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0 pointsTloewald11y ago0 comments

Agreed. He was pretty down on the F15, which has proved pretty effective (if expensive). The F18 isn't VTOL, or "stealth", and isn't touted as an A10 replacement, so it's not completely insane.

That said, it's hard to measure the effectiveness of most US aircraft because they've never been operated in truly competitive conditions (the best measure is of aircraft which the israeli's use, since israel has often fought russian proxies such as Syria with late model aircraft and "advisors". By that measure, the F15 and F16 are unparalelled. The israelis don't use the F18 iirc, which says something.

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Retric11y ago

The F16 cost about 1/2 what an F15 cost. In the end the F16 allowed the F15 to be more focused which was a huge net win.

The crazy thing is the close air support and bomber roles are much better suited for drone aircraft so at least one of it's missions is pure BS from the start.

ericd11y ago

Honestly, I'm not sure why drones aren't considered better for air superiority as well - better power to weight ratio, no human-imposed G limits, probably better maneuverability due to better wing area to weight ratio, potential for 360 degree vision, and without needing to worried about losing highly trained pilots, you could also explore making many more cheap drones that are individually inferior but collectively superior.

JPKab11y ago

The dirty little secret in the USAF is that everyone knows drones are superior for fighters because of the human imposed G limit being removed, but its an organization run by former pilots and they hate the idea.

This is also why they require drone operators to be actual pilots despite the fact that there is zero need for that level of training. Its just a way to protect their idols.

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Noxchi11y ago

What about EMPs or communication attacks?

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pandemicsyn11y ago

I don't think CAS stuff is well suited for drones (at least not the current stuff). You want lots of ordnance and you want the forward observer on the ground to not have to talk to someone possibly 100's of miles away right?

Also, I don't know that I buy that the drone pilot has the same local/situational awareness that a pilot sitting in an A-10/Apache does.

thetinguy11y ago

Why? The drone pilot has been flying around that area for much longer than the A10. He is a fully trained pilot as well, except he has fantastic cameras and doesn't really have to worry about dying. I think you are underestimating the effectiveness of remotely piloted aircraft.

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akira250111y ago

Also, isn't that one of the yet unrealized capabilities of a drone? You can have a control unit embedded with the forward observer so they can directly control the drone. Depending on their design you could have them land at the nearest FOB or directly at the line and re-arm it as desired.

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0 pointsTloewald11y ago0 comments

Agreed. He was pretty down on the F15, which has proved pretty effective (if expensive). The F18 isn't VTOL, or "stealth", and isn't touted as an A10 replacement, so it's not completely insane.

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Retric11y ago

The F16 cost about 1/2 what an F15 cost. In the end the F16 allowed the F15 to be more focused which was a huge net win.

The crazy thing is the close air support and bomber roles are much better suited for drone aircraft so at least one of it's missions is pure BS from the start.

ericd11y ago

JPKab11y ago

This is also why they require drone operators to be actual pilots despite the fact that there is zero need for that level of training. Its just a way to protect their idols.

1 more reply

Noxchi11y ago

What about EMPs or communication attacks?

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pandemicsyn11y ago

Also, I don't know that I buy that the drone pilot has the same local/situational awareness that a pilot sitting in an A-10/Apache does.

thetinguy11y ago

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akira250111y ago

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