Clark Griswold

So the AF has gotta make some choices probably… https://www.twz.com/air/crisis-brewing-over-air-forces-future-air-dominance-plans-which-it-cannot-afford Retire the Raptor to try to get NGAD? Not mentioned in the article but as Willie Sutton said “that’s where the money is” Or pick another system that has several billion dollars of money to reprogram but it’s gonna have to have some juice to be worth the squeeze We’re now seeing what has been warned of for years, a wave of new iron requirements coming due all at once and the door that is the budget not being wide enough to let them all thru at once, so something has to give What do we give up / redirect funds assuming no budgetary grow above the inflation rate?

Yup Who’d a thunk a design to incorporate into one of its variants a giant lifting fan dead center of a medium weight fighter would be a problem? Obviously the Chinese did All that said I’d still rather be in our 35 vs theirs when the ballon goes up, not that it won’t be a threat but with all the party tricks ours has it will fare better methinks What will make their 35 particularly concerning I think will be its price, their propensity to sell it aggressively to their clients and allies and therefore how ubiquitous it might be. Probably more of a threat to our allies than us (thinking Iran vs KSA, Pakistan vs India, NK vs SK)

China’s J-35 is ready for it’s closeup https://www.twz.com/air/chinas-j-35a-stealth-fighter-officially-breaks-cover

Yup… https://redstate.com/brandon_morse/2024/11/05/hilarious-video-uses-ai-to-expose-what-democrats-are-really-saying-when-they-talk-about-democracy-n2181596

If they won’t keep a military multi engine trainer that sounds about right then Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

This https://amgreatness.com/2024/11/03/restoring-the-warrior-ethos-to-the-trump-military/

Yup, that looks like one helluva post AF gig They tried to sell an F-104 upgrade but the F-5 beat it in the race https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_CL-1200_Lancer Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

We need a high fast flyer, let's resurrect with the Brits... the Super Lighting https://hushkit.net/2013/02/01/the-ultimate-what-if-bae-super-lightning/ Adaptive cycle engines and lots of gas, mated with conformal recessed AIM-260s, our HVAA killer or long range sniper.

Concur Just for the factor of expense the traditional sized fighter will continue I wonder what the right mix will be throughout the next generation strike package Large to medium and Manned, loyal wingmen and autonomous vehicles all linked to enablers and supporting assets. My guess is 50/50 to 60/40 sounds right manned to unmanned. Large to medium probably 1 to 4. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

No inside knowledge but seems likely it with tech and operational trends known in the open world I think there’s still a place for a traditionally sized fighter with pilot/crew but to be relevant it probably would need to be built specifically to always or almost always operate with CCAs Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Relight thread Reading this https://www.twz.com/air/b-21-taking-on-some-of-ngad-fighters-missions-on-the-table-air-force-says Reminded me of Stillion’s article https://csbaonline.org/uploads/documents/Air-to-Air-Report-.pdf Now it’s not an official announcement but it sounds like alluding to adding / developing a CCA controlling capability / mission for the Raider, I’d like to see that same concept applied to a light fighter but that’s another thread…

Worth a listen Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

https://redstate.com/terichristoph/2024/10/16/watch-low-iq-hamas-supporter-gets-lesson-in-geopolitics-after-piously-tearing-down-israeli-flags-n2180639 Before you destroy property in the service of the revolution at least google it to make sure you’re striking a blow against the oppressors du jour

Valid point I sent this pod to an O6 bud who had essentially the same reservations you and the commentator make but I would argue this is an acceptable risk as part of the preparations for a whole of society response to peer level conflict or sustained contingency. As you mentioned industrial policy, this would be a manpower policy in addition to several I could see: industrial, manpower, financial, internal security, etc… to be brought to a boil, kept simmering or break glass if needed for use. Looking at you Russia, China, Iran… A revived and new draft program (and new type of reserve system) would be not only to generate manpower, but to shape the population (no sinister intentions in that) to be able to come together in time of national need. We need a kernel of connection between fighting age males (primarily) & enough buy in from that and adjacent communities so that we can respond with a large force of infantry or various skill sets (cyber, intel, logistics, etc…) Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

No idea but would not be surprised A fighter without the right weapons is pointless Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Concur Not enough of them (discussions) on this and other policies we probably need to bring back or implement, we talk as a society a lot about lost, purposeless young people particularly young men and the gathering storms facing the LIO / American led world order we face from the eastern powers and our own inability to control ourselves so let’s do something to move that needle The draft, mandatory service, etc… is part of that quiver of arrows needing to be shot IMO It could be implemented any number of ways: straight up 18-24 months of service, training then X number of musters/exercises, etc… Vary the training focuses of the exercises, urban, mountain, desert, amphibious, humanitarian relief, etc… and give the conscripts some choice in which they attend It’s partly to meet a military need for trained mass if required and partly a social program to address cultural issues and build more national cohesion so giving it some sugar to attract more flies / reduce pushback to mandatory service methinks would be necessary, choice in required training events could be this Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Commute worthy podcast on the draft Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yes, yes and yes Great find Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Not pushing an agenda but posted for context and information Ukraine ‘Conscription Squads’ Grabbing Men off Streets to Fight in War: https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2024/10/06/ukraine-conscription-squads-grabbing-men-off-streets-to-fight-in-war-report/ Like it or not they’re probably reaching a kind of culmination point, whoever becomes POTUS, recognize this and find an acceptable resolution Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

James Bond theme Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

No LORAN is not exactly what I’m imagining https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/LORAN I’m thinking of a station, probably stationary or in a tight and unchanging orbit, actively measuring BRA to another station keeping its heading/altitude/speed, doing trig and telling the receiver in 0.69 seconds input this position as your origin point and nav from there This system would be mostly silent except for maybe its radar and have to have some freq hopping encryption to transmit as required, unpredictably to its users for their nav updates and not give the baddies something easy to target Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Some 20 lbs brain has probably already worked this out but a C2 node or radar facility could push an update in a degraded nav environment if they had positive contact with a receiver(s) and the receiver held course/altitude/speed and updated accordingly when they overflew the pushed update Military application is obvious but I wonder if the commercial world could get this worked out with CPLDC or ACARS Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

C-27J could do this also, overflying known lat long and could do a radar offset update off a known location Honeywell avionics IIRC and then I guess the J model Herc could I imagine Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Had a UPS dude in the JS yesterday and he mentioned this from his recent flying in the ME, they were spoofed and GPS said they were over Cairo when still over 200+ NM away, they reverted to VORs and confirmation of track with ATC, don’t let those radio nav and dead reckoning skills atrophy… Article posted at drudge with no pay block: https://www.wsj.com/business/airlines/electronic-warfare-spooks-airlines-pilots-and-air-safety-officials-60959bbd

Being gone a few months you start to get perspective… probably in a few years my thoughts will clarify further but in a simple sense the AF is too cerebral. Too much brains not enough balls, too much studying not enough sports, too much nerdiness not enough jock and too many avenues for rank, attracts and incentivizes douchebaggery. There’ll be no pull back in this from the AF unless the other services culled their shoe clerk herds and unnecessary offices in like kind so that the AF wouldn’t be at a disadvantage in the DoD relatively as an institution at the Joint level. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk