F-35B: The Road to U.S. Marine Corps IOC

[CARLTON BROWN]

Originally Posted by danton

Thanks for the comments. I obtained the costing of the strategic bomber replacement I quoted from a reputable source; they are claiming the price per copy has been limited to 550 million by U.S. legislators. I forget how frequently cost management of advanced aircraft projects have stayed within budgetary limits. Perhaps someone here knows?

The B2 is rumoured to have been detected on long wave radar (LWR). The F22 is strangely underused and needs lengthy maintenance, depriving crews of time on the type. Pierre Sprey claims LWR has the ability to 'see' all current stealth aircraft, that the Russians have developed some compact systems and that these are for sale to anyone with the money.

Existing types that are able to fly through rain storms and have high turn and climb rates still have not reached the end of their potential, surely?

It seems curious to me that America and the west are 'war gaming' against China and or Russia when Russia is broke and haemorrhaging young and talented people and China owns the west's debt. I feel this acquisition policy is something of a racket; the U.S. taxpayer is being taken for a ride – again*.

Eisenhower's warning about the military industrial complex still rings true.

*I am not an American.

Prices quoted for military aircraft are rarely close to the initial estimates these days. The F-35 is a good example of this. In part, it's due to mission creep, where the user demands ever-increasing offensive capabilities and the contractors do business on the basis of charging $1000 for a nut and bolt or a screwdriver - I'm not making this up, it's a fact well known in the aviation business.

In the case of stealth (low observable) technology, it has never been perfect. During the Gulf War, F-117As would routinely be seen from the air by other combat aircraft and without the stealth capability, the F-117A - which was actually an interdictor, was not as good as the F-16 in almost any respect.

New bi-static and completely passive detection systems will probably continue to improve and progressively reduce the advantage of a low radar cross section. This is a long game, with one side bringing out their latest technology that provides a substantial edge and the other finding ways to defeat it. This is how it was during the Cold War and the same rules seems to have returned.

[CARLTON BROWN]

Just in case this information has not reached everyone interested in military planes, the new USAF advanced bomber, expected to be given the designation B-3 has just been approved for development by Northrop Grumman who designed the B-2A. this probably means it will be more of a cross between the B-2A and the X-47 drone. Boeing and Lockheed-Martin (working together) have lost out in this contest and there was speculation that their proposal was a more advanced concept. It's going to be interesting to see how this develops and why Northrop won the contest. I'm guessing it was a lower production price and the rival design was simply too ambitious. It's also possible that Lockheed-Martins endless problems with the F-35 have influenced the decision.