T Bolt
Colonel
Shouldn't that be one for the price of two?
This is the government we're talking about about here.
B21 Bomber
- Thread starter DBII
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This is the government we're talking about about here.
Barrett
Senior Airman
Turns out that is correct. Two industry sources--who are Designation Purists--confirmed it. Never mind what The Rules say, let alone history or logic!
Case in point:
The "mysterious" skip from F-24 to F-35 was due to the suit who ran the Joint Strike Fighter press conference, announcing the L-M selection. He was unprepared for the basic question: what's the designation of THE most expensive military/defense/whatever contract ever? A sideliner said "Ask Joe/Bil/whatever--he knows!" Joe-Bill-whatever (a marine, as I recall) said, Well, the prototype was the X-35 so...."
Subsequently L-M released an announcement insisting "The F-35 designation was not a mistake."
Yeahright...and I won't go into my patented Rant about the entire JSF program as a mistake!
Sheesh.
FLYBOYJ
"THE GREAT GAZOO"
I guess another Marine made the same statement about the X-32??
- Thread starter
- #24
DBII
Senior Master Sergeant
Was that a 24 crayola box or 64?I guess another Marine made the same statement about the X-32??
FLYBOYJ
"THE GREAT GAZOO"
Both X-32 and X-35 were destined to receive a fighter designation "F" upon award of the contract.
- Thread starter
- #26
DBII
Senior Master Sergeant
Always thought the X32 and an interesting look.
FLYBOYJ
"THE GREAT GAZOO"
GrauGeist
Generalfeldmarschall zur Luftschiff Abteilung
Hey now, it's just happy to be out and about.
- Thread starter
- #29
DBII
Senior Master Sergeant
Put on a happy face. Looks like something out of a Pixar show. Google Image Result for https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f7/Mater_%28Cars%29.png
hawkeye2an
Staff Sergeant
I don't see a corkscrew
Snautzer01
Honourably banned
- 38,141
- Mar 26, 2007
Thats because you do not have extra special clearance.
hawkeye2an
Staff Sergeant
I never got past that double secret probation
SaparotRob
Unter Gemeine Geschwader Murmeltier XIII
I just watched a YT video on the B-21 by Animarchy History. The last minute of it has a "wiifu" version of Wild Blue Yonder as he lists his donors. It's great.
33k in the air
Staff Sergeant
- 1,215
- Jan 31, 2021
FLYBOYJ
"THE GREAT GAZOO"
No. I knew people who worked on the X-35 program and well before the contract was awarded it was understood the winner of the fly off would have their demonstrator's designation changed. I don't buy these theories about misidentification of aircraft designations as the result of a press conference flub. The only one we know for sure who screwed up the announcement of an aircraft designation was LBJ when he introduced the SR-71 which should have been "RS-71"
The gap from F-24 to F-34 could have happened for a number of reasons, some we may never know.
syscom3
Pacific Historian
So now we will have four Bombers. Will the B2's be retired as B21's come off the assembly line?
FLYBOYJ
"THE GREAT GAZOO"
AFAIK the B-1 will go first followed by the B-52. I think you'll see a mixed force of B-2 and B-21s for a while before the B-2 goes away. Mind you a different command structure can come in and re-prioritize the whole thing.
syscom3
Pacific Historian
An intelligence misdirection ploy, to fool Russia and the PRC on which programs were "paper projects" with no intention of ever flying. And which one(s) were the real thing.
