Report: In test dogfight, F-35 gets waxed by F-16

[jamil]

Yes, there is that.
This past year was the hottest year on record, I heard. I watched a movie last night 'Snowpiercer' (Netflix) where to fix the warming planet they sprayed a chemical in the air. It worked so well that the planet froze solid. All that was left of humanity was on an endlessly moving train. Do you like trains...?

After all the honey bees die, how 'bout drones for pollination in our Brave New World?

When you are young you know you will die, but not in your lifetime......

Aren't they all though?

 

[IndyDave1776]

Nikes?

View attachment 39994

Bomb them with...shoes?

That will always be the limiting factor. You can design the best restraints possible but you organs will still move.

I could see such things being difficult to adequately restrain:

 

[T.Lex]

Another necro-thread, but I can't find the other one(s) in which we were discussing USAF stuff.

Anyway, Mattis wants 80% readiness for some airframes, but that's kinda a numbers game.
https://www.defensenews.com/air/201...-readiness-to-jump-to-80-percent-in-one-year/

But then, the F-35s appear to be completely grounded now, pending inspections.... or something.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-45827795

 

[Tryin']

The F-35 will go down in history as the Bradley Fighting Vehicle of airframes. Feature creep at its worst.

To quote fictional character Ron Swanson: “Never half-ass two things. Whole-ass one thing.”

 

[KellyinAvon]

Another necro-thread, but I can't find the other one(s) in which we were discussing USAF stuff.

Anyway, Mattis wants 80% readiness for some airframes, but that's kinda a numbers game.
https://www.defensenews.com/air/201...-readiness-to-jump-to-80-percent-in-one-year/

But then, the F-35s appear to be completely grounded now, pending inspections.... or something.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-45827795

80% FMC rate. Gotta be tactical aircraft. The numbers games played with spare parts and whether a unit can meet wartime commitments Will make you go screaming into the woods.

 

[Alamo]

Readiness rates depend not only on how prone an aircraft is to break, but whether you provide the parts, logistics, and people to fix them. Peace time rates are often low, people want to save money. Wartime rates are 90%+, because it becomes a priority.

Grounding fleet for problems is not unique to the F-35, portions of the F-15 fleet were grounded twice this year (2018). The problems with the F-35 are hashing out new systems. With the F-15, people are worried about wearing it out.

Other new on the F-35: F-35 Dominates At Red Flag With 15:1 Kill Rate | Defense content from Aviation Week

The Aviation Week article is behind a paywall, so Popular Mechanics published on based on the AW article: https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/aviation/a25078/f-35-red-flag-war-games/

The F-35 is not designed to be a one v. one dogfighter, but it appears to be a combination advanced AWACS and fighter rolled into one. Red Flag is THE Olympics of wargames, next stop is actual battle.

 

[ATOMonkey]

Readiness rates depend not only on how prone an aircraft is to break, but whether you provide the parts, logistics, and people to fix them. Peace time rates are often low, people want to save money. Wartime rates are 90%+, because it becomes a priority.

Grounding fleet for problems is not unique to the F-35, portions of the F-15 fleet were grounded twice this year (2018). The problems with the F-35 are hashing out new systems. With the F-15, people are worried about wearing it out.

Other new on the F-35: F-35 Dominates At Red Flag With 15:1 Kill Rate | Defense content from Aviation Week

The Aviation Week article is behind a paywall, so Popular Mechanics published on based on the AW article: https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/aviation/a25078/f-35-red-flag-war-games/

The F-35 is not designed to be a one v. one dogfighter, but it appears to be a combination advanced AWACS and fighter rolled into one. Red Flag is THE Olympics of wargames, next stop is actual battle.

I agree, the F-35 represents the next generation of fully integrated warfare. Not the cobbled together system we have now that all has to be relayed through JSOC.

While the pilot is still needed to fly the craft, his/her job is much more about interfacing with all available assets in the area of operation.

 

[Thor]

F-35s are grounded for a fuel line that may be bad. Expected return to ops after inspection / replacement in 24-48 hrs.

 

[Thor]

Red Flag is THE Olympics of wargames, next stop is actual battle.

Don't even get me started...

 

[Thor]

F-35s are returning to flight.

Red Flag remains an overpriced, overrated carefully orchestrated ballet that a pilot may get to a few times in their career, maybe, while sucking the money out of the rest of the training community .

JPARC and Eglin are running a close second. They put training in their name but put test at the front of all else...more money there...plus they get the training money too by pretending to be crown jewels of such. I suppose they are crown jewels, very pretty but accessible to few, commoners may be allowed an audience.

 

[hoosierdoc]

We’re in destin, the other day 25 miles out on a fishing trip. An f-15 (we think) does a slow and low overhead pass over us and three other boats. Then it banks a turn, comes screaming at us at what seems like under 1000’ and when it gets over us the pilot pulls back and opens it up. We can see the individual circular fireball and radial pattern of the cones. He climbs up like that for 5-6 seconds and then rolls upside down, turns, and flies away.

I loved every second of it. Couldn’t hear my dad who was three feet away

 

[KellyinAvon]

We’re in destin, the other day 25 miles out on a fishing trip. An f-15 (we think) does a slow and low overhead pass over us and three other boats. Then it banks a turn, comes screaming at us at what seems like under 1000’ and when it gets over us the pilot pulls black and opens it up. We can see the individual circular fireball and radial pattern of the cones. He climbs up like that for 5-6 seconds and then rolls upside down, turns, and flies away.

I loved every second of it. Couldn’t hear my dad who was three feet away

Big-ass fighter with twin-tails and twin engines? That's an Eagle! Only ones down there now have "OT" on the tail (my last Wing in the USAF the 53d Wing, operational test is the OT) since the 33d Fighter Wing is now the training unit for the F-35. We were down there in 2013 and it hurt me to see the Air Education and Training Command patch on the 33d Fighter Wing. The Nomads shot the hell out of Rommel's Afrika Corps with P-40s in WWII and Saddam's Air Force with F-15s in Desert Storm.

 

[Thor]

Big-ass fighter with twin-tails and twin engines? That's an Eagle!

The flying tennis court...the AF may be up for buying the F15X to replace aging C models for the air defense units; 22 air to air missiles, conformal fuel tanks, AESA RADAR, modern 4th Gen+ cockpits, upgraded engines...