F-ZeroOne Posted July 23, 2019 Share Posted July 23, 2019 South Korea and Russia have had a bit of a territorial disagreement, including rather uniquely "warning shots" fired. The Russian aircraft is described as a A-50, which I understand is their AWACs, so I'm a bit puzzled why they'd risk sending such a valuable asset on without escort in the first place: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-49079719 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-ZeroOne Posted July 23, 2019 Share Posted July 23, 2019 Updated reports say that this was a joint Russian/Chinese operation - "Call of Duty" called, they want the plot of their next game back - and that there were apparently escort fighters for the other aircraft involved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AN/ALQ128 Posted July 24, 2019 Share Posted July 24, 2019 At least this "territorial incursion" didn't end with the Russians losing an aircraft like the Turkish incident a few years back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadow Posted July 26, 2019 Share Posted July 26, 2019 Nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slide Posted July 26, 2019 Share Posted July 26, 2019 After struggling to get up to speed on my tomcat, it'll be nice to fly a fly-by-wire-Falcon for a change. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derex3592 Posted July 27, 2019 Share Posted July 27, 2019 I don't care how old it is..F-16 is still one my all time favorite badass fighter aircraft. Probably mainly because I live in Fort Worth, which is where they were made. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kajnrig Posted July 27, 2019 Share Posted July 27, 2019 How old IS the F-16? I always feel like it's 20 years old, max, no matter how much time goes by. But then I also can't accept that the F-22 was basically made in 1990 or thereabouts, so maybe I just have a poor sense of time... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalvasflam Posted July 27, 2019 Share Posted July 27, 2019 2 minutes ago, kajnrig said: How old IS the F-16? I always feel like it's 20 years old, max, no matter how much time goes by. But then I also can't accept that the F-22 was basically made in 1990 or thereabouts, so maybe I just have a poor sense of time... 20 years or 50 years, some planes are just classics. Growing up in the end of the cold war era, my personal favorites will always be the F teens series. If I had to rank it in sequence, it would be F-14 (cause duh, Top Gun, and Macross), F-15 (because like the ad for F-15E in Jane's Aircraft says: shots down whatever is up, blows up whatever is down... America, F**K YEAH), F-16 (mainly because of the never realized -XL), and the F-18s (although I do like the Rhinos better than the Hornets) Then there are the Hellcats, the Zero, the Lightning, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadow Posted July 27, 2019 Share Posted July 27, 2019 The F-16 as a design always came off like a well crafted samurai sword. Although it got "bulgier" as new tech was added. Still, not bad for an airframe that's been around since 1976. While I'd like to pick it up, I'll wait for more of its features to be completed (A-G radar, Litening II pod, etc). I learned my lesson with the Hornet in DCS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sketchley Posted July 27, 2019 Share Posted July 27, 2019 (edited) 34 minutes ago, kajnrig said: How old IS the F-16? I always feel like it's 20 years old, max, no matter how much time goes by. But then I also can't accept that the F-22 was basically made in 1990 or thereabouts, so maybe I just have a poor sense of time... 1976. To put that in perspective: the YF-16 had a fly-off against the YF-17 (just like Macross Plus*). The rejected YF-17 design was reworked into the F-18. * technically M+'s "Project Super Nova" is based on the YF-22/YF-23 fly-off, and the lesser known "Project Nova" was the flyoff between the VF-11 and VF-14 (arguable based on the YF-16/YF-17 fly-off). Edited July 27, 2019 by sketchley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-ZeroOne Posted July 27, 2019 Share Posted July 27, 2019 Iran reportedly has lost a Tomcat, crew members ejected and as far as I'm aware are okay: https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/rip-another-iranian-f-14a-tomcat-just-bit-dust-68577 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Hingtgen Posted July 27, 2019 Author Share Posted July 27, 2019 New scheme? Metallic paint? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
