The Future of Aircraft

[HAZARD]

In the papers here;

The US's military edge over Russia and China is down to one plane - and it's not the F-35

Since World War II, the US has dominated the skies in any region in the world it wishes to project power in - but recent competition from world powers like Russia and China threaten to erode that edge, and only a small group of elite pilots maintain the US's edge in air superiority.

Russia has deployed powerful missile defence batteries to Syria and its European enclave of Kaliningrad. Effectively, the US Air Force can't operate in those domains without severe risk. Obama himself admitted that these missile deployments greatly complicate and limit the US's options to project power in Syria.

Meanwhile, China has undertaken the breathtaking feat of building and militarising islands in the South China Sea, outfitting them with runways and radar sites that could allow Beijing to establish an air defence and identification zone, the likes of which the US would struggle to pierce.

Air Force Chief of Staff General David Goldfein, speaking during the "State of the Air Force" address at the Pentagon, said of the Air Force's dwindling dominance, "I believe it's a crisis: air superiority is not an American birthright. It's actually something you have to fight for and maintain."

The US has the world's largest Air Force, but it's important to remember that it's a force stretched thin across the entire globe. In the Pacific or the Baltics, smaller, more concentrated powers have reached parity or near parity with the US's gigantic fleet.

Only one US airframe remains head-and-shoulders above any and all competition -- the F-22 Raptor.

The F-22 is the first fifth-generation jet fighter ever built, and it is like nothing else on earth. The plane can execute mind-bending aerial manoeuvres, sense incoming threats at incredible distances, and fly completely undetected by legacy aircraft.

 

The coming F-35 Lightning II, a stealthy technological marvel in its own right, has an impressive radar cross section approximately the size of a basketball. The F-22 however, blows it out of the water with a cross section about the size of a marble.

For this reason, the F-22 Raptor remains the US's only hope for breaching the most heavily protected air spaces on the planet. Even so, an expert on Russian air defences told Business Insider that F-22 pilots would have to be "operationally, tactically brilliant" to strike against Russian-defended targets and live to tell the tale.

However, a recent article by The National Interest's Dave Majumdar seems to confirm that the US's Raptor pilots are indeed brilliant.

"Typically, we'll train against the biggest and baddest threats because we want to train against the newest threat on the block," one F-22 pilot told Majumdar.

"We're fighting against the most advanced operational threats we can," said another.

 

Even though the stealthy F-22s hold an overwhelming advantage at long range, because they can target enemies long before those enemies can see them, the Raptor pilots train for up-close-and-personal conflicts as well. While close range confrontations hugely disadvantage the F-22 pilots, they continue to train uphill and achieve impressive results.

As the most capable plane in the world, the F-22 pilots exist as a kind of "insurance policy" against the most advanced threats in the world, according to Majumdar.

"Even when flying against the most challenging simulated threats - advanced Russian fighters such as the Su-35 and S-300V4 and S-400 - it is exceedingly rare for an F-22 to be 'shot down'. 'Losses in the F-22 are a rarity regardless of the threat we're training against,'" an F-22 pilot told Majumdar.

[SavedOnebyGrace]

22 minutes ago, HAZARD said:

In the papers here;

The US's military edge over Russia and China is down to one plane - and it's not the F-35

Since World War II, the US has dominated the skies in any region in the world it wishes to project power in - but recent competition from world powers like Russia and China threaten to erode that edge, and only a small group of elite pilots maintain the US's edge in air superiority.

Russia has deployed powerful missile defence batteries to Syria and its European enclave of Kaliningrad. Effectively, the US Air Force can't operate in those domains without severe risk. Obama himself admitted that these missile deployments greatly complicate and limit the US's options to project power in Syria.

Meanwhile, China has undertaken the breathtaking feat of building and militarising islands in the South China Sea, outfitting them with runways and radar sites that could allow Beijing to establish an air defence and identification zone, the likes of which the US would struggle to pierce.

