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Originally posted by _Del_
The vote was scrap:
Any further doubts that we have an LO or VLO operational strike aircraft?
Originally posted by FredT
The coating is supposed to have all kinds of toxins in it so im surpised to see one being cut up on a tarmac and nothing being done to contain the dust etc of the procedure
Originally posted by RichardPrice
Uhm, you do - the F-22, and in a few years the F-35. Both can replace the F-117 on a 1:1 capability basis, while also bringing multirole capability to the game as well, and all at a much lower maintenance cost (the F-117s were hanger queens, from what I hear).
Oh, and about 20 of the F-117 fleet will be mothballed, not scrapped. Theres no reason to mothball all of the fleet, as some airframes have more hours than others, as well as technical defects.
Originally posted by FredT
The coating is supposed to have all kinds of toxins in it so im surpised to see one being cut up on a tarmac and nothing being done to contain the dust etc of the procedure
Originally posted by _Del_
I suppose if you account most of the current f-22 inventory toward replacing them "on a 1:1 capability basis" you could. My understanding was that we have less than a hundred f-22's. I don't consider the F-35 anything near "operational".
Norris (from whom I linked) states that the hangars at Tonopah devoted to their storage are not weather proof and that tooling and many spare parts have been largely destroyed already; his conclusion is that the idea of mothballing part of the fleet has been discarded.
Originally posted by maintainright
Crazy pics OP
I always thought old aircraft were just parked up somewhere and left to corrode away, hence the pics of fields of old planes in various states of decay.
Originally posted by RichardPrice
The USAF has so far had 122 F-22s delivered, out of a total of 183. The F-35 procurement number for the USAF is 1,765 although that is subject to change.
Basically, there is no reason to keep the F-117 flying, as the F-22 can carry out the same role much more effectively (it has a larger weapons carrying capability for a start).
When an aircraft is mothballed, its not simply parked somewhere - the airframes are prepared and individually protected. The idea is that bringing an airframe out of any state of mothballing is cost prohiobitive in anything less than absolute war footings when the military will essentially get a blank cheque on spending.