Favorite Military Aircraft

[NightWalker XI]

Originally posted by Chryse
EDIT: NightWalker, you came along well with good stats, thanks. Like I said, the Typhoon will be a good aircraft but I don't think it's in the same category as the F-22. It carries more payload because it is expected to do more. However, while the primary mission of the F-22 is air supremacy, it does have the capability to carry weapons on external wing racks... the aircraft loses performance and stealthiness when these are carried.

I see what you mean know, I was wrong in comparing the two...oh well it don't matter..my country ain't gettign neither of them (bastard of a Government...oh no we want peace....my ass! go and buy the Submarines you fucks!)

Yeah...Portugal may buy some new submarines from the French but the gay politicians want all thsi peace shit...yeah and how do we defend the country (yeah sure we are not a target like the US but thats not the point)

[NightWalker XI]

Also about the Rafale...I was reading up and I noticed apparently, before the Typhoon project went ahead Britain was thinking of helping fund the Rafale and so get some themselves or somethin like that...bah French aircraft.....Russia = teh PWN when ti comes to aircraft...

*hugs Sukhoi logo*

[MrVulcan]

as Chryse pointed out, the F-22 can use the optional hardpoints that enabel it to have 10 total (3 each wing if memory serves) but it would lose much of its stealth and some of its moneravilibity/top speed. But you are right, I remembered only 9 hardpoints on the Tyhoon (oops )

Yep, they are for different roles, however I belive that thanks to the heat shielding, next gen stealth and supercruse the no other fighter could go 1-1 with the f-22 and win (assuming piolits were same skill)

The JSF was designed to be the multi purpose fighter/Vtol Marine transportation and the F-22B is going to be the Fighter Bomber for the US, so each can have their own area of strength. (a fighter bomber with supercruse, now thats insane ) Can you see a F-22b with a pair of F-22 with it going after something now thats power.

*link to f-22b info: http://www.popsci.com/popsci/aviatio...2063-3,00.html *

Also, keep in mind that the US is designing a metor counterpart (with slightly different stats, not sure just what it will be like, but it is relvoling around an internal based IRAM type systsem) that would replace the aging AMRAAM system.

I would also have to say that the Dassault Rafale relies too much on outdated tech to be able to keep up with the us-russian counterparts in the sky, but it is comparable to the Typhoon in its mission.

[Chryse]

Here's a future aircraft supposedly under development that, while not a fighter, I still find very cool... kinda like a real-world Galaxy (story from Popular Mechanics):



"Some planes are so beautiful they could hang in art museums even if they couldn't fly. Others--the Wart Hog tank-killer comes to mind--are as homely as their names. And then there is the Pentagon's next wonder-plane, the V-44. It's ugly, coyote ugly, with wings. Four wings to be exact. Each is tipped with a tilting nacelle that converts the V-44 from a helicopter that can land or take off wherever a truck can make a U-turn to a 300-mph fixed-wing transport, troop carrier or gunship. Still on the drawing board, the plane we've informally designated the V-44 derives from the V-22 Osprey, a two-wing tiltrotor that is now undergoing final evaluations by the Marine Corps. The need for a quad-rotor version stems from what defense analysts predict will be fundamental changes in the nature of war in the 21st century. Desert Storm was your father's war. Tomorrow, low-intensity conflicts will be the rule as the anointed battle the infidels, plant police take on drug barons, and taxmen shoot it out with money launderers.

"Uncle Sam has decided to step into the fray as the policeman of this new world disorder. His billy club will be a new military deployment strategy that puts ready-to-fight brigades on the ground in 96 hours. American armed forces will get into the action on a new type of plane, the V-44 Future Transport Rotorcraft (FTR).

"Twice A V-22 The FTR will provide a capability that does not exist anywhere in the world today--and perhaps will replace the helicopter for military operations. The concept for the aerial assault platform comes from Bell Helicopter Textron. Having teamed with Boeing on the twin-engine V-22 Osprey tiltrotor program, Bell has developed the concept for a larger fuselage. Envisioned to be about the size of a stretched C-130 Hercules, the FTR would feature two V-22-type wings, each having an engine and a combination rotor-propeller mounted at the outboard tips. The exact configuration has yet to be determined. Some versions show a tailless aircraft, others have an airframe more along the lines of a C-130.

