Clark Griswold

Stealth A-4

Yup The French have an economy slightly smaller than the Brits and managed to build their own 4+ fighter for their AF / Naval Air to meet their requirements - just takes the will to go your own way and keep it real.

Brits wanna build an LO fighter.. https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/22190/the-u-k-s-new-tempest-stealth-fighter-project-already-faces-serious-challenges

Relight on thread. https://nationalinterest.org/feature/why-america-still-defending-europe-24957 and https://www.defensenews.com/flashpoints/2018/05/29/poland-offers-up-to-2-billion-for-a-permanent-us-military-presence/ Good articles and worth the read. NATO 2.0: Reduce our forward presence by half (at least). Redeploy from Germany to Poland. Do not expand NATO to new members. Walk away from existing alliance and be wiling to from new one with Central Europe if no reform is seen with 2 years of upcoming summit.

Saw that. Now they have enough data to decide whether or not to go to an OA-X evaluation because you know this is so new and cutting edge... Rope a dope continues

Very interesting interviews with former pilots of various aircraft, mostly military but some civil. Good technical details, training philosophy, there I was stories, background, etc... https://www.youtube.com/user/Aircrewinterview/videos?view=0&shelf_id=1&sort=dd Watched the F-111, F-14 and MiG-29 videos and worth the time.

Cool - if the Dems / Progressives want to show their sincerity (using your words as a proxy) then they should at the state level show the red states how to get 100% photo ID done along with other vote integrity assurance technology / procedures, then you guys win points in the national debate by removing this legitimate point of contention. Photo ID is only one part of a well defended, high integrity voting system. Include bio-metric/video recording of voters and compared to other voting facilities to prevent double dipping, no electronic tallying machines - physical ballots only, and a law enforcement presence (to include ICE) at all voting facilities to ensure no intimidation by any side and I as a conservative would have no problem with liberal ideas on increasing voter participation (same day registration, weekend voting, etc...).

Carrier Hangar Catapults... https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/11821/the-crazy-aircraft-carrier-hangar-catapults-of-world-war-ii

Yup all while insisting on virtually no verification to participate in the political process, voting, or legal receipt of public benefit(s). You can't have a democratic republic if one side is trying to break, bend or encourage the disregard for laws and the rule of law. Trying to use inherent weaknesses in the open society to gain political advantage. I'll believe the Democrat line on immigration when they want strict, strong and tough voter ID and citizenship/legal resident verification for public benefits, until then just stopping them at anytime, anywhere from advancing their agenda of open borders and the destruction of the concept of citizenship is acceptable.

We may have a winner... Air Force Says It Might Have The Data It Needs From Its Light Attack Experiment After All Just buy it... and give it the Guard 🙂

I hear you and I make no illusions that my proffered idea is perfect and doesn't come without significant cost, assumptions that are likely only partly true and some difficulty to implement but IMHO it is a step in the right direction of trying to retain & retrain talent that has proved itself valuable in a related assignment and could be redirected for a related assignment. On synching it with the MQ-9 community... Will it be appropriate for all MQ-9 crew or squadrons? No. For some? Probably and probably enough to make it worth the effort. On enlisted SOs and the lack of vision the AF has had for tapping some on the shoulder that have demonstrated skill and ability... No disagreement this is a mistake the AF has fallen into and needs to be corrected, this is one program to do that. On the ability of new Pilots / CSOs to be given a light attack assignment right out of UPT / UCT... disagree if they do not min run the syllabus and train accordingly, there is no reason to think they could not handle the mission. The key is for the AF to look down on this as "just a light attack aircraft" and see it as equal to any other assignment and train accordingly. Lower need for Intel folks in Light Attack Squadrons? Copy, offer some retraining opportunities if they want to apply for rated slots, those that don't or can't, work with them. This is an issue, nobody should / would get screwed but it is addressable. This would be a multi year, multi-base, multi-billion dollar program and IMHO as important as any other MWS. The AF didn't get into the region of reverse command overnight and it won't get out of it either, building up the manned light attack mission community would likely take 3-5 years but it is better to get started now, again AF just buy one... I can't believe the AF, a military institution ostensibly led by fighter pilots is resistant to buying into this idea.

