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A "sidewinder missile + F-22 flight time costs" are a rounding error in the national security budget. The experience and lessons learnt from using it are valuab
by samwillis 4y ago
A "sidewinder missile + F-22 flight time costs" are a rounding error in the national security budget. The experience and lessons learnt from using it are valuable to all layers of the military and administration, significantly more so than the financial cost.
(I'm British and so not a US tax payer, just a spectator, but would argue the same here)
- mrleinad 4y agoWhat lessons might shooting some balloon from an F-22 might give you that you don't already know?
- sundvor 4y agoAbsolutely. The value of F-22s actually launching some $400k AIM-9Xs not at training targets with a 100% success rate would be far, far greater than those unit costs. It's a crying shame the F-22 production line was shut down, so it's great to see it performing well. (Speaking as a DCS sim pilot with a long time interest in military aviation).
- ilyt 4y agoOh yes the useful and oh so important lesson that F-22 is indeed capable of disposing of not only maneuverable airborne crafts but also non-maneuverable ones! Clearly a baloon is so hard to dispose target that making sure the aircraft indeed can be up to this task is worth any money!
- mensetmanusman 4y agoIn some scenarios, balloons are more difficult to shoot down than aircraft.
- cardamomo 4y agoCan you expand on this? What scenarios are you thinking of?
- sundvor 4y agoThe IR signature/target profile of a balloon contraption is very different to that of a jet exhaust, for one. Far less friction heat of movement etc + no engine. Although the X is an all aspect missile, the parameters would still be quite different. I think this is would all be firmly in the "not public domain" bucket of details though, as I haven't seen much of this modelled in DCS. (I suppose they could also have used eg a radar guided AIM-120, but they are primarily for BVR, more expensive at ~$1.1, and far, far more scope for erroneous target locking, so why risk it when the 9X obviously gets the job done. Again, from the point of view of an armchair - or a rig to be precise - sim pilot. I claim no credentials beyond this interest).
- jamwil 4y agoWhat is DCS?
- sundvor 4y agoDCS World is a multi and single player combat simulator platform for the PC made by Eagle Dynamics, which features modules such as the A-10C, F-16, F/A-18 and the F-14. The platform is free, the modules' pricing is reflective of the development work gone in to them - and requires a lot of time to learn. Great fun.
- smegger001 4y agothe problem is as long as the target you send up are cheaper for you to produce than the countermeasure used against them you can spam your opponent and bleed them financially while having a minimal impact on your own budget. Air to air missiles cost on the order of $300,000.00 weather balloons cost and order of magnitude less.
- BbzzbB 4y agoIf someone starts sending thousands or tens of thousands of balloons into American airspace to make the cost of shooting them down "significant", won't your congress consider that an act of war? It's quite a leap from the odd stray weather balloon to send them en masse. We'll all have bigger problems if that day comes than the pesky billion or two it will cost from the US $773B DoD budget.
- Axsuul 4y agoWhat about the autocannon using A10s?
- 15155 4y agoThe first balloon flew at FL600+: no A10 is touching it with a ground attack cannon from a 20,000 foot spread in altitude.