"The lump in the throat of our potential adversaries..." I could not have said it better.

In Viktor Belenko's book "MiG Pilot" (he's the Soviet pilot who defected to Japan with a MiG-25), he describes his first technical briefing on the F-14/Phoenix system, and scarcely believing what he was reading.

Having been a military geek in the 1970's, I can vouch for all the news articles critizing the new hardware (F15, F14, A10, M1, B1, Trident) as too expensive, to prone to failure, to difficult to repair, not living up to expectations, etc. So good job Alex, for reminding us that previous programs had similar probelms.

@talltroll7092

Жыл бұрын

It's almost like post-WWII are much more complex and difficult to design and build, often taking years to work out all the kinks, and the days of it being possible to go from drawing board to production in less than a year (as the P-51 famously did) are gone forever

@darbyheavey406

Жыл бұрын

The M1 and the Bradley were described as “unsurvivable on the modern battlefield” as late as 1988.

@darbyheavey406

Жыл бұрын

@@talltroll7092 Read news from WW2- Howard Hughes was investigated repeatedly over cost overruns and he was ones of aviations most celebrated designers and test pilots.

@Bwize716

Жыл бұрын

@@darbyheavey406 didn’t Howard Hughes build the ridiculous monstrosity Spruce Goose aircraft ?

Why I love Sandboxx/Air Power: Smart; informative; newsworthy; well-written; well-read--articulate, excellent grammar with no mispronunciations or mis-readings; clear-minded and rational; up-to-the-minute data; accurate. Thanks. Now, if only many other posters were thus. Many posters could take lessons from this channel--BIG TIME!! Thank you Air Power.

I was in high school, when the F14, F15, & F16 were announced to replace, then current, Navy & Air Force fighters. Mostly, the F4, for both services. The whole reason for the F16, seemed to be, as a supplement, to the F15s, as the later were too expensive. As that's how it was presented in paper magazines, as there was no internet. Articles updated weekly, at most. Making comments, was called "letters to the editor", by US Mail, with a stamp. Took days, at best, for the viewers to put in their 2 cents.

@texasman1836

Жыл бұрын

Me too. I was in NJROTC in high school. Our commander was a retired naval aviator. You bet we saw every unclassified film on the Tomcat that they could get their hands on. When I was a senior and applied for a Navy scholarship, they were only taking candidates for pilots. My comically thick glasses ruled that out, tho.

@goofyrulez7914

Жыл бұрын

Give me F-14s, the coolest looking fighter in years! :)

@brucehillbillybarthalow3786

Жыл бұрын

And be lucky if your 2 cents was answered in the next issue.

@DeltaAssaultGaming

Жыл бұрын

The F4 was so bad. Glad we replaced it

@goofyrulez7914

Жыл бұрын

@@DeltaAssaultGaming - They say that ever weirdness in the F4's design was there to correct yet another error they found :)

I remember when the SU-57 was being "touted" with all the fluff from Russia in 2008. Russia was telling people around the world this was the "F-22SKI" because the design looked a little like the Raptor and it could go head to head and surpass the F-22. 🙄🙄🙄. That thing has more rivets than the Titanic with an RCS of the Crimea bridge to Ukraine lol.

@lip124

Жыл бұрын

Same with China, my issues with people touting both china and russia's being the best is they don't disclose cost or failure rates not to mention its performance. So people should ALWAYS give those to countries benefit of doubt there fighters is sub par until actually tested.

@Helperbot-2000

Жыл бұрын

also it doesnt help to have fancy planes when you have about 1 and a half of them lol.

@gaz0463

Жыл бұрын

It’s very telling, if you understand how stealth is designed and works, the SU57 is a 4.5gen aircraft at best. It’s not just the rivets and the engine exhaust that’s the problem but the panel gaps between all the moving panels and flight surfaces. On the F22/F35 these moving surfaces are engineered to very tight tolerances where the SU57 is not. There’s an internal AF joke that says there’s always a chance the SU57 survives a direct missile strike if the missile flys through a panel gap. There’s also the metal canopy band and planes general shape in parts. Then there’s it’s reliability problems and problems with its engines and avionics. As usual, Putin, will boast about how Russian technology so superior and far ahead of the west but, in reality, it’s just not there. This has been shown to be the case in the war with Ukraine! Russia just doesn’t have anything that compares to or has an answer to Ukraines Western supplies military technology which has proven to be far superior.

