Emu

The F-35 has hit another snag — this time because it is just too good Aug. 1, 2016, 5:13 PM The F-35 has hit yet another snag. During a recent exercise at Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho, US Air Force F-35A pilots set out to practice evading surface-to-air missiles, but they could not, because the SAM radars on the ground could not even find the ultra-stealthy planes. "If they never saw us, they couldn't target us," said Lt. Col. George Watkins, commander of the 34th Fighter Squadron at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, told the Air Force Times. To participate in the exercise as planned, the F-35As had to turn on their transponders, essentially announcing their presence so the SAM sites could see and engage them. "We basically told them where we were at and said, 'Hey, try to shoot at us,'" said Watkins. Had Watkins and crew not turned on their transponders, "most likely we would not have suffered a single loss from any SAM threats while we were training at Mountain Home." Air Force planners have been counting on the F-35's ability to enter heavily contested airspaceunseen by enemy radar and missiles, and the result of this exercise seems to vindicate that strategy, to say the least. A Patriot Air and Missile Defense launcher fires an interceptor during a previous test at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. The latest configuration of the system, called PDB-8, has passed four flight tests and is now with the US Army for a final evaluation. Raytheon "When we go to train, it's really an unfair fight for the guys who are simulating the adversaries," Watkins continued. "We've been amazed by what we can do when we go up against fourth-gen adversaries in our training environment, in the air and on the ground." The idea that F-35s can enter the most heavily defended air spaces on earth, pass by undetected by SAM sites and radars, and soften up those targets as well as legacy fighters represents the entire reasoning behind the trillion-dollar thrust to get this weapons system in the air. Watkins said that with just four F-35s, he can "be everywhere and nowhere at the same time because we can cover so much ground with our sensors, so much ground and so much airspace. And the F-15s or F-16s, or whoever is simulating an adversary or red air threat, they have no idea where we're at and they can't see us and they can't target us." The fourth US Air Force F-35A Lightning II aircraft arrives at the 422nd Test and Evaluation Squadron at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, in 2013. Reuters Watkins described a "pretty awesome feeling" seeing the grand plans of the F-35 come to fruition in a realistic training exercise, by rendering virtually all other platforms obsolete. Utah's Hill Air Force Base, where Watkins commands the squadron of F-35s, now has 21 certified pilots, 222 maintainers, and 15 F-35s at the ready. Another F-35 is scheduled to be delivered at the end of August, and more pilots and maintainers are continually being trained to full readiness. According to the Air Force Times, no further shortfalls in supply are expected, and top Air Force brass should declare the plane operationally ready within a few days.

And it takes time and money to select and train a pilot.

It doesn't have to be the firing aircraft illuminating the target, which is why the Meteor is the perfect weapon for a mixed 4th/5th gen fleet.

Meteor is rated around 300km, '3 times NEZ of AIM-120C-5'.

Ballistic knife?:lol:

Meteor.

Or perhaps large gatherings of people just aren't a good indicator of anything.

I just noticed that. Awesome fun.:lol:

Not really. They can build it out of aid money.

That should be the A-10's new nickname. Burrrt.

Nose doesn't look pointed enough. Also note bobble on nose in top picture.

Me too. Noted that the first combat missions were not carried out in Desert Storm as I'd previously thought. The Boscombe Down incident is perhaps the most interesting. I'd love to know what the heck that was.

Noted that they've started equipping Type 45s with Harpoon launchers in the above.

http://www.janes.com/article/64251/ausa-2016-all-future-raytheon-an-tpy-2-radars-to-be-built-with-gan AUSA 2016: All future Raytheon AN/TPY-2 radars to be built with GaN - Jane's IDR

Is it sensible to drop flares on one of your bases?

The F-35 carries 48 flares. Two sides where each side of the bracket holds a 6x4 grid of flares. On the Decoy estimate, by bet is 4 since the canister is twice as tall as it is wide then the 4 alignment markers make sense in the above photos.