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I'm not sure even in a world where dogfights are still a thing that the F-35 makes any sense. If we are talking the ability to deliver air munitions, again, I

I'm not sure even in a world where dogfights are still a thing that the F-35 makes any sense. If we are talking the ability to deliver air munitions, again, I just can't see it. What makes an F-35 more special than a drone?

philjohn 8y ago
It's getting to the point of being trivial to jam a drone - and you do that, it's no longer under your control. Harder to jam a human sitting in a plane.
- patcheudor 8y ago
  Depends on your perspective. If you are running a consumer grade drone over 2.4Ghz, okay. However, it's actually getting impossible to jam military drones because of technologies like direct sequence ultra-wideband (DS-UWB). Further, if directed by satellite, further measures can be taken to block ground based jamming using directional antennas. Finally: AI. We are already at the point where we have weapons that when they lose communications, have their own camera for target identification.
  - greedo 8y ago
    Uh, no. Ask the Iranians who were able to capture an RQ-180 UAV. These sure aren't controlled on the 2.4 spectrum. And today's drones are meat for a manned fighter once they're detected. Clubbing baby seals is one of the terms used... And before someone chimes in about drone fighters, that's a good 20+ years out.
Clubber 8y ago
I'm not sure I would even call them dogfights anymore. It's about picking up a target at long range and throwing a guided missile at it. I think one of the main benefits of the F35 is range of finding and throwing. It's not unlike the WWI scenario where the German artillery shell allied positions and the allied artillery which couldn't even throw a shell that far. Range makes things pretty one sided.
riku_iki 8y ago
Drones are slow, not stealthy, can't vtol and fly from aircarrier, can carry much less ordinance, can be jammed, don't have air-to-air radar and modern missiles integration. If you try to build drone with all of features of F-35, you may get even more expensive project.
- patcheudor 8y ago
  Yet Russia made a very fast drone (if you believe Putin): https://russia-insider.com/en/putin-stunner-3-dagger-invincible-plane-launched-nuke-missile-10x-speed-sound-video/ri22673 https://russia-insider.com/en/putin-stunner-3-dagger-invinci...
  - riku_iki 8y ago
    It is not drone, it is one time use missile. Likely also expensive.

philjohn 8y ago

It's getting to the point of being trivial to jam a drone - and you do that, it's no longer under your control. Harder to jam a human sitting in a plane.

patcheudor 8y ago
Depends on your perspective. If you are running a consumer grade drone over 2.4Ghz, okay. However, it's actually getting impossible to jam military drones because of technologies like direct sequence ultra-wideband (DS-UWB). Further, if directed by satellite, further measures can be taken to block ground based jamming using directional antennas. Finally: AI. We are already at the point where we have weapons that when they lose communications, have their own camera for target identification.
- greedo 8y ago
  Uh, no. Ask the Iranians who were able to capture an RQ-180 UAV. These sure aren't controlled on the 2.4 spectrum. And today's drones are meat for a manned fighter once they're detected. Clubbing baby seals is one of the terms used... And before someone chimes in about drone fighters, that's a good 20+ years out.

Clubber 8y ago

I'm not sure I would even call them dogfights anymore. It's about picking up a target at long range and throwing a guided missile at it. I think one of the main benefits of the F35 is range of finding and throwing. It's not unlike the WWI scenario where the German artillery shell allied positions and the allied artillery which couldn't even throw a shell that far. Range makes things pretty one sided.

riku_iki 8y ago

Drones are slow, not stealthy, can't vtol and fly from aircarrier, can carry much less ordinance, can be jammed, don't have air-to-air radar and modern missiles integration. If you try to build drone with all of features of F-35, you may get even more expensive project.

patcheudor 8y ago
Yet Russia made a very fast drone (if you believe Putin): https://russia-insider.com/en/putin-stunner-3-dagger-invincible-plane-launched-nuke-missile-10x-speed-sound-video/ri22673 https://russia-insider.com/en/putin-stunner-3-dagger-invinci...
- riku_iki 8y ago
  It is not drone, it is one time use missile. Likely also expensive.