@OrtadragoonX

Жыл бұрын

@@lip124 I think too many people give the Russians undeserved early credit because of the legacy of the late period Soviet aircraft assets adopted in the 1980s. The last Soviet designs were very capable and were good aircraft, even if they had their own flaws. The Su-27 and MiG-29 were such big jumps for the Soviet air industry that everyone was shocked by their demonstrated performance. Performance that was later confirmed when the USSR collapsed and NATO got a chance to actually fly them since they were now in friendly nations. Basically Russia coasts on the legacy of the late Soviet era when it comes to their aircraft. They were good designs; the Russians kept modernizing them again and again and they are mostly successful. The Su-57, however, is proof that Russia is not the USSR when it comes to in-house design. It’s a train wreck of a program.

@stupidburp

Жыл бұрын

The partially exposed engine faces likely add as much RCS as an external missile load out. The US should counter it with a cost effective large fighter with stealth from shaping but not exotic coatings and materials. Also no internal weapons, at least at first but with an internal bay with an extra fuel pod that could be upgraded at some point with weapons certification. The level of stealth could likely be about equal or better than Su-57 but with retaining a large amount of firepower. Detection range might be 60 miles or so instead of 20 miles or so for a fully stealth fighter. But still a significant improvement from the 120 miles or so of completely unstealthy fighters. Availability rate could be relatively high because of no time spent maintaining stealth coatings or filling gaps. A decent option for air policing and filling numbers up with an incremental improvement over many current fighters.

Great video, as always. Could we get a video on the two Helicopter replacement programs next? The armed scout and medium lift choppers will be massive programs worth exploring here.

@texasranger24

Жыл бұрын

Sikorsky has the S-97 Raider compete with the Bell+Textron 360 Invictus in the AAS / FARA (armed scout) program. Meanwhile, the Sikorsky+Boeing SB-1 Defiant competes with the Bell+Lockheed V280 Valor for the FVL (long-range lift) program. Given how the US defense industry works, it is likely that both companies get one contract each, to keep every factory running, everybody employed. So if you like both Sikorsky or both Bell designs, get ready for a disappointment. The Raider has troop capacity while the Invictus does not, but that gives the Invictus better stealth properties, just like the Boeing-Sikorsky RAH-66 Comanche had. Not sure why they abandoned that design. Just to push a common scout and transport design when they know it's not very likely they'll get both contracts? The V280 seems to be the more mature design, faster and longer range. But the SB-1 might offer better handling and safety, as it is not a tilt rotor. And it's smaller, closer to the Blackhawk size. This might really go both ways.

@richardjackson1627

Жыл бұрын

Ask Alex specifically for some understanding on compound helicopters and the X-49 SpeedHawk.

@sgsheff

Жыл бұрын

I would also really like to see this video and hope they keep both designs going in one form or another because they both have massive advantages over current ones in service. Also, the f-36 king snake would be interesting.

@defective6811

Жыл бұрын

Bumping for great justice

@granatmof

Жыл бұрын

@@texasranger24 honestly for the black hawk replacement, both designs offer different unique oppurtunities. The Sikorsky offers increased range, acceleration and stability over the Blackhawk for near enough the same footprint (important for logistics), while the Boeing offers additional range and speed useful for better island hopping. Looking at the performance of the other tiltrotor as well as the down draft and footprint for the Boeing is a big hindrance. However I enjoy discussion about both choppers and really think the Army has a difficult choice between the two, or between the four, and it all comes down to really how well they're expected to and actually will perform.

So true about the F22...a plane so capable it grounds superpowers

@My-Opinion-Doesnt-Matter

Жыл бұрын

What superpowers?

