4 ms·
Shame they can’t just gun them down with a tucano. This all seems like a large waste of money.
by Redoubts 4y ago
Shame they can’t just gun them down with a tucano. This all seems like a large waste of money.
- KerrAvon 4y agoHave you ever seen the budget for the department of defense? Whatever they're doing here is less than the pocket change they lose in the Pentagon seat cushions.
- Turing_Machine 4y agoAlso, pilots generally need to fire a certain number of missiles every year just to stay in training. At least this saves the additional cost of a drone (the usual target for training missions, I think).
- thrill 4y agoNo, they don't. Most peacetime pilots would likely fire one missile during their entire careers if they were lucky.
- Turing_Machine 4y agoYes, they do. The USAF has purchased more than 10,000 of the AIM-9X model alone (not counting the other operators, domestic and foreign, and not counting all the other variants of the Sidewinder, the basic model of which has been in service since the 1950s). That's a helluva lot more than "one per career". https://www.navair.navy.mil/news/Air-Air-Missiles-Takes-Delivery-10000th-AIM-9X/Tue-06292021-0652 https://www.navair.navy.mil/news/Air-Air-Missiles-Takes-Deli... 1
- thrill 4y agoNo, they don't. I did this for a career.
- ttul 4y agoI don’t understand these “missiles cost too much” budget arguments. Defense costs hundreds of billions annually. The cost of the people who orchestrate the firing of that munition vastly outweighs the cost of the munition.
- SkyPuncher 4y agoBesides the missile, these pilots need hours anyways. Unlikely to be adding significant expense since this can replace hours elsewhere.