E-7 Wedgetail

The B-52 lifespan is quite a feat. The first flight of the B-52 was 1954, the last delivery was 1962.

I'm more amazed by the production run of the F-15. First flight was 1972, and they are still in production.
 
I'm more amazed by the production run of the F-15. First flight was 1972, and they are still in production.

And pretty impressively, they are still damned capable jets. I'd submit, the second or third most capable fighter in the world (all of which are ours). 'Merica
 
Did you ever match up against one?

Yep, have fought Eagles a couple times over the years. The good Eagle pilots understand the T/W ratio advantage they hold over the Hornet/Rhino, and how to exploit that. Over time, they will just develop a positional advantage by nature of that. That being said, I've seen some weird fights where guys will try and min-radius a Hornet, or just go level on the g limiter.....both of those plans result in a pretty quick kill for my airplane.
 
Yep, have fought Eagles a couple times over the years. The good Eagle pilots understand the T/W ratio advantage they hold over the Hornet/Rhino, and how to exploit that. Over time, they will just develop a positional advantage by nature of that. That being said, I've seen some weird fights where guys will try and min-radius a Hornet, or just go level on the g limiter.....both of those plans result in a pretty quick kill for my airplane.

I will one-circle both your asses……….until all my energy is gone about halfway through the circle :)
 
Yep, have fought Eagles a couple times over the years. The good Eagle pilots understand the T/W ratio advantage they hold over the Hornet/Rhino, and how to exploit that. Over time, they will just develop a positional advantage by nature of that. That being said, I've seen some weird fights where guys will try and min-radius a Hornet, or just go level on the g limiter.....both of those plans result in a pretty quick kill for my airplane.

Is there Red Bull in the 129 vending machine? The Growler Demo Team has done more shows in the past year than the Blues.
 
Oh yeah! July 27th is the 50th anniversary.

The B-52 lifespan is quite a feat. The first flight of the B-52 was 1954, the last delivery was 1962.

I'm more amazed by the production run of the F-15. First flight was 1972, and they are still in production.

it’s someone else’s 50th birthday the other year also…..which the Iranians are celebrating, with this.


CB537483-D8FC-48AE-B916-15A7A77A6A06.jpeg
 
Yep, have fought Eagles a couple times over the years. The good Eagle pilots understand the T/W ratio advantage they hold over the Hornet/Rhino, and how to exploit that. Over time, they will just develop a positional advantage by nature of that. That being said, I've seen some weird fights where guys will try and min-radius a Hornet, or just go level on the g limiter.....both of those plans result in a pretty quick kill for my airplane.
Nice! I’ve always wondered how much interaction there was between the different branches and training against different types.
 
Is there Red Bull in the 129 vending machine? The Growler Demo Team has done more shows in the past year than the Blues.

Hah you aren't lying. "Legacy Team" has an aggressive schedule this season for sure. Sadly the vending machines have been empty since COVID :)
 
Nice! I’ve always wondered how much interaction there was between the different branches and training against different types.

We get to do a decent amount of this kind of thing during stateside joint exercises, or otherwise out on deployment. Getting to go out and fight 1v1 with the AF is always a cool time, but I'd say the more useful experiences are flying in larger combined packages with F-22s/F-15s/F-35s and getting the experience of operating together in larger scale scenarios. When I was a Training O/Weapons Officer, this was something we tried hard to get our young guys before we went overseas. It's also truly a small world, even if kind of big and spread out amongst services. I once did an airborne turnover of a CAP off the Iranian coast with an F-22 flight lead who (years before) I had gone large with, amongst other friends, out on the Vegas strip after finishing up an exercise.....we only figured it out later via SIPR email.
 
We get to do a decent amount of this kind of thing during stateside joint exercises, or otherwise out on deployment. Getting to go out and fight 1v1 with the AF is always a cool time, but I'd say the more useful experiences are flying in larger combined packages with F-22s/F-15s/F-35s and getting the experience of operating together in larger scale scenarios.
So exactly the things that the russkies are showing themselves to be blazingly inept at?
 
So exactly the things that the russkies are showing themselves to be blazingly inept at?

Basically yes. There are very few parallels to the level of training we receive. Would that translate to victory in a horrible global war? Can't answer that question, but it is probably a couple orders of magnitude better than the "we'll just do it live" mentality that seems to be the overarching russian strategy here.
 
I'll also say that for comparison purposes, our guys walk out onto the field with the confidence that they received the best and most comprehensive training that any armed force in the world can provide, and are riding into battle in the most technologically advanced steeds ever developed by mankind. The number of American guys and gals who can honestly take some level of quiet confidence in these facts is large, and those in russia who could say the same are very few, if any at all. That isn't why they are failing miserably, but it is probably a factor. The US military and portions of NATO are the proverbial 10 foot wall, not the russians, and it is about time we start acting that way.
 
I'll also say that for comparison purposes, our guys walk out onto the field with the confidence that they received the best and most comprehensive training that any armed force in the world can provide, and are riding into battle in the most technologically advanced steeds ever developed by mankind. The number of American guys and gals who can honestly take some level of quiet confidence in these facts is large, and those in russia who could say the same are very few, if any at all. That isn't why they are failing miserably, but it is probably a factor. The US military and portions of NATO are the proverbial 10 foot wall, not the russians, and it is about time we start acting that way.

Do you think China sees it that way?

Not asking provocatively - legit curious what we think they think.


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People from places we assume are brainwashed may not be. I was privileged to spend some time with Mira Slovak when I worked at Santa Paula. He had a very interesting story to tell. And he loved America.
 
Do you think China sees it that way?

Not asking provocatively - legit curious what we think they think.


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Not really sure. I think they look to us for technological and tactical inspiration at the moment. A lot of what they do is a direct copy of what we do. But I think the example of China is a different conversation. They have legitimate levers to pull that could bring us to our knees without ever firing a shot. Russia does too, to a lesser extent, but they are much less intelligent in their chess game, and much more inclined to resort to military action and brute force to achieve their expansionist objectives than I believe the Chinese to be. To be clear, China is a much more credible threat on the tactical level, than russia is. But I don't see a direct conflict with China anytime soon. I do see a maybe slightly less than coin toss odds of a direct exchange on the battlefield with the russians though, if this Putin agenda continues. Strategically, in terms of nuclear arms, of course russia maintains a credible threat, if it is to believed that it actually functions as designed at this point (of note, I don't think we can afford to assume that it does not at this point).
 
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