@tymw3637

Жыл бұрын

@@My-Opinion-Doesnt-Matter perceived s/powers

@THEgenART

Жыл бұрын

I’m shocked how much bad info is out there about the f22 vs f35 argument. He makes a great point about the (potentially stark) differences between reality and public perception, because the ONLY thing better about the f35 than the f22 is probably the avionics, and that’s just because it’s newer. The f22 is far more capable and therefore more lethal, even with the f35’s more advanced electronics. Significantly faster, more maneuverable, two engines, and there were no major compromises on its design due to needing to make 3 different variants (f35a, b, and c). That’s the main criticism of the -35 is that it does a buncha stuff fairly well, but nothing great. The f22 is almost a perfect tool for intercepting and air-to-air. The only thing you could say it’s missing is 3D thrust vectoring (it has 2D), but good pilots can aileron roll to basically get the same effect as 3D vectoring in many aspects. And the cost of f22 is downright astronomical. I heard something like just one engine of the f22 (f-119) is more than an entire f16 or f18 or something (I could be wrong; it feels wrong, but there’s some analogy like that, where it’s compared to something known that puts its cost into perspective).

@My-Opinion-Doesnt-Matter

Жыл бұрын

​ @MichaelJ2020 The legend says that the F-35 could jam the F-22's radar and/or can use its IRST for true stealth (when you turn on your radar - you turn off your stealthiness). Regarding airplane raw performance - the F-35 is a joke, but that's not that important in most BVR scenarios.

@johndoh5182

Жыл бұрын

@@THEgenART The F-22 is a better dog fighter. This guy has covered EXACTLY what you're saying but since he does pretty thorough research his coverage of the F-22 vs. F-35 is FULL of detail about both planes and how they're used. Try watching the many videos and see what the assessment comes out to be after watching the many videos this guy has posted on this topic. The two planes almost compliment each other, there are systems in the F-35 that I don't think you CAN implement into the F-22 without affecting its performance. The F-35 is something that relies on better stealth to take out systems further away, but up close it's not as good as the F-22.

Alex, another great segment! After spending 32 years working at a defense contractor, I get asked on occasion "why are these aircraft so expensive?" I answer "which number do you want? If you really want to keep building those planes, use the per unit cost without anything else. If you want something closer to the truth, add in the ground support equipment, logistics, etc. If you want to kill the program, add in all of the R&D costs (which IMO is a fallacy, as the goal of R&D is knowledge)." Balanced as always. Another great Sandboxx vid!

I am reminded of the SAC motto, "Peace is our profession". If the peace is maintained, then mission accomplished. The price of vigilance is paid for in the lives dedicated and given to that cause. Is their dedication, professionalism and sacrifice for naught? Not at all. Not at all. There is no greater love than this. Semper Fi!

@AnthonyEvelyn

Жыл бұрын

Well done!

So what you're basically saying is the Air Force needs to put out a cool movie like Top Gun to get the F-35 some love 😉 Great video!

@granatmof

Жыл бұрын

Honestly I've been seeing a lot more positive pieces on the F35 in recent months and more negative pieces on things like the A10 warthog. Not sure if the Air Force media machine is giving people free rides and visits to airbases to make opinion shift in their favor or what. I know whatever aircraft I was physically closest to last is always the coolest aircraft to me.

@DeltaAssaultGaming

Жыл бұрын

It’ll always be Fat Amy

@cancelanime1507

Жыл бұрын

@@DeltaAssaultGaming Until people see the thing in person

@bgbear4668

Жыл бұрын

@@DeltaAssaultGaming to be fair its a funny name. And true, the f-35 does look pretty fat. I love the overall design though. Except for the top. I hate seeing the engine poke over the top like that

@tolson57

Жыл бұрын

It seems you missed the point of the video. If keeping the peace and winning wars was dependent on what plane was more popular, then yes, the F-15 needs a movie. But the Iraq's did not run away from the Tomcat because of a movie, they ran away from the Tomcat because they were on the receiving end of the only unfettered war use of the Tomcat for 8 years only 3 years before the beginning of the first Gulf War. Most sources credit the Iranian Tomcats with around 70 kills to 2 losses due to enemy fire. Do you think the Russians ignored the performance of the Tomcat in the hands of the Iranians? The Iraqis got their asses handed to them by the Iranians with no weapons resupply, no technical support, and no parts support. The Americans were much better trained, had weapons resupply, technical support, and parts support. They didn't stand a chance. Nothing I am saying takes anything away from the F-15, it is an outstanding fighter.

