F-35 Production

[Lunatik]

i can guarantee you the russians and the chinese are developing low frequency radar that will render all this stealth technology that we based our airforce around completely useless.

Again for the 1000th time, stealth doesn't mean invisible, it means LOW OBSERVABLE. Stealth technology simply absorbs, reflects in random directions and/or actively cancels the incoming microwave emissions so that the enemy radar will notice the aircraft at say 50 kilometers rather than 100 kilometers. Low frequency by definition means long wavelength, and it will require very large antenna surfaces or multiple sender/receiver units at several locations and will have to be placed geometrically, which adds up to the logistics and costs. Still, stealth aircraft will be less observable than their conventional counterparts and that makes A LOT OF difference in the battlefield!

Also the chinese have anti-satellite missiles that will also render our GPS-guided bombs useless.

And the USAF has airborne / space based laser that will render the Chinese anti-satellite missiles useless.

 

[Bacara]

Again for the 1000th time, stealth doesn't mean invisible, it means LOW OBSERVABLE. Stealth technology simply absorbs, reflects in random directions and/or actively cancels the incoming microwave emissions so that the enemy radar will notice the aircraft at say 50 kilometers rather than 100 kilometers. Low frequency by definition means long wavelength, and it will require very large antenna surfaces or multiple sender/receiver units at several locations and will have to be placed geometrically, which adds up to the logistics and costs. Still, stealth aircraft will be less observable than their conventional counterparts and that makes A LOT OF difference in the battlefield!



And the USAF has airborne / space based laser that will render the Chinese anti-satellite missiles useless.

That aircraft is still under devolopment, and do you think this will not be a prime target for enemy fighters, its huge, unprotected, and is key to the battlefield.

 

[Lunatik]

It's not under development. This is nothing new! Google "Airborne Laser Laboratory" and educate yourself. Taking down missiles with high-power laser has been around since the 1980s. That photo is from 2002. This is 2008. It uses a megawatt-class laser and I assure you, it's quite operational. Heck, it was operational back in 2002. It's continuously being perfected.

But that's not the point. Chinese anti-satellite missile relies on one very important thing for guidance, ground based radars. Guess what? Radars can be jammed and they do get jammed all the time in military exercises and actual battles. Luckily no one comes close to the USAF in terms of electronic warfare!

 

[A Can of Man]

By the way there's EMP.
Which means, game over.

 

[Lunatik]

By the way there's EMP.
Which means, game over.

Yeah, but I hear there are ways of protecting your gear against it. Like you don't want your handheld radio to be fried? You wrap some industrial grade aluminum foil around it, put it in a nylon bag and submerse it in water. Once the electomagnetic storm has come and gone, take it out and continue operation. The advantage of surprise is very important in an EMP attack. Well, I guess that's just like most other types of offense. But yeah, how do you submerse a 100 ton radar structure without harming it at such a short notice is beyond me.

An American EMP fired nearby will instantaneously fry most Chinese space-guidance radars. Likewise a jam or another type of electronic warfare technique will cause the missile to self-destruct and/or miss its intended satellite target. And for a possible Chinese EMP against NORAD teh US has these babies... Meet THAAD.

No country has a better high altitute theater defense capability than the US.

 

[A Can of Man]

If you set things to be protected from an EMP attack, you can't use it anyway. And chances are you won't know when America launched an EMP weapon.

 

[rock45]

F-35

How did this threat get from F-35s to EMP attack?

 

[A Can of Man]

Basically the whole thing with Stealth. Man I am so guilty of off topics...

 

[wolfen]

Hi wolfen
I don't think your a relic I think your somebody who feels very strongly about two great aircraft that served out country very well. I have a lot of respect for both types but I don't think you could call a F-14 a modern combat aircraft anymore. The US Navy/Government decided not to go down the upgrade route thus an end to a classic interceptor/fighter. I still think A-6s could be used as in house bomb trucks if stationed in A-Stan itself. Great range, great time in the air, systems should be modern enough to use some smart weapons, they could refuel each other, fully day/night capable.

Would being I think 10 plus years out of the Navy active squadrons be too long to use them? I assume their less costly to run then F-15E?

