Just what would the Arrow look like?
- Thread starter MacCaulay
- Start date
Riain
Banned
I don't want to rain on your parade mate, but about the only planes built in the 60s that fought in 1991 were F4G Wild Weasels and laser designator Buccaneers. I think even the last Arrows built in an extended production run would be close to 25 years old by 1991 and virtually worn out. However I'd think that the Arrow's replacement would be in production and sqn service, and in a TL where the cosy Commonwealth arrangement saw mass production of the Arrow and TSR2, its not unreasonable to envisage a Commonwealth aerospace company able to develop high end fighters.
Riain, most of the US Navy's attack aircraft at the time were designs of about the same age as the Arrow or maybe a little younger, like the A-6 Intruder and A-7 Corsair II.
MacCaulay
Banned
The Canadians are like the Russians. They don't throw anything away. We're talking about a country that was still flying T-33s as Aggressors into the late 1990s.
That was my thought, actually. A USN A-6 was the first aircraft on station over Khafji.
The CF-105J is an Arrow up-grade with new avionics/fire control, the latest Velvet Glove medium range active homing missiles, paired Aden 30mm cannon, Saab-styled foreplanes, and a pair of wing stations, plumbed and wired. Arrow 2 was retired by Desert Storm, wasn't it?
I put a stupid anomoly on the aircraft to see if anyone would notice.
I put a stupid anomoly on the aircraft to see if anyone would notice.
Does the Arrow look more like a MiG-25 or an F-15? Maybe a Tornado? This has me wondering if there will be IFF concerns in Desert Storm. But only if the Arrow bears a resemblence to MiG-25's.
Another random thought. Arrows in Desert Storm would likely be facing a very different environment from what they have experienced in their life. I don't know how the desert environment affected other aircraft. It is just a thought, having the Arrow squadron(s) seeing more maintenance downtime than usual, or expected.
Hmm, would Canadian Arrows be equipped to fire Harpoon SSMs?
Another random thought. Arrows in Desert Storm would likely be facing a very different environment from what they have experienced in their life. I don't know how the desert environment affected other aircraft. It is just a thought, having the Arrow squadron(s) seeing more maintenance downtime than usual, or expected.
Hmm, would Canadian Arrows be equipped to fire Harpoon SSMs?
Riain
Banned
The A6, A7, F111, production ended in the early/mid 70s so the airframes used in 1991 were all less than 20 years old. I'd envisage the Arrow would have ceased production in the late 60s, making even the youngest planes 23-25 years old and at the end of their fatigue life and the oldest 30 years old and overdue for replacement.