Once again an incredibly well done and detailed video! Thank you for what you do!

🏆🏆🏆✌️🙏🇺🇲 Thank you for sharing

I recall the first time F-22 was forward deployed to the middle east. In under a week several countries condemned the move of these fighter to the area. THAT is power. The plane is indeed feared, as it should be.

Seems like the F-35 is going to be the new F-16, with the NGAD and FA-XX being the new F-15 and F-14 respectively. The high/low combo never fails lol

Such great content! Sandboxx is my favorite weekly KZread video series!

Thank you for your work on these videos. Great channel.

Thank you thank you thank you for putting all this in perspective...much needed!

Your videos scripts editing etc are like works of fine art You are brilliant at your job.

Great piece as always Alex!! I really appreciate your commentary and homework that you obviously do!! It shows!

Absolutely fantastic video, Alex!!! You brought up so many points that the general public and the media never even consider. Well done, sir!

One of your best. Elevates your commentary above similarly themed channels. Phrased economically your depth of thinking shines. Well done.

Ty his was a well thought out and on point presentation. Well done sir. I enjoyed it immensely.

Spot on and timely as always! Thank you

Well considered and informative. Good work.

Awesome video again. You are the F-22 of military information and analysis on KZread.

Bravo....as always insightful and informative.

Thanks again for your videos

Alex, another great presentation. It game me a lump in my throat !

Brilliant video Alex, one of your best sir. Thank you.

I really enjoy and appreciate your rational observations, once again you delivered!

I appreciate the speed of which you speak in your videos.

Great video and well said. Luv the "Lump"!

Brother Alex, continued excellence. One area that will not receive much attention is the change ahead or maybe calling it the broadening of "fighter aircraft". Part of NGAD may look a lot like a B-2/B-21. Additionally, the era of RW/HSVTOL engaging in "air-to-air" combat, especially with UAVs is at hand. Not to mention the entry of the UCAV. Keep up the great work.

@user-eq9xs5fz9u

Жыл бұрын

Imagine a UCAV Drone that's designed for Air Superiority... the maneuverability, awareness, and stealth will be off the chart because it's not designed to have a pilot onboard. The G Force limit is that of its wing integrity The onboard computer onboard could process information and make decisions every millisecond But i digress, imagine the maintance lol

Spectacular! Excellent economic comparisons and clearly stated capability understandings. Very nicely packaged!

i really appreciate the work you put in to your content. /subbed

Love this brother's thoughtful and insightful analysis...

Once again, another phenomenal video.

Very, very well said Alex. Thank you.

Great work, as usual. 👍

Fantastic content Alex! Very interesting and some ways non-obvious.

Great, great episode.

Normally, I don't disagree with Sandboxx news statements. But the F-35 was a program management nightmare. Had it been a USAF/ Navy fighter *only* program, I suspect development would be been *significantly* smoother. But adding the US Marine unique requirements, pushed the program into program development hell. (And yes, Politicians *forced* that 3 service, one semi-common aircraft frame decision.)

Great episode.

Talent, dicipline, accountability, transparency, consistency, leadership

Much love ❤❤ from ZAMBIA

The F14 is the only jet fighter that can claim it splashed a Zero!

Well done Alex! Great episode 🇺🇲

Great content

Thank you, Sir!

Very good articulated argument...as usual.

I wasn't a fan of the F-35 program but now we have them and I have seen them up close as well as understanding their unique capabilities I actually changed my opinion. The F-14 will always be No1 in my mind for its time alongside the F-111 in Australian Service.

@jaek__

Жыл бұрын

Always nice to see people's opinion come around the F-35. Love to hear it!

This video was awesome. It really put everything in great perspective on tallying in on what makes a jet hot or not. Great stuff!!!! 🇺🇸

always good, Alex

Thank you again for another interesting and insightful video. Greatly enjoy them. 👍🏻🇺🇸🦅🇺🇸 The depth of your research, which I truly enjoy, is clearly evident. Thank you for your honest, objective and informed presentations. May you and your family enjoy a safe and blessed week, my friend. 🇺🇸🦅🇺🇸

We would do well to remember Foxbat vs Eagle. The US feared a highly capable Russian fighter, due to the lack of good reporting, and so made arguably the best fighter _ever._ While that shouldn't extend pur presumptions at all, I do still imagine Felon vs Raptor or Lightning II is probably a fairly similar situation.

