RAH66/F22

[Penguin]

it truly scares me some of the stuff i see from our youth.

 

-Penguin

[flight17]

With Drones:

Sarge: Hey, look!  It's an angry mob!
Me: Captain!  We could use some help with the mob! 
Captain: *Opens Laptop* *click, click*
Pilot: Eye-in-the-sky-that-makes-Hajjis-cry pain delivery service, how may I help you?
Captain: Yes, we'd like a double order of with a side of awesome sauce
Pilot: *Click* *Click*
BOOM!

See the difference?

-Penguin
 

but wait... the internet is out... now what will you do?

[Penguin]

Or,

Oops, the Hogs are busy
Oops, the Colonel is asleep
Oops, the Hogs are being fixed

If the internet is out, then the radio can be used to get link to a FOB, just like with the Hogs.

-Penguin

[flight17]

Or,

Oops, the Hogs are busy
Oops, the Colonel is asleep
Oops, the Hogs are being fixed

If the internet is out, then the radio can be used to get link to a FOB, just like with the Hogs.

-Penguin

but remember the number is no longer available and the Colonel is asleep....

Guess your just SOL either way 

[CAP1]

Or,

Oops, the Hogs are busy
Oops, the Colonel is asleep
Oops, the Hogs are being fixed

If the internet is out, then the radio can be used to get link to a FOB, just like with the Hogs.

-Penguin

the hogs will be busy. they'll be busy making our ground troops problems go away. and they will do it more efficiently than anyone could imagine.

almost forgot......the hogs are pretty much the only warplane that will go un-effected when those that wish us harm figure out codes, and how to interfere with out satellite comms.

[Tac]

what if its a hog pilot flying the UAV? 

[CAP1]

what if its a hog pilot flying the UAV? 

no self respecting hog pilot will go sit in a room and fly a uav.

[Raptor]

You do realize that the people flying the UAV's did fly in the airforce before moving to UAVs? Many of them will make the switch because they are starting families and want to be with their wife/children?
This article mentions some F-16 and F-15 pilots now flying UAVs.
http://www.airforce-magazine.com/MagazineArchive/Pages/2009/January%202009/0109UAV.aspx

However I think the thread has gone off topic which is why I have quit posting. My point was simply 10 X is better than 1 F-22 for the current environment. Where X can be an A-10, F-16, Reaper/Predator, etc.

As per some of the posters wild theories...
Once you get over the Cool factor of the F-22 and RAH-66 and look at the logistics, it makes more sense to spend money elsewhere.

[Tac]

"My point was simply 10 X is better than 1 F-22 for the current environment. Where X can be an A-10, F-16, Reaper/Predator, etc."

but... the whole point of the F-22 is to be the plane that will be operating in a future environment. 

[Penguin]

Right, but that means we ought to save it for later.

-Penguin

[Wildcat1]

it's just idiotic. the F-35 is a far inferior plane to not only the F-22, but the F-15 and F/A-18 as well.

it would cost more to overhaul a squadron of F-15s than it would to build a squadron of F-22s. a single aircraft does not cost $140 million, my friends in the aviation buisiness tell me

[flight17]

it's just idiotic. the F-35 is a far inferior plane to not only the F-22, but the F-15 and F/A-18 as well.

it would cost more to overhaul a squadron of F-15s than it would to build a squadron of F-22s. a single aircraft does not cost $140 million, my friends in the aviation buisiness tell me

The plane itself probably doesnt, but i bet with everything we put into them it does. Hell a simple 737 is nearly 90mil depending on variant so it wouldnt supprise me for an F-22 that is technology wise is far more complex and advanced. 

[B3YT]

it wont cost the manufacturer that much but it will the department of defence . ever hear of mark up? how do you think they stay in business?  the f22 ect is already out of date in some ways . the possible enemies that the f22 would be used against could (and have to some extent) gain a SAM system that can  lock onto stealth aircraft. if i remember the RAF tracked a B2 across it's airspace a few years ago and got a lock onto it with a modified SAM system when it approached the airfield .  I think I read that the radar operators followed a "hole" in the radar . they linked up weather radars that showed thin cloud layers and watched a hole travel across the radar screen in the cloud layer .   

Obviously not very practical as they knew it was coming but it does show that if you know what do look for you can find it or bodge your way to a solution .  it's one reason that the euro fighter is not stealth and why most other countries are not to bothered by such "black" projects.    really such airframes are made for a "bling" factor more than any other.

 the f35 is not as bad an aircraft as people suggest . The RAF and Fleet Air Arm have shown that STOL or VTOL aircraft with limited payloads can be useful; even more so than some conventional designs  . I'm sure the USMC can also attest to this . being able to operate from   smaller  or rough areas  can make it difficult to stop operations from
   being undertaken  . thats why all Saab aircraft have been designed to be able to take off from roads or grass strips (like the viggen and grippen). 

[soda72]

For Close Air Support the boots on the ground will want assets that will be available to them for the longest period of time.  UAV's fill in that role nicely.  The amount of bad press about them being unethical is a testament to their effectiveness in the area. 

However I think relying completely on UAV's would be a bad idea since they haven't been used against a capable enemy yet.  An enemy that has the ability to engage them in the field or the capability to take out satellite's that support them.

until that happens, please keep the A-10 handy...

 

[Babalonian]

For Close Air Support the boots on the ground will want assets that will be available to them for the longest period of time.  UAV's fill in that role nicely.  The amount of bad press about them being unethical is a testament to their effectiveness in the area. 

However I think relying completely on UAV's would be a bad idea since they haven't been used against a capable enemy yet.  An enemy that has the ability to engage them in the field or the capability to take out satellite's that support them.

until that happens, please keep the A-10 handy...

 

The day they reveal an A-10 UAV version, I'm giving up my life to join the Air Force, even if only to sweep the hangers they'll never park them in.