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Armed Forces Photo Appreciation Thread


Mercer

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I’ve been deep deep inside many of those. 
 

corrosion prone as a mofo

 

edit: actuallllly - perfect example of govt excess. Entire fighter jet platform developed and maintained as a “placeholder” between ‘Legacy’ hornet and F-35. Even though Legacy is also still getting billions tossed at it

 

 

D27B589A-0C26-42E9-B9A6-65E01B077DE2.png

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@KILZ FILLZAgree, I think they're overly ambition with the new generation of $100 M+ planes when the A-10 F-18 F-14 F-16 etc. were all perfectly suitable for most combat situations considering there's little to no competition. I don't know that many people enlisted/civil service in the Navy, or Air Force these days, but I can say just about everyone who's served on the ground in the Army/Marines gushes when you mention the A-10. Those planes could easily continue close ground support and continue to save U.S. lives for the foreseeable future, the Army should continue using them minus the Air Force.

 

The problem is, when your spending all that "free" tax money it's hard resisting the fancy new toys you can't really afford. The F-35 is a huge problem IMO, not just the initial expense of purchasing one. Last I heard 50% of the F-35's deployed are not flight ready due to parts failing, and poor supply chain that can replace in suitable time. The operational costs, and initial price tag for that jet is just fucking insane, hard to believe they put so many eggs in that basket. 

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A-10 fleet just finished getting new wings as part of a service life extension program (SLEP). They should be around for a bit longer. Not sure if any of these will be going to army though, those guys mostly use choppers, I think. I’ve never touched an a10 but I’ve heard the same appreciation as you have from everyone who has worked on them. 
 

https://www.hill.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/1931575/173-to-173-a-10-enhanced-wing-assembly-replacement-program-comes-to-an-end/

 

*redacted* 😎 
 

all of this for a piloted platform seems like a wasted effort in my eyes. UAV is the future and what should be getting developed. @Mercer

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@KILZ FILLZread.

 

image.thumb.png.87203aedac21a5d9ccb8e338e688e481.png

 

Weird, they canceled most of the orders for the F-22's because they discovered they were just too expensive.

 

The F-35's lifetime operational costs are higher at 67,000 per flight hour, more than the F-22's at $60,000 per flight hour. They need to get this number down for the F-35's for it to be a viable replacement for everything they want it to eventually replace. It really is a jack of all trades. The ground mapping/360 sensor capabilities and electronic warfare/communications capabilities are insane.

 

image.thumb.png.7da7b5ad3014f6d28afd9c76ddaa4c83.png

 

 

 

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4 hours ago, Mercer said:

@KILZ FILLZread.

 

image.thumb.png.87203aedac21a5d9ccb8e338e688e481.png

 

Weird, they canceled most of the orders for the F-22's because they discovered they were just too expensive.

 

The F-35's lifetime operational costs are higher at 67,000 per flight hour, more than the F-22's at $60,000 per flight hour. They need to get this number down for the F-35's for it to be a viable replacement for everything they want it to eventually replace. It really is a jack of all trades. The ground mapping/360 sensor capabilities and electronic warfare/communications capabilities are insane.

 

image.thumb.png.7da7b5ad3014f6d28afd9c76ddaa4c83.png

 

 

 

There were some other things going on with the raptor that lead to its demise. I don’t thing engineering could nail down the cabin pressure issues that were causing pilots to pass out in flight. 
 

I was working in a hangar alongside a raptor years ago outside Vegas. Thing looked like a fucking Lambo with wings. 

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