In 2006 the proposed FB-22 was cancelled. If it wasn't would it have had an impact in Iraq and Syria?
In 2006 the proposed FB-22 was cancelled. If it wasn't would it have had an impact in Iraq and Syria?
The money spent on the FB-22 might in turn have not been spent on weapon systems that were actually used IOTL ?In 2006 the proposed FB-22 was cancelled. If it wasn't would it have had an impact in Iraq and Syria?
When did IOTL the F35's issue start appearing in earnest? I don't think the F35 being a potential piece of shyt was on the radar in 2006.
The FB-22 also had to contend with the fact that the USAF had learned from interrogations with captured personnel, (to its shock) that Iraqi AD was able to track the F117 just fine.
In the decade since the massive increase in processing power has made it less likely for stealth to be as much of a magic bullet it was before.
Iraqi AD was able to track the F117 just fine. And on regular RADARS not the old HF/VHF against which stealth has a known vulnerability, but regular SA-3 and SA-6 search RADARS.
Yup. The operations guys never thought of stealth as anything but an advantage, one which a clever enemy could overcome. The political and military leadership however after 1991 convinced themselves that stealth was unbeatable magic. It took the shock of Kosovo shootdown and the post 2003 interviews to convince them otherwise.
Not really relevant to our discussion though. The increase in processing power means that RADAR software can potentially identify the return from stealth aircraft, rather than using it in the background. In addition you have much faster datalinks than could be imagined in 1991 let alone the 1970's and 80's. Stealth is not all aspect (it basically cannot be) and if the enemy has multiple RADARs in different locations the attacking aircraft is going to be more visible since as people say, he'll be ass on to someone, and with fast data links, the AD Command can get that someone's data very quickly.And computer power helped stealth along too. And guided weapons. The FB-22 has a considerably more advanced design and can attack from a considerable distance with SDB glide bombs. Unlike the F-117, it doesn't have to fly straight over the target.
Two thingsRiain said:I once read about a Mirage F1 doing an on again off again chase against an F117 in 91.
That's all fine and dandy but no F117s were shot down either by interception or predictive fire or AAA barrages, so simple tracking is of limited utility.