Some good news on the F-35

I think that those who disparage the F-35 relative to its capabilities in an air superiority role may be placing too much emphasis on how such a role was carried out in the past rather than the future. The days of turn & burn WVR dogfighting are over and those who seek to engage in such action will be dead. Yes... I know that was said before Vietnam and I recognize the debacle that was - but reality has changed. Computer processing capabilities today have made game changing advances in missile accuracy and reliability.

My brother in law (Annapolis - career navy) now works for Lockheed. The group he works with is focused on war gaming and fantasy "what-if" scenarios for the purpose of identifying dream capabilities and turning them into reality. He has seen a lot of F-35 data and testing results and has shared some interesting insights into how wars of the future are most likely to be fought.

The sort of air superiority fight the F-35 is likely to engage in will not look anything like the past. The F-35 pilot will often "kill" an enemy air target without ever seeing it or firing any weapons himself at all.

An F-35 utilizing stealth to gain access to highly contested airspace can utilize sensor technology (radar - IR - LR camera tech and other sensor capabilities) to detect and develop a targeting track on an enemy aircraft 100+ miles away. It can then send that data in real time to an arsenal ship or plane that may be flying many hundreds of miles away. The arsenal ship then can do the actual firing or a long range anti-air missile. The bad guy will likely never know the F-35 was anywhere in the area.

Pairing F-35s with arsenal planes could be a total game changer. Think B-52s or B-1s (or repurposed retired 747's converted to arsenal ship drones...) carrying dozens if not hundreds of long range anti-air missiles on rotary launchers. Link them to both air and ground assets of all kinds for EW and targeting data. Defend them with anti-missile rapid fire laser turrets. You get the idea.

 

No plan of battle survives first contact with the enemy (quote attributed to various individuals). Suggest your BIL study what happens when the enemy, who knows all about these great ideas, knocks out your critical 'links' as the first order of their battle plan. In other words, always have a plan 'B'.

 

Glad we are paying people to come up with this stuff...I feel so much safer now knowing we have fantasy guys working on it!

 

We still do not have an F-35A out there with a fully combat ready OFP. Will be interesting to see what she can do with full-up capability.

 

Canada Buys New F-18s After Canceling Its Order for the F-35

Canada announces they have cancelled their orders and will use the F-18 for now. They want to have a competition to choose the next plane.

 

They should bring back the Avro Arrow and make Canada great again.

 

Australia purchased a batch of Super Hornets. It will be a long time (if ever) before the U.S. procures a manned F-35 replacement. The U.S. will never field 1,700+ F-35A/B/C airframes.

The B model makes more sense in my opinion. Dispersing the jets close to the battlefield in small numbers offers a lot of benefits over fixed bases and the required tanker operations. Of course, the B model is more expensive, has short legs, and carries less ordnance.

 

I saw this float past the other day..

I had to lookup "Growler".. but if based on Super Hornet it could just we well be still called a "Super Hornet" as far as general description goes?

...

"In a farewell flight, No. 6 Squadron will take to the skies for the last time flying the F/A-18F Super Hornets before preparing to transition to the EA-18G Growler next year.

The jets will fly south towards Evans Head Range, then track at low level along the coast near Coolangatta, Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast, to Double Island. Returning west to Amberley at low level, the aircraft will circle the base and “Fan Pitch” before landing.

While residents in NE NSW and south east Queensland may be used to seeing the Super Hornets track along the coast for training exercises, this flight is a special send off for No. 6 Squadron that has flown the Super Hornet since 2011. It is also an opportunity for Air Force to thank the local communities for their ongoing support.

Following this flight, the Super Hornets will re-locate to No.1 Squadron at RAAF Base Amberley, to make way for the EA-18G Growler Airborne Electronic Attack aircraft set to join No. 6 Squadron in 2017.

The EA-18G Growler is a specialised Electronic Warfare (EW) variant of the F/A-18F Super Hornet, designed to support friendly ground, sea and air operations through its capability to detect, analyse, identify, disrupt, deter and destroy adversary radar and communications systems."

 

The EA-18G 'Growler' replaced the EA-6B 'Prowler'. The EA-6 was a 4 seater, but with modern electronics they are automating things a bit.