F-35 1v1, better bring a Viper instead
#21
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Jul 2008
Position: 737 Right
Posts: 305
For $1.4 Trillion, you get a modern F-4....except the F-4 could carry up to 11,000 lbs of stores.
Agreed. Block 50-60 Vipers and C/E/F Hornets are more than "adequate." They're still really good, despite origins in the 1970s.
The problem has always been: all eggs were placed in the Stealth Basket for this disaster. It compromised aerodynamics (bulky fuselage for internal weapons carriage), which led to all the other problems: non-bubble canopy to reduce drag; requires fancy EO system to check 6; doesn't work; helmet doesn't really fit narrow canopy. Bulky fuselage makes lots of unpredictable lift at high AoA; get wing roll-off; limit g and AoA for even more mediocre performance. Still too draggy, range compromised, more gas, now too heavy for wing area to maneuver like a 5th gen fighter. Take out "non-essential" stuff to make it lighter in pointless bid to make the performance seem better, such as self-sealing tanks, hydraulic fuses, THE GUN....
And worst of all, the radar cross section (which I once read, I believe in Aviation Week, was to be 10% of an F-16), is instead 90% of an F-16.
And, since the design was hacked multiple times by China, and China has fielded a new portable radar that works in a new UHF frequency range, has probably negated most of its "stealthiness."
For the same money, I'd rather get 3-4 Vipers or 2-3 Hornets.
Plus, in a BVR ROE war, the thing only carries two Air-Air missiles.
Good luck with that.
Agreed. Block 50-60 Vipers and C/E/F Hornets are more than "adequate." They're still really good, despite origins in the 1970s.
The problem has always been: all eggs were placed in the Stealth Basket for this disaster. It compromised aerodynamics (bulky fuselage for internal weapons carriage), which led to all the other problems: non-bubble canopy to reduce drag; requires fancy EO system to check 6; doesn't work; helmet doesn't really fit narrow canopy. Bulky fuselage makes lots of unpredictable lift at high AoA; get wing roll-off; limit g and AoA for even more mediocre performance. Still too draggy, range compromised, more gas, now too heavy for wing area to maneuver like a 5th gen fighter. Take out "non-essential" stuff to make it lighter in pointless bid to make the performance seem better, such as self-sealing tanks, hydraulic fuses, THE GUN....
And worst of all, the radar cross section (which I once read, I believe in Aviation Week, was to be 10% of an F-16), is instead 90% of an F-16.
And, since the design was hacked multiple times by China, and China has fielded a new portable radar that works in a new UHF frequency range, has probably negated most of its "stealthiness."
For the same money, I'd rather get 3-4 Vipers or 2-3 Hornets.
Plus, in a BVR ROE war, the thing only carries two Air-Air missiles.
Good luck with that.
Your data on the RCS is WAY, WAY off target. Trust me on that one. A Viper or in reality a MIG or Chinese fighter or Rafael or Typhoon will never see it before a F-35 already has missiles in the air.
#22
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Oct 2014
Position: Downward-Facing Dog Pose
Posts: 1,537
to add insult to injury, the JSF flier discovered he couldn’t even comfortably move his head inside the radar-evading jet’s cramped cockpit. “The helmet was too large for the space inside the canopy to adequately see behind the aircraft.”
A $1+ trillion hunk of junk.
I don't care what anyone says.
When a SE fighter designed in the 1970's (F-16) can easily and regularly defeat a SE fighter designed in the 21st century (F-35)....and it did...something is terribly, terribly wrong.
Period. End of story.
#23
Line Holder
Joined APC: Dec 2014
Posts: 90
Wait a sopwith camel has a tighter turn radius than a viper. So should we go with that instead?
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05-15-2007 10:23 PM