Morale patches are fine, we wear them all the time and its a great, cheap and easy way to keep everyone happy on a long deployment. But we always cleaned it up and took them off when it was time to interact with the public. These guys are clearly clowns. 

Easy, chief. No matter what they used to be, they’re cops now. They’re not some mythical heroes going to battle on the front lines of freedom, they are *supposed* to serve and protect. These guys are kitted out like they just watched Zero Dark Thirty and want to kick in some doors. They look like clowns.

notice how that helicopter is chained to the deck... you can’t get ground resonance if the aircraft isn’t tied down, so that is an unlikely situation.

thats not how this works, thats not how any of this works!

Mike, would you recommend an electric bike as a good one for a beginning rider? I'm moving to a big city and want something better to commute in than my Mustang GT. Thanks for the help!

lol okay, sure man. Military pilot here, nobody is giving anyone “IQ tests”, engineering degree isn’t required (“poli-sci and fly” is a real thing), and you don’t have to know how to program the computer boxes to use them properly. Of course you have to be smart to understand how to fly, fix or fight an aircraft,…

Dude, I don’t know what Diaz’s problem is, but you’re right on man. That guy is too covered in tinfoil all the time. Making sweeping statements without the most up to date information is pretty silly, but then again this is an internet blog, not a reliable source of information on military hardware. Maybe Diaz is…

Nail on the head. A lot of people here are really interested in military topics, read a lot of blogs, but have no actual knowledge, training or experience to fully understand the incredibly complex nature of these systems and the missions they accomplish. Hell, most pilots I know don’t understand it either. The…

doesn't matter its fucking rad

god damn you’ve posted that like three times, please tell me thats real. I know its not but that would be so dope.

Bruh... have you used a targeting pod? I can see a man sized target from miles out. I can see if he’s carrying a gun, a stick or an RPG. I can shoot an APKWS from 3+ miles out. I can shoot a HELLFIRE from further than that. If I can fly close to the target because he can’t shoot me, I will. But if he can, standoff is…

Loiter time for a UAS carrying GBU-12 or APKWS is measured in hours. Many hours.

Dude, thanks for a really well thought out reply. The A-10 vs. Super Tucano (or any CAS platform replacement) choice is definitely tough, and its hard to match the total ordnance load out of the A-10. Jeb_Hoge is right about the rockets/APKWS, but that is still not a full solution, nor is it fielded in enough numbers.…

Best way to avoid a MANPAD is to stay out of the WEZ. Fly above a few thousand meters and they can’t touch you, no matter how good the seeker head is. Why give the bad guy a chance when you don’t have to? NOE complicates the mission, because CFIT has a Pk of 1. Let the helo bubbas who can’t fly high deal with that.

Or it could have been hit with one GBU-12 and you save yourself all those steps. There are lots of ways to skin a cat, I prefer using just one.

This is a general response to your comments to me:

A-10 can be beat by the 2S6, ZSU-23-4, SA-16/18/24... c’mon man. Modern air defense systems will tear right through that titanium bathtub. SEAD isn’t doing SHIT against a MANPAD. To make the A-10 “unbeatable” in that environment, it goes high. When you go high, you might as well make it a UAS, an F-16, an F/A-18,…

“we can afford to lose them if we do” Fuck you man. Aircraft are aircraft, but there are people in there. Putting pilots up there in an outdated airframe, and asking them to fight in an increasingly dangerous surface to air arena is bullshit.

Nothing about close air support means the aircraft is close to the target. It means the targets are in close proximity to friendly ground forces. For that you need precision.

That looked cool, but the building is still there. Targets inside might be dead, but in 20 minutes their buddies could fill up that building again and turn it back into a firing position. Then you have to do another 30mm run. and another. and another. OR... you drop an LJADM, a GBU-12, literally anything with more…