@DeltaAssaultGaming

Жыл бұрын

Foxbat was a disappointment, but all the issues were rectified with the later Firefox.

@defective6811

Жыл бұрын

@@DeltaAssaultGaming was a pretty pair of airplanes, to be sure

Well said Alex, you are a grade A educator, respect brother 👍.

Great assessment, and from what we can glean from open sources, the politics of our acquisition woes are the root causes of many cost overruns. My own military career was spent in either the acquisition of many of these systems or as a system evaluation engineer trying to figure out if they met our performance expectations. I think your points were well presented and reflective of many of the realities of weapons systems that look good but have yet to be proven in combat. To gain insight into their effectiveness you need to look past the flashy marketing hype and study how the USAF is actually conducting operational testing and evaluation of these systems in an integrated air defense environment. Shy of an actual war their test and evaluation is quite thorough. Again it’s complicated by the obvious security restrictions. So our adversaries will always be looking for that fatal flaw so to speak. But what they really need to fear is the men and women that fly these amazing aircraft; their tactics and training are second to none. It’s our aircrew’s willingness and ability to be masters of their trade that make American fighter programs successful whether the aircraft is a modern, nth generation fighter or a modernized version of a legacy fighter. Beyond tools what we’re really investing in is warfighter skills.

I'm an F-15C pilot recently retired. I'd like to address General Kent's comment. While a LWF (F-16 / F-18) can carry the same AMRAAMS the F-15C can, the APG-63 v2 and v3 radars unlock more of the missiles capability (further detail is classified). Second, a LWF cannot complete the same mission as the F-15 without more airbases spaced closer together, or a contingent of even more KC aerial refueling aircraft to allow mission packages to leap-frog into the theater of combat. Factoring either LWF options into the equation makes the LWF more expensive and still less capable than the F-15C at air/air. The F-15C's range allows the refueling fleet to stay further away from the front line while projecting superior power into the contested airspace. The F-35 has even worse range issues than the F-16 relegating the F-35 platform to situational awareness and force enhancement duties, rather than front line fighter duties, acting like a distributed AWACS network rather than one big E-3. That's the F-35s strength currently and why the USAF is eyeing the F-15EX, too many compromises were made in the stealth aircraft programs, you still need a missile bus to employ munitions. The F-15C can shoot further, fly higher and fly further than anything else in the inventory, reducing the number of support platforms and personnel exposed to enemy weapons systems, SAMs, SAR/POW risk, etc. As you can see, with context, General Kent's 1.67x number is misleading at best and flat wrong at worst for any squadron except the Thunderbirds. If he's talking about the Thunderbirds then he is correct. We should have bought way more F-22s, the F-35 program decimated Lockheed's ability to provide service and parts for the F-22, which is a travesty. The F-22 an older but superior aircraft and could be fitted with the F-35s technology (Like the F-15EX is).

Nice documentary 👌👍

Well done sir...Well done.

Alex, there actually was a series of '80s films meant to promote the US Air Force & its F-16 Fighting Falcon. Remember "Iron Eagle"? Unfortunately, that film was overshadowed by the more famous "Top Gun" & its US Navy F-14 Tomcat but the irony is that, other than Iran, the F-14 Tomcat has already been phased out of the US Navy & isn't flying any more whereas the F-16 Fighting Falcon, as you said, continues to be produced & fly in many air forces today. Just saying.

