US military advantage has eroded, study says

Can you imagine designing a modern fighter on a drawing board?
All you would do is run around picking up the pieces.

 

A modern fighter can’t be designed anywhere except on a computer because they are all designed to be inherently unstable and only fly because of computer support.

 

There must be some point to all this ... why keep us in suspense?

 

The B-49 flew in 1947. Jack Northrop claimed the B-49 was terminated because Northrop wouldn't merge with Convair, but it seems it was the reduced range of the jet version.

 

I think they wanted more firepower they could get with the A-1.

 

Did you work on the design and testing? I knew engineers who were involved in the program and they said the stability issues were largely resolved. My understanding is there was some concerns about its effectiveness as a stable bombing platform.

 

The plunder of the US Treasury by war profiteers is and has been very much a bipartisan effort.

 

Another BLAME OBAMA and BLAME DEMOCRATS thread.

Just like the FAKE NEWS propaganda that we saw during the manufactured cold war when the right wingers promoted their ''nuclear gap" garbage. This cost us the loss of multiple billions of dollars while the infrastructure degenerated and is precisely what the anti-USA right wingers want again today.

 

Looking at the chart I'm thinking it also includes spending on military bases and paying those who serve on those bases.

 

Not I.

I didn't arrive in-country until June of 69.

 

Just about everything you see or use today originated from the military industrial complex from wide body jets, steel belted tires, cordless power tools, cell phones and the internet.

Well worth reading -> "What’s Going On?: California and the Vietnam Era"
https://www.amazon.com/Whats-Going-California-Vietnam-Era/dp/0520242440

Though the internet was created for the U.S. Air Force by DARPA, the book shows that if there was never a Vietnam War, there would be no internet today.

 

I don't think so.


https://gsa.federalschedules.com/resources/most-profitable-states-for-government-contractors/

 

The Navy and Marines Corps originally flew the Douglas A-1. But the A-1 uses avgas which is extremely flammable and explosive. The Navy wanted all avgas of its ships and the Marine corps didn't want avgas on its airfields. So the A-4 replaced the A-1 and the USAF took over the Navy's A-1 during the Vietnam War.

But even the USAF didn't like having avgas around since the fumes are deadly explosive.

The first Air Force A-10 pilots to fly the A-10 Warthog use to fly the A-1 Skyraider. All say that the A-1 was the best CAS aircraft that the Air Force ever flew.

Those in the CAS business list the top CAS aircraft as...
#1. Douglas A-1 Skyraider.
#2. Chance Vought F-4U Corsair.
#3. Fairchild Republic A-10 Warthog
#4. Douglas A-4 Skyraider.

 

War has become obsolete as the human race is in danger of becoming should a war ever be declared; It's just more conservative hysterics put out by defense contractors to guarantee business.

 

The best CAS aircraft that ever flew was the Il-2 Sturmovik, followed by the Hawker Typhoon.

 

We are spreading the blame around including President Clinton if you didn't notice.

 

Wisconsin ???

I suppose so, I remember those small little cups of Wisconsin cheese spread inside C-Rat boxes during the Vietnam War.

 

$2 billion worth of cheese... Yeah, sounds about right.

 

Don't confuse "Close Air Support" with "Battlefield Air Interdiction" that I've seen even generals do lately. They are different.

The U.S. Marines were the first to use aircraft to support ground troops on the ground during the Banana Wars.
A Marine on the ground using signal flags telling the pilot where to drop his bombs.
German military attaches observing the Marines during the Banana Wars caught on and would incorporate CAS into Blitzkrieg using radios on the ground telling Stuka pilots where to drop their bombs.

It wasn't until the war in the Pacific during WW ll forming Marine JACO companies that CAS started to be perfected and was perfected during the Korean War.

During a CAS mission you have a ground FAC (Forward Air Controller) preferably a fighter jock on the ground embedded with a rifle platoon or company in direct control of the attack aircraft telling the pilot what direction to come in from, how fast, how high or low, when to drop its ordance and when to vector and what direction after dropping its weapons load.

The procedure hasn't changed during the past 65 years.

No artillery, NGF, mortar fire support missions can be taking place in the area during a CAS mission. You don't want some CAS aircraft being hit in the air by a 155 mm artillery round.

The Il-2 Sturmovik, or the Hawker Typhoon could have been excellent CAS aircraft if they had Sturmovik ot Typhoon pilots on the ground controlling the CAS missions.

Where the U.S. Marine Corps prevails when it comes to CAS, every Marine officer no matter what his MOS is including pilots have been trained and qualified to lead a Marine rifle platoon in combat.

Marine grunts fly all Marine aircraft.

 

You do not need a FAC for a CAS. Any forward observer can do that job. The Typhoon and Sturmovik were most definitely CAS aircraft.

 

What aircraft during the past 18 years has killed more friendly troops during a CAS or BAI missions ?

The A-10 Warthog.

Who's fault was it most of the times ?

The Joint Terminal Attack Controller teams (JTAC) on the ground.

If I was a grunt needing CAS I would hope there was an ANGLICO team or ground FAC near by.

 

I’m going to bet that’s totally wrong. I guarantee there are far more blue on blue incidents with Apaches than anything else.

 

During a CAS mission or a ABI mission ?

If a CAS mission the blame will likely be the JTAC team.

 

During a CAS mission or a ABI mission ?

If a CAS mission the blame will likely be the JTAC team.

 

It was drunken seamen.