electric indigo Posted July 27, 2019 Share Posted July 27, 2019 The silver-y finish was already seen on the 2nd (?) prototype (machine #2011) in 2016. The camo elements showed up last year: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalvasflam Posted July 28, 2019 Share Posted July 28, 2019 (edited) 6 hours ago, David Hingtgen said: New scheme? Metallic paint? Looks like an F-22 and the F-23 got together, had an unwanted stepchild, and then they tried to glue on some pieces from an old F-14 and a Typhoon to pretty it up. Edited July 28, 2019 by kalvasflam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-ZeroOne Posted July 28, 2019 Share Posted July 28, 2019 Hey! The Typhoon isn't that old - unless you're referring to the Hawker one that is... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Hingtgen Posted July 28, 2019 Author Share Posted July 28, 2019 13 hours ago, kalvasflam said: Looks like an F-22 and the F-23 got together, had an unwanted stepchild, and then they tried to glue on some pieces from an old F-14 and a Typhoon to pretty it up. Yeah, but it LOOKS cool. And a pilot's ego is the most effective thing there is, as Top Gun taught us all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadow Posted July 28, 2019 Share Posted July 28, 2019 (edited) On 7/26/2019 at 9:56 PM, sketchley said: 1976. To put that in perspective: the YF-16 had a fly-off against the YF-17 (just like Macross Plus*). The rejected YF-17 design was reworked into the F-18. * technically M+'s "Project Super Nova" is based on the YF-22/YF-23 fly-off, and the lesser known "Project Nova" was the flyoff between the VF-11 and VF-14 (arguable based on the YF-16/YF-17 fly-off). Yes, true. But unlike the VF-22, a production F-23 never got to see the light of day once Lockheed was chosen as the winner. Edited July 28, 2019 by Shadow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dobber Posted July 28, 2019 Share Posted July 28, 2019 1 hour ago, David Hingtgen said: Yeah, but it LOOKS cool. And a pilot's ego is the most effective thing there is, as Top Gun taught us all. Wait....you think that thing looks cool!??? Beauty is truly in the eye of the beholder as I think it is one of the ugliest monstrosities to take to the air if the past several decades. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Hingtgen Posted July 29, 2019 Author Share Posted July 29, 2019 Depends on the angle, more so than most planes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derex3592 Posted July 29, 2019 Share Posted July 29, 2019 (edited) I think the "beauty" of fighter aircraft is just like women, every guy is going to like something a little different. Most of us that grew up in the 80's on Top Gun/Iron Eagle/Macross/TFer's etc., will always think that the F-16, F-14, F-15, F-4's/SR-71 and alike are some of the best looking planes every designed. The new stuff is fine and dandy and certainly stealthy looking, but I'm not quite sure I'd call an F-117/F-22/F-35 pretty....I always thought the F-111 was an extremely pretty aircraft, but I'm a sucker for swing wings. p.s. I was on a job Friday out on the west side of Fort Worth with clear blue sky's and sunshine basically across the highway from the end of the runway of the Lockheed/NAS facility, a couple of F-35's were doing touch and goes and screaming right over our heads. Then a couple of F-16's were doing the same. It was a great day! Edited July 29, 2019 by derex3592 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dobber Posted July 29, 2019 Share Posted July 29, 2019 (edited) I agree, the teen series are some of the best “Looking” fighter aircraft of all time. I’d through the F-4 in there too. Phantoms just looks so rugged and mean to me. Almost like if a fighter fan designed it. I do like several “Modern” designs....really the only ones that come to mind that I actively dislike the looks of.....ALOT.....are the F-35 and the J-20. Chris Edited July 29, 2019 by Dobber Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalvasflam Posted July 29, 2019 Share Posted July 29, 2019 You know, this is all Lockheed's fault that we end up with an entire generation of designs that looks alike. And of course, China and Russia has to copy these designs, meaning the F-22 and the F-35. And don't get me started on the design that Airbus is putting together. It's like common sense went out the window or something. I suppose it could've been worse, they could've selected the X-32, and all the designs could've looked like that. I can't believe the sleekness of fighter design is going to depend on Boeing. I hope the FCA looks a lot better than the current crop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
