Re: An Impact That's Deep. NASA DART

Shoot, yeah I didnt take R³ into account.

Better get working on that space elevator then, or maybe a lot of BIG space mirrors. Pulse detonation nukes? I never really cared for dinosaurs anyways.

Re: An Impact That's Deep. NASA DART

What I find interesting is that they were able to slow down Dimorphous by 32 mins, Dimorphous is 160-170m, the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs is estimated on the large side to be upto 15000m. That means you would need around 100 (being generous) DART sized impactors to slow the Chicxulub asteroi...

Re: No F-22B version

The Chinese have apparently built 150 J-20's already. They may have 150 built (I cant imagine how they are keeping photos of them off the internet), but I really dont think they are fully baked yet. The F-35 has been physically complete for 15 years, but software has been a thorn to this day. Still...

Re: No F-22B version

Big money without a true peer opponent. The F-22 (ATF) was initially planned to counter the soviets, the YF-22 and YF-23 flyoff concluded 4 months before the fall of the Soviet Union. As it became clear that Russia didnt have the economy to be a super power, there was little need for as many of thos...

Re: Canada - Future Fighter Capability Project

Canada's fighter competition would fit well in the Indian procurement history. This is sadly the norm when it comes to military procurement in Canada. Look into the CH-124 Seaking replacement, the process started in 1983 and finally replaced in 2018. If a significant military purchase isnt complete...

Re: New Russian Fighter Jet

Makes me wonder about the fighter prototype the USAF has apparently flown. If they made a F-35 relative with all the VTOL requirements removed minimizing complexity while leveraging the technology developed for the F-35... it would likely have moved fairly quickly (as it seems to have). It feels lik...

Re: Updated: Switzerland deciding to buy F-35A fighter jets

Stealth/LO is increasingly a requirement for any contested airspace. My argument would be something like Yemen, where a combination of legacy SAMs and UAVs have persisted for years in a congested battlespace. That is if you are waging a limited engagement and not trying to absolutely bring your opp...

Re: Updated: Switzerland deciding to buy F-35A fighter jets

I guess the main question is how far you could stretch the stealth coating maintenance without making an incredibly costly nightmare by the time you actually need it? So far as I know the stealth coating is exceptionally finicky. Specialised sealants for access hatches, washing routines to keep it ...

Re: Canada - Future Fighter Capability Project

If they could get the SH block III WITH the F414 EPE (which for some reason the Navy refuses to adopt) then the F-18E/F is a viable option. Otherwise the F-35 is the only aircraft that makes sense. So, the F-35 is the only choice as the upgraded F414 which should have been introduced 10 years ago w...

Re: T-7A Red Hawk News and Discussion Thread

Question about the concept of an attack T-7: What can it do that a drone cannot do with more safety and *much* less cost? Drop a bomb? Drones do that better. Take a picture. Drones do that better. Make a gun run. Yep, that's true. Get to the fight quicker. Depends on how you think about it. One dro...

Re: USS Bonhomme Richard (Wasp-class amphibious assault ship) is on fire

Though many are saying things like "terrible fire", "total loss" etc. I am not seeing that. I see the mast has gone over and undoubtedly there is significant damage but I am not seeing anything that indicates a loss of the ship. We'll have to wait to see the actual damage (thoug...

Re: Canada - Future Fighter Capability Project

There will come a time though when Canada will have to retire the classic Hornet and not retiring the aircraft but upgrading will end up, given its age, being very close to the same cost as acquiring new. The delay in purchasing a replacements for the CF-18 was never about money, it was about order...

Re: Canada - Future Fighter Capability Project

Thanks for the detailed response. If the RCAF had access to all the data necessary, it should be a pretty straightforward process choosing their aircraft. Let's see how all the different interests (political, commercial, etc.) come together. That is the issue here. The RCAF has had access to all th...

Re: Canada Might Need New Executive Jets

How about someone with connections to Airbus get the government a good deal on some A220? I wonder if someone who owes the government a ton of money could pull us a few strings... or else.

Re: Is the B-52 still a worthy bomber for our fleet

Aircraft are becoming less about the air frame and more about the avionics, so you can significantly upgrade older aircraft if you dont need to change its role. That is a big issue that is slowly going away, the idea that every generation needs to be a huge advancement over the previous. If you look...

Re: F-35 news thread

As usual with these claims there is plenty of detail missing so it is hard to know what type of WVR sets they were conducting, whether starting neutral or offensive or defensive, and how the aircraft were configured. It is certainly plausible though that seasoned Eurofighter pilots will have had su...

Re: Boeing MQ-25 flies for the first time

Haven’t been able to find a definitive answer, but what exactly is the task and purpose of a refueling drone? Is it for other drones or for refueling manned aircraft? Seems a bit on the small side to refuel aircraft such as the F-35 and F/A-18 It is not a big tanker, it is more of a replacement for...

Re: T-X becomes T-7A Red Hawk

I doubt they would go with the F/A designation. The Hornet started as the A-18, F-18, and TF-18, the F/A was a way to make the Hornet look like more compared to the F-14. The Strike Eagle is not the F/A-15E and the Lightning II is not the F/A-35A. Its pretty much a given these days that all fighters...

Re: USAF Considering New Build F-15X

Right - I mean look at Boeing and the KC-46 as a perfect example. It's a "shell" of a plane they've been building for decades, with a fuel boom stuck on the back. Super simple right? They even have extensive experience with refueling systems too. Hah NOT so much. IIRC the biggest issue wi...

Re: USAF Considering New Build F-15X

How quickly did they go from contract award to first flight for the T-X? (Is the two current flying frames pre-contract award or post?) Because the T-X really isnt any new technology. These days it isnt the airframe that takes time to work out the bugs, its all the features. The T-X airframe is not...

Re: SpaceX - Tests, Launches, Developments

In other news: SpaceX apparently didn't get messages from ESA, which forced ESA to adjust the orbit of its Aeolus weather satellite in order not to bump into a swarm of Elon's pizza boxes. https://www.theregister.co.uk/2019/09/04/spacex_we_didnt_get_esa_satellite_collision_messages/ Its only news b...

Re: Boeing Beats Lockheed for $9.2 Billion Air Force Trainer Program

open it up to the internet for suggestions. It will end up being named the 'TrainerMcTrainerface'

Re: Modified F-35A with F-35C wing?

Wouldnt a larger wing allow better low speed performance. Seeing how the F-35A is replacing the A-10... a lower airspeed version would be useful in the CAS role.

Re: Trump proposes new livery for AF1

Re: Canada - Future Fighter Capability Project

lol derp, yeah that article is about as clear as mud. After reading around I could only find 1 place that gave a number for the F-35A, and that was 8000 hours. Several articles have stated that the airframe hours has been extended adding 6 years to the fleets expected life. From what I have been rea...

Re: Canada - Future Fighter Capability Project