We did not ‘Get our asses kicked’ in Vietnam. The Tet Offensive was a military disaster for the NVA / VC and a tremendous victory for US and ARVN forces. We withdrew our forces because a Democrat-Controlled Congress betrayed Nixon (because of Watergate) and all the soldiers who had died since the war began when…

Sometimes, my eye twitches when I read Tyler’s articles. Then I read some of the commentators and remember this is part of the Gawker universe. It is what it is.

Aviation nuts and bolts, while visually similar to the stuff you find at Home Depot, isn’t the same thing. Ask any aviation engineer.

Your meme is bad and you should feel bad.

Stop pretending that the S-400 is invincible. It’s a SAM system, and just like any other SAM it emits a ton of electromagnetic energy and is very easy to find. In any conflict it would be the very first target to be destroyed.

Or the upcoming anti-radiation version of the Joint Strike Missile.

Yeah, it most-likely is.

And the M1 Abrams. And the Apache. And the Stryker. And the M-16 rifle...

The fly away cost for the f-35 is under 90 million in it’s next block. I would say your entire argument is done.

You don’t really have data to support that either way.

Exactly! The F-4 pilots had NO dogfight training/experience.

Have some remarks about that, hope ya don’t mind my $0.02:

Yes, those losses by F-4s limited by insane ROE, garbage training, and SAHM Sparrows and rear-aspect only Sidewinders should definitely shape how we design planes after another 50 years of technology development.

And the F-14 that everyone around here loves. Sure, it was pretty much designed around a radar system and missile that never worked, and someone had the bright idea to save costs by keeping an engine designed for the F-111 rather than the planned F100 (which was a decision that killed a few people, but whatever.) But…

LOL no.

Probably not much tbqh. Less hacking risk than our drones.

“But of course the F-35 is a disaster.”

“Remember, the 1.5 trillion cost, that’s for 40 years and 2k F-35s.”

Or it really could be taught quite the opposite. It’s going to be around for 40 years, and it’s looking at having one of the most successful testing phases of any modern jet. The next block of F-35s is coming in under 90 mill each, with engines......

This helm really is the game changer in the F-35. This is what will make this plane better than literally anything in the air when it comes to total battlefield visibility. The pilots will have a full 360 degree view of the airspace and targets around them without having to physically move their heads.

You can…

Sure, but it’s not about being good enough to win fights. It’s about being so good that nobody wants to pick a fight with you in the first place.