@whyjnot420

Жыл бұрын

Not to mention half a decade before Top Gun, we got to witness F-14's demolish some Zeroes, along with a ton of awesome USN military porn in The Final Countdown. Not as massively successful as Top Gun, but still pretty successful. It also essentially primed audiences for more Tomcat awesomeness. food for thought: The Tomcat operated more or less exclusively in a marine environment as far as US use goes. Salt water hates tech, salt water hates metal, salt water loves to mess around with electricity, salt water hates you and wants to destroy everything you hold dear, plus the way planes are launched and recovered is just asking for punishment. Just how well would the F-15 and F-16 have held up there? This is a proper question, not a statement in the form of a question. Perhaps had they been in such an environment, they would not be seen as nicely as they currently are, since there would have certainly been more mishaps, more maintenance and higher costs associated with the basic aspects needed to operate from carriers, combined with the relative lack of popularity. While that last bit is more subjective, you cannot deny that perception plays a big role in what gets to stick around, especially when people outside of the military have major say in what happens with a countries military. (as they should have btw, that was not an argument in favor of getting rid of a civilian controlled military). Maybe they would have been turned into favorites by being in the USN, which really has done quite well in supporting the sacred goal of awesome military porn over the years in a way that the army and air force simply have not. Maybe not. caveat: by perception, I am talking about all aspects that are perceived or inferred rather than observed. What the home crowd thinks, what the enemy thinks, what people are intentionally misled into thinking and so on.

@fredhercmaricaubang1883

Жыл бұрын

@@whyjnot420 I remember watching "The Final Countdown" as a little kid so long ago! That was one of my FAVORITE memories from an otherwise awful childhood! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT, Lewis! Fun fact: It may have not been evident at the time but when the Tomcat seemed to have dropped & dipped when the Zero flew by, it actually had an engine stall & flame out which was captured on film! Fortunately, the aircrew recovered the Tomcat & went on with the film shoot as if nothing happened! Just proof that the Tomcat or, rather, its troublesome TF-30 turbofans, were still prone to failure even after some years of deploying with the US Navy. Also, the Tomcat DOES have a very good dogfight record! Just not with the US Navy! The then newly re-designated Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force somehow racked up an ASTONISHING 159 kills against the Iraqi Air Force during the September 1980 - August 1988 Iran-Iraq War, assuming you'd believe the Iranians' hype! Even if you're allowing for a LIBERAL dose of hyperbole & exaggeration, that's still more kills than the F-15 Eagle has at 104 (but, to be fair to the Eagle drivers, they haven't any losses so far)! So, YEAH, the Grumman F-14 Tomcat is a DOGFIGHTER SUPREME! And, once again, THANK YOU SO MUCH, Lewis, for the wonderful childhood memory of watching "The Final Countdown" in my otherwise god-awful childhood! THANK YOU SO MUCH!

@whyjnot420

Жыл бұрын

@@fredhercmaricaubang1883 Yeah, I was literally ended up watching the whole rest of the movie just a few days ago after deciding I wanted to watch them mess with the A6Ms in that part. Watching the F-14 fall out of the sky that close to the water always takes my breath away. The first time I saw that, I was stunned. Stunned that it was used in the movie and that it occurred at that point in the flight in the first place. My god, that was as close to losing it as you get. A copy of that movie has a permeant home on my computer just so I can watch it for the military porn. tbh, while I do take what Iraq and Iran say with many grains of salt, facts such as the fact that even the F-4 is still a capable jet to have in reserve (sure it can't compete with more modern airframes, but ffs, its first flight was 64 years ago and Japan only retiring it TWO years ago, shows how good it really was in the overall scheme of things) and how the US butchered every existing Tomcat in order to prevent Iran from getting spare parts, leads me to believe that Iran isn't totally full of it. Even today, an F-14 in serviceable condition is a threat to be taken very seriously. Also given the limited number of F-14's that Iran has, it is a good bet that the people they let fly them, are some of their best.

