W. Thomas Smith, Jr. has the top story at Human Events today.
Test pilot Jon Beesley — one of only two men on the planet to have flown both the F-35 Lightning II and the F-22 Raptor — says aerial combat is not two gunfighters facing each other in the middle of the street, drawing pistols, and shooting it out.
“That’s High Noon, that’s Gary Cooper,” says Beesley, 59, a grandfather of 16 and a former Air Force fighter pilot who now test flies experimental and prototype fighter-aircraft for Lockheed Martin. “Air combat has always been about stealth; about being able to get into position to kill the other guy — preferably unobserved — and if you are observed, being able to outmaneuver him.“Ever heard of fighter pilots wanting to come out of the sun or the clouds? That’s why they want to do it. They don’t want their opponent to see them. That’s stealth.”
/snicker
stixxxnstones Thursday, October 29th at 10:13AM EDT (link)I’m on my way in to the AF at the moment…off to the training station in mid-February.
Oh man, I can’t wait >:D
What base are you going to?
Wing Zero Thursday, October 29th at 9:39PM EDT (link)Cause I can probably provide some insight…
1-21-09 - We are so screwd
World War I Stealth
rickz77 Thursday, October 29th at 2:36PM EDT (link)“Beware of the Hun in the Sun”
Infantry Combat is much the same way these days.
Raven Thursday, October 29th at 6:33PM EDT (link)The best way to not get hit tis to hit from where they can’t see you…
“Unlike cruel liberty that requires you to stand and take responsibility for your choices, kind tyranny requires only that you kneel and surrender your choices.”
Look For More Cuts In Cutting-Edge Airplanes
Ausonius Thursday, October 29th at 7:08PM EDT (link)ObaMao does not want the U.S. to have an advantage anywhere, and as a crypto-pacifist he does not want to have to use any weapons.
Always remember this speech:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dl32Y7wDVDs
This version has an interesting commentary on the missile defense system:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COl4soeox6Y
Senator Inhofe has some interesting comments from April:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnsYKmFb8VA
We're at war and we're not producing a fighter plane right now
red_refugee Thursday, October 29th at 9:16PM EDT (link)Given that we had almost a trillion to spend on “economic stimulus” it was insane to say that we couldn’t spare a few billion a year to keep the F-22 line open. At $130m each, the F-22 is a bargain compared to the Japanese F-2 or the Eurofighter. Those also cost over $100m each, but are much smaller, aren’t stealth, and don’t have thrust vectoring.
Cutting the F-22 is just part of Barry’s plan to weaken the military and part of Gates’s plan to move all defense production to Texas.
That's why I've hated "Top Gun" since Tech School...
Wing Zero Thursday, October 29th at 9:42PM EDT (link)It did NOT depict real air to air combat.
1-21-09 - We are so screwd