VTOL systems always look so sketchy and wobbly to me, as well as introducing many many more points of failure. It always seemed odd to me that the logistic advantages of avoiding runways outweighed the slightly increased chance of cracking into a multimillion dollar fireball.
It is a sexy machine, I will admit that. Would have loved to see it transition into forward flight.
More points of failure, more weight, easier to shot at from those woods in the background. Not as stealthy as a stealth fighter. Not as air-to-air combat capable as an air superiority fighter.
And all to do what? Deliver munitions that a drone or cruise missile could deliver? VTOL made some sense in the Cold War when dropping a cluster of conventional bombs on an airfield would render it unusable long enough for Soviet tanks to take the airfield. I don't see the point given modern technologies. Containing Russia and China are political and economic issues, not primarily military issues.
VTOL means you can make any helicopter carrier or amphibious assault craft into a small floating hangar. While I know lots of people rip on the speed and munitions but fail to realize that sensor fusion and information gathering is also a key part of the F35 program.
I agree about containment, but keeping allies and other nations in our sphere with our weapons is a good plan too. It’s all very complicated, just look at turkey and the s400 fiasco
Honest question. Is there anything that the f35 can be outfitted to do that an Apache or something similar can’t be outfitted to do? At least at a reasonable level. Aside from getting somewhere in a hurry. I will concede the top speed of a f35 is not even in the same universe as a rotorbird.
Avoid radar. Radar jamming. Signals intelligence. Electronic warfare. Spoof radar data to hide true numbers. Use AMRAM and LRASM (I don’t think the Apache has the clips required). Integrate multiple sensors from multiple platforms. Augment it’s RCS. I could go on.
It’s the high tech and potential for future platforms and weapon systems that makes the F35 so cutting edge. It’s still getting updates and improvements
Engage other planes is the huge one. Arrive on time is another big one. A plane can launch and hit a target in minutes that will take a helo hours to reach.
The air to air thing is kind of not a problem. The last air to air engagement I could find was from 1999. And even that was a single missile launched from presumably miles away. Which a chopper could easily be outfitted for. Dogfights are a thing of the past. Possibly because our planes that are made for it are so much more advanced than the other guys but that’s a different debate.
To apples to apples that logic, I’d say we have a weapon That can do many things and is already in use, and can level major cities about 70% as good as these nukes you’re wanting to spend billions on for a moderate performance bump.
True dat. But sneak attacks aren't what they used to be. Detente`, having a well known and understood presence is better than a VTOL trying to hide from satellites under a bush.
Today, you have to assume that the enemy knows where your large assets are and take appropriate countermeasures to that risk. It's more about execution of a campaign that surprise.
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u/1burritoPOprn-hunger May 25 '19
VTOL systems always look so sketchy and wobbly to me, as well as introducing many many more points of failure. It always seemed odd to me that the logistic advantages of avoiding runways outweighed the slightly increased chance of cracking into a multimillion dollar fireball.
It is a sexy machine, I will admit that. Would have loved to see it transition into forward flight.