@whyjnot420

Жыл бұрын

@@fredhercmaricaubang1883 Also, putting this here in case the link is murdered, check this out. It is from a show called Zipang that came out around 20 years ago. Similar setup to The Final Countdown, except it is a modern JMSDF Aegis class guided missile destroyer (based on the actual Kongo class that Japan has irl, which itself is based on the US Arleigh Burke class) that is sent to a day before Midway. Talk about a conflict of interest. But unlike The Final Countdown, there is no escape back to the future and there is no escaping the fact that such a vessel is going to change history simply by existing. This scene is from when the ship _Mirai_ (Japanese for "Future" :D) is forced into a confrontation with an entire strike package from a US fleet by elements of the Imperial Japanese military who see it as a threat to themselves. It is in Japanese, but if you know about how WW2 attacks were made and know about modern guided missile cruisers and destroyers, you can understand everything that happens. It is interesting to note the amount of English that comes up in the operation of the Japanese ship as well. The attention to detail is extremely good when it comes to the actual military kit shown in the show as well. It is one hell of an action setpiece. kzread.info/dash/bejne/Y36qmbdpkZTQdZc.html edit: btw, the encoding of this particular video is not the best, watching a proper copy of the show looks nicer. I highly recommend watching it if you like military fiction in the vein of The Final Countdown. It is one of my favorites in the whole genre of military fiction.

The thing people forget about the F-35 program’s cost is it’s not one plane, it’s 3.

It's a good explanation that factors in the age of people versus how long the life cycle is, as these platforms take decades to work out all the growing pains. Many people only know the stories of the wars that were fought in their lifetime. And by the time the jets are in a good reliable configuration, they are already working on the next upgrades or a new platform. I would definitely recommend Alex H to someday create a Documentary about the F-35. I also believe the govt enjoys all the positive and negative media hype because it keeps the public occupied so they can work on things behind closed doors!!

@ryanlavender2411

Жыл бұрын

Also the F35 safety record is unmatched by any legacy platform. How much would the family of a pilot say it is worth, to not lose 50- 80 pilots? And after 400,000 flight hours and 800 jets delivered..... Very few total losses and less than 8 deaths

Will you cover the next generations Abrams X in your channel?

Another excellent video! My aircraft ranking system aims to take under consideration all of these nuances of war. A comment I get a lot, you addressed here. That is, the F-22 being so high on my list without ever scoring an ATA kill. It's a very well articulated argument that you make here. That argument being the huge element of deterrence in those statistics. It's incredibly relevant especially given the US's presence throughout the world and the might behind each one of these fierce platforms.

@songhan1586

Жыл бұрын

f-22 doesn't have any ATA kills because only the USA fields it, and pretty much no military will use its airforce against the USA to start with, most militaries just ground its airforce and hides it, if under attack from the USA

Would love to see you do a segment on the "new" F15xx etc.

Very solid argument.

The closing paragraph in this video is pure gold.

The ironic joke by those of Us tasked with deploying with the Taxpayers' airships; Designed by those with a PhD., built by those with a Masters, flown by those with a BS., and maintained by those with a High School Diploma.

Could you do a video about the Sentinel (GBSD) program?

Well said! Probably best episode to date! Thank you for a refreshing perspective.

Well said

The F-35 is an outstanding aircraft and is indeed the most technologically advanced fighter of all time, I saw an interview with one of our best ever test pilots in the RAF who has flown all kinds of fighters and he absolutely loves the F-35. According to him, she's the best aircraft he's ever climbed into and he said that he felt that he was "at one with the aircraft " and I think this is the best compliment a pilot can give. I'm glad that we've ordered about 160 of these because, not only is it the best overall aircraft money can buy, we also benefit financially as quite a lot of the aircraft is designed and built by British companies. 🇺🇲🇬🇧✌️✌️

*Could you do some videos covering the Geopolitical Chessboard*

Would love to see a video on the F-36 king snake and if it's actually a realistic option or just the dream of a single general.

@Spaceboi318

Жыл бұрын

Definitely a dream. In a time where there's debate in Congress to decommission some F-22s to get some extra money for next gen fighter programs, I do not think we have room to stir up an entirely new fighter program to marginally do better what our current upgraded 4th gen aircraft can do.

@sgsheff

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@@Spaceboi318 well, the current F-16s are going to need to be retired at some point before they start falling apart. The f-16xl offered significant increases in speed but most importantly in range and payload which our entire military is trying to increase due to a potential fight with China. The NGAD program will provide the full air superiority and quarterback in the sky role but they still need more planes to fly the ordinance onto the battlefield to be dropped and the F-35 simply does not have the range or payload capabilities the F-36 King Snake (F-16xl) would have. They've been describing the NGAD program as a family of systems that can be used or distributed across many different platforms so it's entirely possible for an engine and one or two other systems from the NGAD program to be put on the F-36 and make it the essential ordinance delivery system on the battlefield that the current F-16 and F-15E spend most of their time doing anyway. In that sense it makes sense.

