the fighter that never fights

reply to post by AnteBellum

you seem to for get the bugs with the F16, and they still have some. and this is old but the problems still exist greenspun.com... just some of the lingering bugs

By STEPHANIE L. JORDAN Scripps Howard News Service March 19, 2000

KINGSVILLE, Texas - More than a dozen F-16 airplane crashes nationwide since 1988 have been caused by computer, pilot and engine problems, leading to the deaths of civilians and military pilots.

Several of the crash investigations have pointed to problems with the F-16 aircraft. An F-16 Falcon crashed Sunday at Naval Air Station Kingsville, killing the pilot and ending a recreational air show.

Last summer, the Air Force went to Congress to ask for $100 million to fix problems with multi-million-dollar jets. The request came after investigators blamed problems with F-16 engines for seven crashes between November 1998 and May 1999.

Some of the F-16 problems have included:

_ In February, a pilot from Luke Air Force Base in Arizona ejected safely, but his plane crashed _ the eighth F-16 crash in 16 months at that base.

Four crashes at Luke in 1999 were blamed on cracked augmentor ducts.

_ Pilot error caused a midair collision between two F-16s in Illinois in November. No one was seriously injured and one pilot was later grounded by the Illinois National Guard.

now if the SHTF and we need to have the f22 in combat that it has not seen would you fly it?

Hell yes, because if I was ordered to use it in combat, chances are I was the one to do the initial testing on the fighter. Am I am not advocating that this fighter has no issues, there is no such thing as a perfect machine, but we build and test them to the fullest extent we can before issuing a written order for more.
Trial by fire is only implemented in dire situations like the bombs we dropped in Japan.

This is how the military industrial machine works.

reply to post by AnteBellum
and this is how dead heroes are made, i would much rather be a live one my self to fight again, not just once we have come a long way sense ww1 and 2 time to end that mentality, we are in the 21cent why not act like it.

reply to post by bekod


But in that respect, you are advocating their use in Libya, Iraq, etc. Is a dead hero in Libya any less dead than a dead hero in Russia or China? They will go into battle, whenever they are needed in battle, and the bugs will be the bugs regardless.

What is the difference between putting them to work in Libya and finding bugs, or putting them to work in China and finding bugs?

Originally posted by bekod
reply to post by AnteBellum

 

and this is how dead heroes are made, i would much rather be a live one my self to fight again, not just once we have come a long way sense ww1 and 2 time to end that mentality, we are in the 21cent why not act like it.

Listen I used to race cars illegally for the rush. I knew at speeds above 200 mph a rock kicking off my front tire could potentially cause a blowout in the rear, vaporizing me and the car, but I did it. I liked the rush and I am no pilot, my eyesight prevented this at the time. But the reason I allowed myself to be put into situations like this was for the thrill and to see just how fast I could get the car to go. At these speeds it is like driving on sand, even with the best of equipment. I knew I could die at any moment and as reckless as I was at the time, kill someone else possibly.
Trained pilots are aware of the risks but more importantly they do it because they want to push the envelope further then anyone has previously. They would rather die doing something crazy, then die wishing they did!
Just because you feel differently will not make the world stop spinning.
. . . so let me guess you don't race cars, fly experimental jets or get launched into space in a tin can.

the f22 is preparing for the future when it is needed you build now so that u have when u need it and not being out gunned and have to catch up ..... the b2 bomber was made public in 1988 and its first war was over Kosovo in 1999 11 years later once Russia and China start exporting there 5th generation fighters our f22s will be so more far advanced so we can take them out if necessary

Originally posted by bekod
reply to post by AnteBellum

 

just in case you missed it

It was designed primarily as an air superiority fighter, but has additional capabilities that include ground attack, electronic warfare, and signals intelligence roles.

so why not show it off lets see what it can do or do they have something to hide. 3 wars and it has not seen action yet???? come on why not!!!!!

Why bother?

Why would you risk something so expensive in a conflict where it's primary attributes are simply not needed? Sure it can attack ground targets...but there are better aircraft for doing that, so they get used instead.

War is not a kids game - not a "Boys own" adventure where "we'll give the Hun a jolly kicking and be home by Christmas" it costs money, it costs lives.

You don't do something just to see what might happen....unless there's really no alternative.