS and Al Qaeda.