Trust me I'm a relic, but relics use relics and win ware fighting non relics \
I had a pilot once tell me its not the aircraft its the pilot, as he took his A-4 Skyhawk and simulated shooting down a F-117 that his radar didn't see, but he did
But I'd put A Tomcat and a good wing man against anything currently in the air. except maybe a Blackbird. They say they don't have any more Blackbirds, but then they told me I was 8 weeks pregnant after a polyurethane paint physical once too.

 

[Lunatik]

What's a polyurethane paint physical?

Talking of pilot skills being a major factor, the F-35 is said to have a relatively higher seat and a large bubble canopy and provides the pilot with a commanding view of his surroundings. After the small RCS/stealth functions are gone and the missiles are spent, this might really come in handy in a WVR cannon engagement/dogfight.

F-35 Cockpit

Pretty damn sweet.

 

[wolfen]

What's a polyurethane paint physical?

Talking of pilot skills being a major factor, the F-35 is said to have a relatively higher seat and a large bubble canopy and provides the pilot with a commanding view of his surroundings. After the small RCS/stealth functions are gone and the missiles are spent, this might really come in handy in a WVR cannon engagement/dogfight.

F-35 Cockpit

Pretty damn sweet.

A polyurethane paint physical, is a USN aviation requirement before you can paint with any polyurethane or epoxy polamide paints, either brush or spray, which was widely used in my mechanical field while I was in, I could give you the list or cancers and other "bad things" thease chemicals cause, but I don't know how to either spell or pronounce most of them.

BUT if anybody ever needs a "modern" fighter aircraft repaired, I have superglue here
Composite aircraft are like composite helicopters, and composite cars and everything else, they are not that hard to glue back together.

 

[A Can of Man]

THose things are so damned expensive that I'd make it illegal to go chase anything for a gunfight in one of those.

 

[c/Commander]

Then you might as well just ground them all

 

[Lunatik]

Composite aircraft are like composite helicopters, and composite cars and everything else, they are not that hard to glue back together.

Seriously? I always thought they use bolts or welding and stuff for that kind of thing.

 

[A Can of Man]

Then you might as well just ground them all

No, you send them off to do their stand off stuff but I don't want anyone flying a plane worth more than its own weight in gold looking for a damned gunfight with his 20mm Vulcan cannon. ESPECIALLY ground targets.

 

[wolfen]

Seriously? I always thought they use bolts or welding and stuff for that kind of thing.

Nope I was a rotor Dynamic component tech working in W/C 440 at AIMD NAS Norfolk, My shop overhauled every major component of many different aircraft and the one thing that always got me was that composite parts are riveted to the metal parts, but most composites pieces are glued together, on main rotor blades we used this stuff called EA-9309 to bond the layers of fiberglass and carbon graphite together, Any part near a hot surface had EA-9396 used on it instead because 9396 was high temp.
Always remember when you see a helicopter flying over, anybody can glue 2 pieces of plastic together, getting them to STAY together, that's the trick.

 

[Lunatik]

Nope I was a rotor Dynamic component tech working in W/C 440 at AIMD NAS Norfolk, My shop overhauled every major component of many different aircraft and the one thing that always got me was that composite parts are riveted to the metal parts, but most composites pieces are glued together, on main rotor blades we used this stuff called EA-9309 to bond the layers of fiberglass and carbon graphite together, Any part near a hot surface had EA-9396 used on it instead because 9396 was high temp.
Always remember when you see a helicopter flying over, anybody can glue 2 pieces of plastic together, getting them to STAY together, that's the trick.

Wow, I had no idea. It's amazing, thanks for the info Wolfen. Adhesive technology sure has gotten a lot more advanced since the good old 404 days.

 

[c/Commander]

No, you send them off to do their stand off stuff but I don't want anyone flying a plane worth more than its own weight in gold looking for a damned gunfight with his 20mm Vulcan cannon. ESPECIALLY ground targets.

Shame that these are slated to replace the A-10s then...

 

[A Can of Man]

Shame that these are slated to replace the A-10s then...

F-35 as a replacement for the A-10 = the stupidest idea in the world.
It's like using a sewing kit scissor made out of pure gold to cut large photos out of an A3 sized paper.

 

[c/Commander]

Agreed, but it's not my call and I don't have to fly them, so I won't complain.