"There is no disagreement about the interior. The V-44 is designed to be a heavy hauler. "Imagine this aircraft with a cabin large enough to internally carry an 8 x 8 x 40-ft. container, several helicopters, all types of high mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicles, light armored vehicles, eight standard loading pallets, or 70 [medivac] litters," reads an industry analysis describing the concept. 'Imagine an aircraft that could transport 80 to 100 troops or 10 to 20 tons of equipment and supplies at speeds greater than 300 mph over distances from 1000 to 2000 miles and then safely land vertically, without the need for runways or airports.'

"The FTR concept can be traced back as far as the early 1960s when the Curtiss-Wright Corp. built the X-19, a small quad-rotor testbed. After 50 successful test flights, it was destroyed in an accident. A second X-19 was scrapped. Enthusiasm for the FTR, however, is based on the technical success of the V-22 Osprey. These aircraft can be configured to carry 24 combat troops or up to 20,000 pounds of internal or external cargo at twice the speed of a helicopter. U.S. procurement plans call for 360 Marine Corps MV-22 aircraft and 50 U.S. Air Force CV-22 aircraft. Using parts common with the Marine MV-22, the Air Force CV-22 modification includes the addition of internal-wing fuel tanks and terrain-avoidance and terrain-following radars. It also has been given an enhanced electronic warfare suite, additional cockpit seating for a flight engineer, an aerial refueling probe and an internally mounted rescue hoist.

"The FTR will use a pair of V-22 propulsion systems. Each is based on two Rolls-Royce Allison AE 1107C 6150-shp engines and a computer-controlled rotor coordination system that permits a safe landing if one engine loses power.

"An obvious question is whether the four rotors could operate in such close proximity without creating turbulence that would shake apart the aircraft or make it impossible to control. To answer this question, Bell draws on data reaching back to its X-22 ducted propeller quad tiltrotor, which flew 500 flights between 1966 and 1988. The results encouraged Bell to test a pair of V-22s at a distance approximating the spacing between the fore and aft wings of a V-44. According to Dick Spivey, Bell's director of advanced concepts, the test was a success. Water tunnel tests showed that the rotor wakes from the front engines flowed down and inboard--below and inboard of the rear rotors. Technically, there is no reason this bird shouldn't fly.

"Thus configured, it could carry twice the payload and eight times the internal volume of cargo transported by the V-22. A true multiservice aircraft, it would reportedly meet the expanded needs of the Marine Corps' Ship-To-Objective Maneuver operations, support Air Force Aerospace Expeditionary Force units and meet many Army requirements for a future Joint Transport Rotorcraft (JTR). In the Army's case, officials envision a JTR that will replace some of the aging CH-47 Chinook helicopters. The Navy has its eye on the quad tiltrotor to make deliveries to its oceangoing fleet, much as the C-2A Greyhound now services carriers.

"Early requirements issued by the Defense Department call for the ability to transport 8 to 12 tons of cargo over 600 miles with return at cruise speeds of 300 knots. Bell Helicopter engineers believe that their FTR concept would come very close to meeting these criteria.

"In addition to the FTR's cargo-hauling abilities, the possibility of putting tiltrotor technology into combat can be seen in another industry analysis. With advanced laser weapons and precision fire control, the craft could provide protection for overtaking a captured or damaged airport or seaport, making such sites accessible to allied forces.

"Gunship applications are just one of several ideas being explored. A joint panel is looking at all of the rotorcraft possibilities. 'They're looking at joint common lift replacement aircraft, to include a medium assault, a utility and an attack and anti-armor aircraft,' explains Marine Corps Capt. Aisha Bakkar-Poe. 'The Marine Corps' view is that tiltrotor is the way of the future because it has such a longer range and goes so much faster that it almost makes a helicopter obsolete.'"

[MrVulcan]

I did see that, and it does look very nice for troop transport in hot zones

[WickedDeus]

The best ever!!!

