Ad: This forum contains affiliate links to products on Amazon and eBay. More information in Terms and rules
F-22 in my book. 187 aircraft for a total program cost of over US$80 billion in 2020 dollars. That's US$428 million per aircraft.The development and intent of the TFX / F-111 aircraft was about as controversial as you can get.
F-22 in my book. 187 aircraft for a total program cost of over US$80 billion in 2020 dollars. That's US$428 million per aircraft.
Economy of scale.F-22 in my book. 187 aircraft for a total program cost of over US$80 billion in 2020 dollars. That's US$428 million per aircraft.
More like, did anybody ask the pilots what they wanted or needed? ...well,..uh,...no, but what does that matter? In the end Congress saw fit to fund a fix for the USAF, but not USN.Sending F-4 Phantom IIs to tangle with Vietnamese MiG-19 and MiG-21 without a gun was a controversial design decision, or should have been IMO. Did anyone ask the pilots what they wanted or needed?
The ultimate Macnamara "pignorantism"!The development and intent of the TFX / F-111 aircraft was about as controversial as you can get.
And worth every penny. Believe me when I say it is untouchable at the moment.
The F-22 program reminds me of the Seawolf-class SSNs, both considered by Congress as technological overkill in the post Cold War period, at an unsustainable price tag. One replaced by the F-35, the other by the Virginia-class SSN.And for many years to come, I think.
Geopolitical situation apart, probably F-22 has been so successful to convince Pentagon that even a much less number of planes was sufficient to scare potential enemies.
But of course they won't tell that in these terms..
The F-22 program reminds me of the Seawolf-class SSNs, both considered by Congress as technological overkill in the post Cold War period, at an unsustainable price tag. One replaced by the F-35, the other by the Virginia-class SSN.
The F-22 can't do the F-35's strike role, but isn't the F-35 being asked to do what the F-22 was intended for, that of air superiority? The Lightning is certainly being marketed as multirole aircraft with a strong air superiority capability. That's what the USN is hoping they're getting.The F-22 is not being replaced by the F-35. They are fulfill two different roles.
The F-22 can't do the F-35's strike role, but isn't the F-35 being asked to do what the F-22 was intended for, that of air superiority? The Lightning is certainly being marketed as multirole aircraft with a strong air superiority capability. That's what the USN is hoping they're getting.
I understand. But the F-35 is being asked to do the role of the 22. When I think of the F-15 it's the multirole Strike Eagle, not the pure fighter variant that comes to mind.The F-35 is not built to do the air superiority roll of the 22.
I understand. But the F-35 is being asked to do the role of the 22. When I think of the F-15 it's the multirole Strike Eagle, not the pure fighter variant that comes to mind.
The first F-22 was introduced in 2005 and has an estimated 30 year lifespan, and as they begin retiring in the the next fifteen years and the number of Lightnings increases into the hundreds, the F-35 is going to have to fill the F-22's role. By 2040, about nineteen years from today there will be no F-15 or F-16 in US service, and an increasingly declining number of F-22s. It's going to be thousands of F-35 and whatever Skynet-controlled ROV the complex has flogged.