No I don't think so (using LAAR / OA-X to prosecute targets with some ground to air threats in that AOR), just depends on the type of threats and the capability of the platform-sensor-weapons combo to mitigate those threats to deliver its desired effects. Use modern capability to out-range the enemy, the platform out of the enemy's threat range and while putting him in your effective range all while delivering air power for less thru lower platform operating cost and lower operational support (AR) and logistical footprint, profit.... If you are reading this Big Blue, buy a LAAR: - It's what you should be flying in permissive and in some parts of semi-permissive (Syria) AORs, depending on how you read tea leaves it is probably 6 to 15 times cheaper than conventional systems being used. - It's acquisition cost is not that big a hurdle when you factor the fast payback rate due to much lower operational costs (direct operations and operational support), lower utilization on your 4th gen fleet to accomplish the same mission providing another operational saving and extended life of your 4th gen fleet to again save money in the out years of budget planning. - It will give you Pilot / CSO absorption & operational seasoning if you buy a nominal force, employ it and crew at a rate of 2.5 you have places to go for your new people. Buy 150 and crew at 2.5, that's 375 pilot and CSO slots that your efforts at increased aircrew production can send newbies to until they go on to their follow F-69 / other aircraft, the training cost is low due to the efficiency of the platform, it will initially provide qualified wingman to deploy into the fight(s) and in this humble internet nobody's opinion changes the vector of the AF ever so slightly back towards Mission Focus. Cycle dudes thru in 2-3 year assignments as the FTUs build additional capacity. - It will give you an option besides RPAs when logistical concerns may necessitate using a manned asset vs. unmanned. Sometimes it is just simpler to send two trained aircrew in an aircraft to do a mission vs. everything required to execute RPA ops. It is an affordable option to have in addition to RPAs not at the expense of the RPA mission. - If you buy a robust LAAR / LAAR program vs. min running it, you have the possibility of additional missions (ACE program, threat replication, MOOTW platform, etc...). Don't just get padlocked on solving one mission with this platform, think strategically, buy it to hack a mission and build morale / mission culture to retain valuable aircrew / airmen and potentially offer career options to increase operational capability not administration of the AF. Preaching into the ether but might as well, just buy it AF...

From the article ref here the AT-6B is quoted at 14 million and A-29 at 21 million, seems a bit low for the AT-6B and the article is dated from 2014 with references, some are wiki so if you want to cite it I would follow it up but those numbers of the mid teens to low 20's seem reasonable for the turboprops. Guessing at $1500 a flight hour with everything factored. Scorpion is often quoted at 20 million a copy but I suspect with some more features that a customer would want (AR capability, Air to Air capable radar, defensive suite, etc...) that price would climb. Just a WAG but 25 million a copy seems reasonable. Guessing at $3000 a flight hour with everything factored. But for a mission requiring no AR support for Vul time, it's still a bargain.

I know that feeling all too well You think you hate it now but wait till you fly it...

Copy all Quite the list of deficiencies.

Copy - did you fly the Super T or still do? Asked as I took a closer look at your account image (Super T initial cadre) Concur with AT-6B, avionics are more advanced (up to MIL STD 1760) and while built in .50 cals would be cool, I doubt they would be worth it vs. another platform that can employ the more advanced PGMs in the inventory. Not sure if this link has been posted but it is a pretty good side by side comparison of Wolverine vs. Super T: https://rhk111smilitaryandarmspage.wordpress.com/2014/01/17/the-a-29b-super-tucano-versus-the-at-6b-texan-ii/ I think the quoted price of AT-6B at 14 mil a copy is a bit low but it is cheaper than the Super T, better avionics, and some performance advantages. Plan to finally get this plane (about 14 years late but better than never...): - Pick the AT-6B at the end of Phase II of LAE in August - Plan on buying 175 for the AF and get the USN/USMC to buy 50-75. Half AD, Half ARC, FTU is a joint venture at a Guard unit with political pull to get the Guard friendly elements of the MIC to help push the rope. - Distribute the squadrons to retain some of the MQ-9 crew force by offering dual qual opportunities or homesteading, this would also be done in conjunction with an honest effort to improve QoL for RPA folks. More & better base choices across several time zones. 11s & 18s could fly pilot / cso respectively and for enlisted sensors, make a CCAF degree and a commander's recommendation enough for an OTS program with a designated follow on and flying opportunity in the cso station. - Before we lose all good will towards us, get some of the Allies that join us on foreign adventures to buy a LAAR also, up to them on which. But establish that when the West goes to fight long wars in the Arc of Instability, we are going to do it somewhat efficiently and not wear out the fast jets doing NTISR. Just buy it AF....