Air Force Chief of Staff General David Goldfein, speaking during the "State of the Air Force" address at the Pentagon, said of the Air Force's dwindling dominance, "I believe it's a crisis: air superiority is not an American birthright. It's actually something you have to fight for and maintain."

The US has the world's largest Air Force, but it's important to remember that it's a force stretched thin across the entire globe. In the Pacific or the Baltics, smaller, more concentrated powers have reached parity or near parity with the US's gigantic fleet.

Only one US airframe remains head-and-shoulders above any and all competition -- the F-22 Raptor.

The F-22 is the first fifth-generation jet fighter ever built, and it is like nothing else on earth. The plane can execute mind-bending aerial manoeuvres, sense incoming threats at incredible distances, and fly completely undetected by legacy aircraft.

 

The coming F-35 Lightning II, a stealthy technological marvel in its own right, has an impressive radar cross section approximately the size of a basketball. The F-22 however, blows it out of the water with a cross section about the size of a marble.

For this reason, the F-22 Raptor remains the US's only hope for breaching the most heavily protected air spaces on the planet. Even so, an expert on Russian air defences told Business Insider that F-22 pilots would have to be "operationally, tactically brilliant" to strike against Russian-defended targets and live to tell the tale.

However, a recent article by The National Interest's Dave Majumdar seems to confirm that the US's Raptor pilots are indeed brilliant.

"Typically, we'll train against the biggest and baddest threats because we want to train against the newest threat on the block," one F-22 pilot told Majumdar.

"We're fighting against the most advanced operational threats we can," said another.

 

Even though the stealthy F-22s hold an overwhelming advantage at long range, because they can target enemies long before those enemies can see them, the Raptor pilots train for up-close-and-personal conflicts as well. While close range confrontations hugely disadvantage the F-22 pilots, they continue to train uphill and achieve impressive results.

As the most capable plane in the world, the F-22 pilots exist as a kind of "insurance policy" against the most advanced threats in the world, according to Majumdar.

"Even when flying against the most challenging simulated threats - advanced Russian fighters such as the Su-35 and S-300V4 and S-400 - it is exceedingly rare for an F-22 to be 'shot down'. 'Losses in the F-22 are a rarity regardless of the threat we're training against,'" an F-22 pilot told Majumdar.

Source: Obama Wants to Retire F-22s

Mind you, this was written way back in 2009!  The American public has been duped by this man long enough.

[HAZARD]

41 minutes ago, Saved.One.by.Grace said:

Source: Obama Wants to Retire F-22s

Mind you, this was written way back in 2009!  The American public has been duped by this man long enough.

Ok, I wonder why its in our papers now??

[SavedOnebyGrace]

20 hours ago, HAZARD said:

Ok, I wonder why its in our papers now??

Good question that I can only speculate about.  I believe that President Obama, like most globalists, sees a strong America as a detriment to a one world government ruled by "intellectuals" who only want the best for "mankind".  They need to bring everyone and every successful country down to an equal level of mediocrity, to be ruled over by a "benevolent" elite.  One can see and/or reason the similarity between this and prophesy.  But this is all speculation on my part.  Why is global warming so important when there's nothing we can do about it unless countries like Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the United States, et al, want to bring their standard of living down 500 years or more?  When we can be destroyed by an asteroid, meteor, volcanoes, earthquakes, sun flares or any number of ways, why concentrate on global warming?

[SavedOnebyGrace]

Solar Powered Aircraft Concept

Source: Gore's New Aircraft?

What happens when lightning hits it in a storm?

[SavedOnebyGrace]

Source: Synergy

Double box-wing aircraft ... I certainly like the looks of it.

[SavedOnebyGrace]

Because of all the regulations and safety hurdles that must be jumped, these aircraft will probably not be built in my lifetime.  Maybe a President Trump can cut through the mountains of red tape that keep new and novel engineering ideas from becoming a reality.  I guess some of us will see.