electric indigo Posted July 29, 2019 Share Posted July 29, 2019 The J-20 has canards, so it is intrinsically cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dobber Posted July 29, 2019 Share Posted July 29, 2019 (edited) Funny thing.....I actually like the looks of the X-32 more than the F-35. I’m probably the only person on the planet that liked the 32. Honestly, it reminds me of the Saber Chris Edited July 29, 2019 by Dobber Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anime52k8 Posted July 29, 2019 Share Posted July 29, 2019 I like the theoretical production F-32 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knight26 Posted July 29, 2019 Share Posted July 29, 2019 The J-21 is not a bad looking plane, but it is definitely a missile truck from the look of it. Get in fast, dump your missiles on target, get a quick turn around and beat feat out. Despite the Canards it is likely not supermaneuverable. But it is far from ugly. The F-32 production concept was honestly a nice looking plane that would have looked perfect beside it's forefathers: the F-86, F-8 and A-7. I have long said that the JSF program should have stayed a technology development project, with the core technologies: Engines, sensors, radar, weapons, etc... getting farmed out to other companies to produce the actual airframes. In that scheme: The Air Force would get its F-35. There was clear bias on the USAF leadership in that direction. The Navy/Royal Navy would get the F-32. The design was far more suited to carrier based operations. The Marine Corps would either get the VTOL F-32, or that McD (IIRC) JSF concept with the canards. The tech could then have been further farmed out for a proper F-14 follow on, not that Super Hornet is a bad plane, but it's no Tomcat. The Air Force could have even pushed the tech into an F-15/F-22 successor and even an A-10 successor (though we all know the Army wants that role). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadow Posted July 29, 2019 Share Posted July 29, 2019 The F-32 concept definitely reminds me of the F-8 if blended with an F-22 and comes off as the sturdier design compared to the F-35. If the Navy had decided to focus on a "true" successor to the Tomcat and build a medium to heavy class fighter, I wonder if they'd have focused also on a successor to the AIM-54 Phoenix with more of a focus on anti-ballistic missile capability. I believe the AIM-152 AAAM was one attempt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vifam7 Posted July 29, 2019 Share Posted July 29, 2019 2 hours ago, Shadow said: The F-32 concept definitely reminds me of the F-8 if blended with an F-22 and comes off as the sturdier design compared to the F-35. If the Navy had decided to focus on a "true" successor to the Tomcat and build a medium to heavy class fighter, I wonder if they'd have focused also on a successor to the AIM-54 Phoenix with more of a focus on anti-ballistic missile capability. I believe the AIM-152 AAAM was one attempt. Not sure if an aircraft launched ABM would be as responsive and effective as a ship-based ABM. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knight26 Posted July 29, 2019 Share Posted July 29, 2019 58 minutes ago, Vifam7 said: Not sure if an aircraft launched ABM would be as responsive and effective as a ship-based ABM. Anti-ballistic will always be a ship or land based missiles and systems. Though the Navy may have toyed with the idea of an air launched ABM, putting it on a fighter aircraft would be impractical. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slide Posted July 30, 2019 Share Posted July 30, 2019 12 hours ago, anime52k8 said: I like the theoretical production F-32 Honestly, these are the best renders I've ever seen of it... maybe painting the airframe white was their biggest error.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anime52k8 Posted July 30, 2019 Share Posted July 30, 2019 8 minutes ago, slide said: Honestly, these are the best renders I've ever seen of it... maybe painting the airframe white was their biggest error.... no, the big mistake was angling the intake forward so it had a stupid grin all the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kajnrig Posted July 30, 2019 Share Posted July 30, 2019 I prefer to think of it as a frog gullet, myself. It grows on you after a while. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anime52k8 Posted July 30, 2019 Share Posted July 30, 2019 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sildani Posted July 30, 2019 Share Posted July 30, 2019 Nah. Their biggest mistakes were building one prototype, being unable to build the second one, and stating the production model would be significantly different than the prototype-almost a full redesign. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Hingtgen Posted July 30, 2019 Author Share Posted July 30, 2019 2 hours ago, Sildani said: and stating the production model would be significantly different than the prototype-almost a full redesign. Yeah, you've gotta keep that under wraps! (see: YF-22 vs F-22A) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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