That is some serious capes wish list, not saying it is a bridge too far but is that really necessary in one platform? Or could these MUXs be one common platform but have variants to specialize to keep from getting into the trap of it has to do every mission awesomely and likely command an awesome price tag. Returning to the AF Light Attack subject, second phase of the "experiment" is underway... https://www.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/1514033/second-phase-of-light-attack-experiment-underway/ Just pick one... and then actually buy it. Informal survey - which would you buy for the Big Blue? AT-6B or A-29. Unfortunately Scorpion is not an option nor any other design (L-159 ALCA, OV-10X, etc...) and it is one of those two (not that they are bad choices) but that is all there is.

L-159 trying to get into OA-X / LAAR consideration: https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/aero-vodochody-and-iai-pitch-revamped-l-159-for-oa-x-449391/ Has better endurance than I thought (quoted at 2+40 but likely only with clean wings) with the improved version (L-159 vs. L-39) via a new wet wing, ref here. Still way way short of a Scorpion Jet but another aircraft to consider, then not buy... Buy a jet powered OA-X / LAAR capable of some A-A threat or target simulation (cruise missile, slow flying enemy RPA, etc..) as an additional mission and train crew force to provide some Red Air for fighter units, profit. No doubt that it would not be as robust as a dedicated aggressor aircraft / crew but something is better than nothing. You get more missions out of platform you need to buy anyway and instead of min running the OA-X acquisition (if it happens) you get the jet bringing much higher levels of performance (speed, range, altitude) to its primary mission set...

Not on AD so had not heard that, sad. All the more reason to reach back to our past and continue to develop well rounded aviators in tried and true ways, particularly those that spend a lot of time on autopilot, yours truly included. ACE was before my time but a good idea as relayed by the Lt Cols to me when a new Lt... continue developing airmanship and heaven forbid morale... Keep it real, no ejection seats and a prop but a Diamond DART 450 would be affordable and supportable... https://www.flyingmag.com/diamond-aircraft-dart-450-prototype-takes-first-flight

Fair enough and rather than starting another round of Heavy v Fighter version 69,000 I will agree some T-1 trained could do it, some couldn't (sts) , I would just add that it would be the majority of T-1 guys and not the minority could rise to the challenge.... Sidebar, SUPT should end and the USAF return to UPT, coming up on 19 years in Big Blue and flying over 17, it (SUPT) is having a pernicious effect of creating and us vs them culture, I feel like it is always there and it just screws things up. Two cents paid.

Heavy drivers (T-1 trained) are just that bad / untrainable to become a T-38 IP later (or anytime) in their careers?

Copy all and agreed that LAAR + light carrier ops would have a high pucker factor to it If there was a desire for a lighter attack / ISR platform that was carrier suitable, I don't think you could get that much lighter/smaller than around 13-15k lbs (common weight for WWII naval fighters) and for some of the desired capes like range / endurance, it would probably grow to about the size of something like a Westland Wyvern or A-1 Skyraider, both just about 25,000 lbs max takeoff weight would be more likely but I imagine those probably all depended on catapult assist for takeoffs for those gross weights for an LHD (no cats) would likely be a good bit lower... Still, a carrier suitable efficient modern medium weight attack/reconnaissance aircraft not requiring AR support for a decent vul time and/or range would be a useful capability for a MAGTF

Semper maybe... https://www.military.com/dodbuzz/2018/06/01/senators-want-100-million-new-marine-corps-light-attack-aircraft.html Doubt the USMC has even asked for this capability (didn't see it referenced in the article) but would it be reasonable / possible to operate an A-29 / AT-6B from an LHD with a 800+ foot flight deck? Modified for carrier suitability (upgrades airframe, gear, brakes, higher HP, better prop, etc...)

Per usual, VDH is on target... https://www.nationalreview.com/2018/05/post-war-order-over-not-caused-by-trump-foreign-policy/

The fat is hardest to get rid of and muscle the hardest to build, true on the personal level and institutional.