F-35 is such a turd.

Many years ago I was driving to Big Bend on a two lane highway with a couple of friends, out there in the empty part West Texas (yeah, there's lots of empty parts out there), when one of those monsters came roaring by, maybe 200 feet above the ground and only a few hundred feet from the car. Wow! Unforgettable.

 

No matter how crappy it is, it'll never rival the Seven-Turdy-Seven.

 

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/f-...r-force-seeks-to-extend-plane-life-2016-03-24

 

Bandwagoner where art thou?

 

It's depressing to think the projected technology advances are such that a fighter will remain viable for more than half a century. I guess the Pentagon does not think fusion powered humanoid combat robots or orbital area supremacy platforms are anywhere on the horizon. :grin:

 

. . . . . but we cannot afford free college?

Rocket River

 

Cool! Kind of a sedate flight for everyone, but still fun to watch. I kept wondering how it looked on radar. Could they have had something active on the fighter to give it a large blip on a radar display? To jack with anyone attempting to get a good look at just how stealthy it is?

I have to say that I still wish we had at least a couple of hundred more F-22's. The two fighters (the F-35 is more of fighter bomber, I think) were intended to work together during a conflict.

 

Didn't watch the video, but F-22, F-35 and China's J-20 etc usually have Luneburg lens installed during peacetime to artificially increase their radar signatures.

 

Israel's F-35s reportedly saw combat in a raging Syrian air war that smashed Russian defenses

• Israel used its US-made F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter jet in combat in the raging air war over Syria, making it the first country to ever to do so, its military confirmed on Tuesday.
• The F-35s took part in a major air battle in which Israel took out Russian-made defense systems in Syria, according to a former Israeli Air Force brigadier general.
• The presence of F-35s in the battle means that the US's newest stealth fighter may have come head to head with Russia's lauded missile defenses — and won.

http://www.businessinsider.com/isra...rian-air-war-that-hit-russian-defenses-2018-5

 

Distance from Israeli northern air bases to Syrian bases is 30-70 miles only(round trip), or about the distance from Houston to Galveston, not to mention the Russian DS wasn't functional, a 1990 taho with half tank of fuel , loaded with missiles could had accomplished the same result

 

F-18 uses a tiny 20mm. F-35 flexing it's GAU-22 muscles

 

Awesome! That's a long gif. So the Navy is finally beginning to integrate the F-35C, which turned out to be the most problematic of the 3 versions, which surprised me. I thought the F-35B would be the major pain in the ass. Nope. We have them deployed with the Marines on the Wasp out of Yokosuka, Japan today.

They've had Harriers on the Wasp class Amphibious Assault Ships for many years, and the vastly superior F-35B's are replacing them. Those ships are essentially 41,000 ton small aircraft carriers now being equipped with 5th generation fighters (they can carry up to 20 or even 24 F-35B's, depending on the mission), with the new 45,000 ton America class (without the well deck) even more deliberately air focused. They've created a major problem for potential enemies.

The Harriers, despite the success the British had with them in the Falklands, have a limited range and mainly are intended to support Marines during an opposed landing. There are 8 Wasp class (LHD's) and 3 America class (LHA's), one LHA deployed, one being deployed this year, and one (now with a small well deck) on order. That's 10 small aircraft carriers, with more on order, that are capable of carrying a significant number of 5th generation F-35's. Not to mention MV-22 Ospreys (large, fast tilt rotor aircraft) and a powerful force of Marines and their equipment. They are about the size of the French nuclear powered fixed wing aircraft carrier, Charles de Gaulle.

I enjoy reading about this stuff. It's a hobby for an old hippie who grew up surrounded by WWII and Korean War vets, in case anyone was wondering.

 

You libras fooled me. I thought it was a key on the keyboard. I was like, mine only goes up to F12!

 

Gun fires at 3300 rounds per minute and has a total ammo capacity of 180ish rounds. If you calculate that, it's about 3.25 seconds of total fire before you run empty. Maybe two quick pulls of the trigger. Gun on the F35 is not the most practical or flexable weapon ever. Certainly not going to do the same job as the GAU8 on the A10. Probably pretty useful if it gets in a WW2 style turn fight or has to shoot down s MIG 17, I guess.

 

I think it must be seen as the weapon of last resort during a dogfight (not the F-35's best feature - dogfighting) after the aircraft has run out of missiles. I agree that the ammunition load is very low. They will likely have it set to fire short bursts in order to make it last, at least a little bit. Otherwise, those shells will be gone in a moment.

 

By the end of this year, nearly 500 F-35 fighters will have been delivered to three U.S. military services and various allies. The plane is meeting all of its performance requirements, and the cost of each fighter is steadily declining. In fact, the most common variant of the fighter now costs no more to build than the latest version of the Cold War fighters it is replacing.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/lorent...eres-why-some-policymakers-dont-get-that/amp/