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F-15EX is essentially a flying missile boat, I'm pretty sure it can hold up to 20 AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles. For context a 35 carries only 4. They will support f2
by uncoder0 6y ago
F-15EX is essentially a flying missile boat, I'm pretty sure it can hold up to 20 AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles. For context a 35 carries only 4. They will support f22's and f35's from BVR. The upgrades are probably designed to modernize the older air frame to talk to the newer ones.
- decafninja 6y agoWasn't there talk of using the B-1 or even B-52 as an "arsenal ship" like that? A F-22/35 goes in to find targets, relays them to the bomber, and the bomber slings missiles from BVR.
- uncoder0 6y agoI think if any bomber were to be used in this capacity it'd be a B-21, stealthy, good capacity, but still subsonic so vulnerable. The range of AMRAAM is still considered being in the danger zone for those aircraft. I've used the F-15EX as a missile boat against China in Command: Modern Operations to great success. Some context I used to be in the AF and worked on raptors but, now it's more of a hobby. All information I'm discussing is gleaned from the Command simulation which is publicly available and a relatively good approximation of reality.
- vidanay 6y agoDale Brown - Flight of the Old Dog
- decafninja 6y agoYup, I remember this! B-52 armed to the teeth with AIM-120s. Later he has B-1, B-2, and F-111 versions too. I remember enjoying his earlier novels. His later novels became both weirder and more political, so not much of a fan of them.
- vidanay 6y agoIt has to be inherent in the genre. Clancy fell off a cliff in the mid 90's also.
- decafninja 6y agoStephen Coonts was the most severe. His last Jake Grafton novel was absolutely cringeworthy - I say that as a (former) fan.
- jasonwatkinspdx 6y agoYou're comparing the stealth configuration of the F-35 to the F-15EX. If the F-35 uses external stores it can carry 14 AIM-120.
- uncoder0 6y agoIs that mode operational yet? I remember reading about it. https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/17250/lockheed-touts-non-existent-beast-mode-f-35-configuration-with-16-air-to-air-missiles https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/17250/lockheed-touts-n...
- jasonwatkinspdx 6y agoThat's to go from 14 to 16. Anyhow, I know it's pointless to talk about this here on hnews, because the smug crowd that's read one or two articles on war is boring or such drown everything out, but I've seen this issue discussed by actual military aviators at length, and they were overwhelmingly of the opinion this F-15EX buy is a bad idea, and basically just a pork politics attempt for Boeing to pull some more cash their way.
- uncoder0 6y agoInteresting I'll have to ask the guys I know at ACC. I mostly play with the planes in sims and they seem useful. The dollar amount isn't really a consideration then. Most the guys I know think throwing away f22 production was the dumbest thing we could have done.
- jasonwatkinspdx 6y agoIt's hard to interpret destroying the F-22 tooling as anything but malicious rent seeking imo.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]