Hey Alex, I'm 49 so the F-14 Tomcat is an image that is burned into my mind forever and I absolutely adore everything about her. In my opinion, she is right up there with the best fighters of all time.

The sixth-gen fighters will cost $4-500 million each, because it will have additional components to it like new-age ultra-sophisticated weapons like laser-weaponry systems, ultra-sophisticated softwares to control drones, ultra-sophisticated stealth materials, etc. All of the sixth-gen programmes across the world are going to be massive.

Great job

Hi Alex, What's the defense for Synthetic Aperture Satellite radar?

I remember seeing an Air Force F-35 with Pete Mitchell on the side of the cockpit

Damn right!!!

The Hi/Lo Strategy of F-15/F-16 proved to be extremely successful in the Cold War. Great overview.

I liked the (monetary) value comparisons.

The best weapon is one you never have to use.

An f-35a crashed near where I live during night training in northern utah. I hear it's the 1st but have a hard time believing it. Pretty sad the way the world is today that it had a bad name just from folks talking about the price tag. Guaranteed someone was upset with someone else, they badmouthed to the right person and started it's bad name. Excellent video

1080p! You did it!

The reason the Cold War never went Hot was the fact that the USSR spent themselves into collapse trying to keep up (steal) technology they ultimately could not afford to build anyway. Defense Technology is super expensive....but how can you accurately score the Return on Investment? The US trounced the old Soviet Union by kicking them right in the pocketbook.

@johndoh5182

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"The reason the Cold War never went Hot was the fact that the USSR spent themselves into collapse trying to keep up (steal) technology they ultimately could not afford to build anyway." Yeah that's always been the message put out, partly as a glorification to Reagan. And it's not true. What did Russia in is the same thing that gives them problems now. They don't do well in the global economy because the main buyers of goods in the West, but now also China and the wealthy Asian countries, buy one main thing from Russia. Russia has relied on oil for its revenue. The USSR collapsed after the price of oil crashed and stayed low for a couple decades. That's where Russia has gotten its money for decades.

First time I’ve ever heard someone call them “sue” (instead of s.u.). But the video is good. Thanks

Ultimately the pilot! As John Boyd said: "People, ideas and equipment. Always in that order!"

Fantastic video. A link to it needs to find itself in the comments section of every news story poo-poo-ing the F-35

There is a 1979 Defense Systems Management Review (volume 2), with a graph called Calvin Coolidge's Revenge (fig 11). It shows aircraft unit cost exceeding projected defense budget around 2060 and GNP at 2125. Obviously a joke but the trends still seem to be holding.

Great video…One question about something said about Putin. Do you know where the article is or the quote of Putin saying he would take Ukraine in a few days or however he said it? I can’t seem to find it. I thought it would be an interesting find since Russia seemed to take the slower, more artillery based approach to their battles in the past. I didn’t know they only had 6 5th Gen planes in service.

The F14 was a success. No Soviet ASMs hit any US CBG. Job done. Whether it was by deterrence or shooting them down the Tomcat did what it needed to do. And was sexy AF. And USN aviation of the era also got part of it's boost from "An Officer and a Gentlemen" - and the F4s that appeared in it.

Damn convincing!

Ceramic Radar Obsorban Material might make the per unit cost much cheaper and easier to maintain.

good to know when I pitch my 6th Generation fighter jet to LokeedMartin. (for reference it's basically a more realistic X-02 wyvern more optimized for stealth and sadly no railguns)

Please do a report/update on our Pacific allies 5th (or 6th) gen fighter development - S.Korea and Japan. These are force multipliers for us and are important!

He forgot to mention the operating costs of stealth fighters. An F22 costs what, sixty-thousand dollars an hour to maintain? And pilots need to get as many hours training in these jets as possible, because the skill of the pilot is just as important as the capabilities of the plain. I don't want to sound too negative about this. Maybe we could get our allies to shoulder more of the cost of building and flying these planes.

What's the name of the intro song?