nukchebi0 wrote:
Ajax_the_Great1 wrote:
Why retire a plane thats never been shot down? Or has it? It said 7 have crashed but that doesn't sound like its been shot down.
One was shot down over Kosovo in 1999 by an SA-2 or SA-3.
As for the Raptor's necessity, it is needed. I wrote a paper on it, which I'll post if you wish.
Please, tell me why The Air Force feels they need to spend 200 million apeice on what is plain overkill? Why isnt the F15 good enough? It's a plane that is still superior to anything else that has been made and probably will ever be made for the next decade or 2. What about the mass produced F18 and its super hornet upgrade? It can hold its own against any opposing fighter, the fact it is carrier-borne means it can be deployed anywhere in the world in less than 24 hours. And lets not forget the pilots are highly trained compared to non-NATO/EU countries, which is enough to render a country's airpower near-unbeatable. Remember korea; The F86 held a 10:1 kill ratio against what was mostly a superior and numerically equal Mig15 because the veteran US pilots faced Korean rookies who only just got out of flight school.
mudder wrote:
I was at the first official public showing of the aircraft. Dayton airshow during Gulf1. Also at that show the Russian unveiled an SUxx "I forgot which one" It had this brand new tech called vector control! Anyway back then it was new to the public. Damn thing "hovered" for a few seconds after a loop d loop. My father and I were blown away.
It was probably the SU30, the first model that used thrust vectoring if i'm not mistaken.
Last edited by N00bkilla55404 (2008-03-11 21:10:08)