5 ms·
Something other people haven't brought up but I think is important: Military aviation is still in the exponential part of the technology S curve. Each new gene
by j9461701 9y ago
Something other people haven't brought up but I think is important:
Military aviation is still in the exponential part of the technology S curve. Each new generation isn't just a little better than the previous one, it is massively better and embodies some new piece of technology the previous generation is nearly helpless against. The Fury is multiple such technology leaps out of date, and as a result is basically helpless in the sky.
Consider:
The Sea Fury has a maximum takeoff weight of 6,600 kg. The F-22 has a maximum takeoff weight of 38,000 kg. How do you take a plane like the Sea Fury, and let it carry 6 times the weapons/sensors/gadgets? A revolution in engine technology.
The Sea Fury's skin is made from duralumin, and sticks out like a sore thumb on radar. The F22's skin is made of a composite material that makes it nearly invisible to radar. How do you take a plane like the Sea Fury, and let it operate with impunity against radar? A revolution in materials technology.
And so on and so on. The F22 embodies something like five separate revolutionary technologies, any one of which would enable it to defeat nearly unlimited numbers of Furys. But all put together and it's - well, the Furys become so outdated they're almost not even worth killing.
- gaius 9y agoUnlimited? It doesn't carry the stores. At 10:1 the F22 would have to watch helplessly as a few of them slipped through. What's it going to do, ram them? Worse with the F35 which has no gun and can only carry 2 missiles without losing stealth.
- j9461701 9y ago>Unlimited? It doesn't carry the stores. The F22 is nearly 2000 km/h faster than the Sea Fury, and the turn around time is said to be on the order of 20 minutes. In the time it takes the Sea Furys to go to the target, do their business, and go home you're looking at 3+ F22 sorties each hitting a nearly guaranteed 12 kills (maximum anti-air missile load with twinning racks) plus however many they can kill with 480 rounds of 20mm cannon fire. So yes, damn near unlimited. That's what happens when the enemy can kill a dozen pilots every 20 minutes with no fear of retaliation. You get a bloodbath. >Worse with the F35 which has no gun and can only carry 2 missiles without losing stealth. Why do people who know nothing about planes instantly forget that fact the moment the F-35 is brought up? The F-35A does have a cannon, while the F-35B and C have the option for an external cannon pod. The F-35 can carry four missiles in its internal bays, not two.
- gaius 9y agoturn around time is said to be on the order of 20 minutes And for how many sorties can it sustain that? Even if you had enough F22 pilots to keep it going... Send just enough Sea Furies to force the F22s to scramble until they are forced into deep maintenance - then waltz in with your main force, game over.
- Malician 9y agoI don't think you can multiply costs like that. The expenses of maintaining the logistics for that many planes would be exorbitant, and I believe the unit costs of modern aircraft would be far lower if we made more of them.