Jets & Planes but no UAV's here.

[Suhiir]

Well I use NOD32 and Malwarebytes on the Edge browser (Win 10) and I get the exact same screen DRG does.

[scorpio_rocks]

Firefox, Kaspersky, Win 10, etc - I see the site no problem

[DRG]

FWIW...........It's OK for me today...

[FASTBOAT TOUGH]

Just a little news:

Finland: Will start to phase out it's F/A-18C/D's in 2025. Seeking new options that might or might get into the game.
https://www.flightglobal.com/news/ar...-procu-431832/

India: Is the only country left to fly the Sepecat JAGUAR. It would appear they intend to keep it that for sometime to come with a major upgrade package being installed. These aircraft were designed primarily for the ground attack role a mission greatly enhanced by the upgrade which the first three have already reached IOC.
https://www.flightglobal.com/news/ar...an-ioc-431779/

Sweden: How do you arguably make the best 4th GEN+ fighter better and more appealing to current and potential new buyers? Simply you make a bold business decision and add future technologies now. And yes this fighter is that good. It is generally considered the most technically capable cost effective fighter in the world.
https://www.flightglobal.com/news/ar...oftwar-431790/

Switzerland: MOD requesting "emergency" funding to maintain it's F/A-18C/D and F-5 current fleet. Also seeks new fighter being operational by 2025.
https://www.flightglobal.com/news/ar...-fight-431755/

8+ hours to go, the rest of you have a great weekend!

Regards,
Pat

[Suhiir]

I know it may sound a bit strange but the whole time I was in I never met anyone Colonel or above, or a Sgt Major that I ever had any issues with, and very few light Colonels or 1st Sgts (like 1 or 2 each) that struck me as "unworthy". So being a former General and a division commander (vice a purely staff type) I'll assume he's competent until I see otherwise.

While the senor NCO's definitely keep things operating on a day-to-day basis it's the long-term planning and equipment acquisition senior officers do that fosters a military force effectiveness and reputation in the long run.

[DRG]

Mattis is described in this article as being a" Marine's Marine"

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/gen-jame...orable-quotes/

I like him. He sounds like me.......

I may add a quote or two to the game

Don

[Suhiir]

Originally Posted by DRG

Mattis is described in this article as being a" Marine's Marine"

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/gen-jame...orable-quotes/

I like him. He sounds like me.......

I may add a quote or two to the game

Don

Yeah, made it a point to read up on him a bit ... looks pretty good, take a look at this interview.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKIJKQRb53o

He definitely seems to know the Mid East and it's issues.

[FASTBOAT TOUGH]

To say I've not been a fan of the F-35 would at times, be an understatement. I've been watching and posting on the project from the start and I feel good or bad I've been fair in the posting the "news" concerning this project. That being said I'm not very happy about some of the conclusions the following have come to especially, as what it means potentially to the air crew flying them. The sources are legitimate and surprising as to where it comes from and by whom. They patch together the many various data points I've already posted and revealed some "tidbits" that to some degree I'm somewhat surprised by. I've taken from Ref. 1, the highlighted "memo" by Dr. Michael Gilmore, Director, Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E) Ref. 2 and Senator John McCain's memo to the SECDEF Mr. Ashton Carter Ref. 3. All other highlighted words or phases are a click away for further reading. I would say given this recent information, the A-10 might just be sticking around a little longer beyond games end.
http://www.defense-aerospace.com/art...-jeopardy.html
https://www.documentcloud.org/docume...gress-and.html
http://www.mccain.senate.gov/public/...D-5D157784085F

I need to do a better job of following my resources I guess.

Regards,
Pat

[Suhiir]

I'll be very curious to see what happens when Trump and (probably) Mattis get in place. Obviously it will (should) take a bit of time for them to find out what's going on and formulate a strategy. I'm hoping defense contractors actually start being held accountable rather then just getting more money tossed at them as has been happening more and more often in recent years.

Of course there's also the problem of the DOD having reasonable expectations when it comes to new weapons systems ... sometimes I start to wonder in growing up watching Star Trek/Wars has led to unreasonable expectations.

[IronDuke99]

Looking at this from a British point of view (and UK has actually put a lot of money into F-35)

I see an aircraft that is vital to the new Royal Navy Aircraft Carriers, because those carriers, although second in size only to USN Carriers, do not have cats and traps.

I see an aircraft that is not dedicated to the RN Fleet Air Arm, as it should be, but instead will be under at least partly RAF control (and the RAF see F-35B as a Tornado replacement for some reason).

Cannot help thinking that my views back in the early 2000's (make both the new British Carriers cats and traps and buy Super Hornet but with the option to also buy Rafale, and, maybe, later down the track F-35C) would have been better than the position now.

UK making 70,000 ton Carriers STOVL only ever really made (some) sense if their had been a smooth transfer from Harrier to F-35, as was the original plan back in the 90's. FAA Sea Harrier has been gone for years now and so have all Harriers from British service, due to an RAF (who had been given control of the British 'joint' Harrier force) choice to scrap them.

So why build very large carriers and make them carry STOVL F-35B a aircraft that has less range, less internal weapons capacity (and you only keep the limited F-35 stealth capacity with internal weapons) and less agility than F-35C, will cost more per unit to buy and will inevitably require more maintenance (because it has an extra dirty great heavy 'lift' fan, that is entirely useless to the aircraft except in landing, or taking off vertically, which has no real use in actual ops).

HMS Queen Elizabeth (named after Elizabeth I of defeat of the Spanish Armada fame) Does sea trails next year, but is unlikely to have a single fixed wing jet aboard before 2020 and will not have even a very modest 24 F-35B air group much before 2023 (the plan is, in a major conflict this would rise to at least 36 fixed wing aircraft). Assuming that is the RAF cooperates...

The whole thing strikes me as a hugely expensive mess, that passed by while most attention was on fighting expensive wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that we did not bloody win in any case.