Re: [FYI] World's Longest page on tracks vs wheels

--- Ryan Gill <rmgill@mindspring.com> wrote:

> I'm not convinced the F22 is a white elephant.
> Perhaps having worked 
> at LockMart for a time I'm biased, but I think it or
> the F23 are good 
> for the AF. So is JSF imho.

The USAF has NO competition, and will have none for
the next 20 years unless the Europeans sell their
newest fighters to the Chinese in wholesale lots (and
since the French are involved, this is possible).  The
F-15 can take almost any plane flying and fold it in
half--and that's with evenly matched pilots.  Oh,
yeah, and AMRAAMs are the best air to air missles
flying.  Given the extra edge the USAF has in pilot
training (except, obviously for IFF training since
zoomies can't tell a Blackhawk from a Hind D) over any
likely opponent (ie: The IDF and some European powers
are in our league as far as hours they can afford to
let their pilots fly.  No one else is.), WTF do they
did another expensive air superiority fighter for?

JSF's big problem is that it's too damn fast.  You
can't do CAS with a fast bird.

> The life cycle development cost for something based
> on an extant 
> chassis is very low. Either the Bradly chassis or
> the M113. Its not 
> nearly the same as developing a system from the
> ground up. Also, the 
> development costs get spread over the export sales
> too.

Yeah.  But we just can't afford it.  If you add all
the US Army procurement and R&D programs together and
compare it to individual procurement and R&D programs
(ie: CVNX, JSF, F-22, etc. etc.) it comes in as #8. 
Either the first 3 or 4 are aircraft procurement
programs.  None of which are for aircraft that the
military actually needs.

> >he M8 AGS.
> >
> >Hrm. . . I'm not 100% on this.
> >
> >If I had my way I'd mount them all in Wiesels.
> 
> Hmm. Perhaps. Though you can't mount a 105mm gun on
> a Wiesel.

If you're dropping your airborne into a fight where
they NEED a 105mm gun, you're misusing them.

John

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