The YF-19


The YF-21

[Chryse]

I wish I could say this plane is my favorite but, even if it exists, it's a long way from seeing service. When it does, I will be a big fan of it: say hello to the "Switchblade."



(text from Area51Zone.com)

"The Switchblade, officially called the Bird of Prey, is like a flying Swiss Army Knife. It is a bomber, a fighter, and a high-speed plane all in one. It accomplishes this by using a unique swing-wing design. The wings are attached to its fuselage (body) at a pivot point toward the back of the plane. When the wings are fully extended, the plane can fly slowly to drop bombs precisely on their targets or land on short runways. When the wings are swept farther forward, the aircraft takes advantage of the maneuverability that forward-swept wings offer, and becomes an agile fighter. When the wings are swept fully forward, the trailing edge of the wing becomes the leading edge, and the aircraft turns into a delta shape perfect for dashing away at speeds up to Mach 3.

"You can see the different positions of the wings with a brief explanation below:


"With its wings swept perpendicular to its body, the Switchblade can fly at lower speeds to drop bombs precisely on their targets.


"With its wings swept farther forward, the aircraft becomes extremely maneuverable for aerial combat.


"When the wings are swept fully forward, the trailing edge of the wing becomes the leading edge, and the Switchblade can dash away at speeds up to Mach 3.

"Therefore, the Switchblade can carry out multiple missions just by reconfiguring itself in flight.

"The Switchblade is going to replace the F-111 fighter-bomber, which was permanently retired in 1995. The F-111 was a medium-sized bomber that could defend itself like a fighter and speed away at more than 1600 miles an hour. The Switchblade was at first sighted only near Cannon Air Force Base in New Mexico, at Langley Air Force Base, and Armarillo, Texas. At first, it was thought that the Switchblade was a standard[going from fully back to normal] swing-wing plane like the F-111, but now we know that the swing-wing design is more complex - and better. The design is explained in the series of pictures and captions above.

"In November 1999, the Switchblade was patented by the Northrop Grumman Corporation: U.S. Patent 5,984,231. It states, 'An aircraft with a variable forward-sweep wing and the method of configuring the wing in an optimal position for a desired flight regime. The variable forward-sweep wing is positionable from an essentially unswept position to a full-forward sweep position. In the unswept position the wing is approximately orthogonal to a fuselage centerline, while in the full-forward sweep position the wing has approximately a delta wing planform[platform]. Moreover, as the wing position changes from the unswept position to the full-forward sweep position the trailing edge becomes the leading edge. In addition, the aforementioned apparatus may be used in a method to configure the aircraft for flight in a desired flight regime. This method includes moving the wing to an optimal position for the desired flight regime.' Apart from being very abstract, this patent signifies that the Switchblade will soon be declassified (declassification usually follows a year after a patent filing)."

[AztecWarrior]

Originally posted by WickedDeus
The best ever!!!

The YF-19


The YF-21

Get those crap anime planes out of my thread! Who the hell would paint their plane deep blue?

[shootx]

Originally posted by r3d


Vroooooooooom :S

i challenge u 2 a race!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Spider]

hmm don't galaxies actually exist? (big ass military transport plane) Or am I confused :O:

[MrVulcan]

Originally posted by Spider
hmm don't galaxies actually exist? (big ass military transport plane) Or am I confused :O:

yes they do, but this one would actually have guns and allow for hot drops unlike the current gal.

Originally posted by WickedDeus
The best ever!!!

The YF-19


The YF-21

Oh ya, those are the best ones hands down

[AztecWarrior]

What's this? Fictional paper planes beating advanced fighters, according to MrVulcan? Very illogical.

[Chryse]

Originally posted by Spider
hmm don't galaxies actually exist? (big ass military transport plane) Or am I confused :O:

Yes, the USAF C-5 Galaxy.



The galaxy I was referring to was the PS version.

[MrVulcan]

Originally posted by AztecWarrior
What's this? Fictional paper planes beating advanced fighters, according to MrVulcan? Very illogical.

Your analysis is flaued, if a craft did exist that had the capabilities of that design (not too impossible), it would by far be the most superior milirary vech ever created.

[Spider]

Unless you bring out gundams

Then the planes are screwed