Quote:
Originally Posted by Ze-Jamz
Exactly, this isn't just about which aircraft will win in a dogfight it's about a massive investment and future proofing that investment.
Why would you spend that much money on a SuperHornet which is as stealthy as a brick and how much could you actually upgrade that aircraft? 5yrs? 10?
It's not just about speed and turn rate anymore, we stopped worrying about that 20years ago
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True, on the one hand, however I am critical of the major argument being stealth. First, it reduces weapon loadout options quite immensly, speed still is probably the most important criteria when it comes to survivability (and THE criteria for an interceptor) and last but not least, maintance of stealth aircraft almost completly negates the effect of having a new airframe. Top that off with current stealth tech just being a gap filler, redundant within 10 years development of RADAR technology (if not already) and the japanese still might bite their behinds for their descision.
However, the F35 probably is the best current fighter for small carrier operations, so IF they build that ship their descision makes somewhat sense.
12-21-2011, 10:05 AM
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