The F35B explained...

EAF Pub
1

http://www.aircraftowner.com/videos/view/f-35b---taking-stovl-to-a-new-level_1126.html

Nice. Still prefer WWII Warbirds though

Enjoy.

Jonah

2

Nice machine but with the event of unmanned aircraft such as the MQ9- Reaper an Taranis how long will it be before we do not need a pilot!:eek:

Stevie

3

Good question,Stevie.

But lets not jump on that boat yet!

"“Just as the advent of the turbojet made many people jump to the conclusion that propellers were obsolete, so did the advent of the SAM (Surface-To-Air missile) made some important people in Britain to the conclusion that all manned fighters were obsolete”
Modern Air Combat (p36) - Bil Gunston/Mike Spick

That was in the late 50’ties, and it lead to the gunless fighter :eek:
A mistake that haunted mission planners for years. The lack of an internal gun, meant that fighters (F-4 Phantom, BA Lightning, Harrier, etc) had to sacrifice an external hardpoint to carry a gun.
Furthermore, most of these hardpoint where away from the center of fuselage which makes their guns less accurate.

Drones need radio waves to be controlled, and radiowaves can be jammed.

Personally I think the manned fighters are here to stay, but we might need less of them than we have before.

4

Just what I was thinking about re unmanned planes Starfire. Didn’t UK actually decide to abandon all manned fighters to rely on SAMs instead? Luckily that decision didn’t get followed through completely.

Need or want is probably not the main driving point for less manned planes, cost probably is. They can be made smaller and cheaper, and the training of the “pilot” can be cheaper and he is not risked every mission.

5

I read an article last year of the USAF drone squadron.
The Sqd is based in the US and most of the flights are flown remote from the US. (I wonder how they solved the transmission lag :confused:)
When it was established, It was thought to be manned by pilots with disabilities since it lacked the prestige of flying ordenary aircrafts.
But this have actually changed and it have become very popular, since it enables pilots to go to work like an ordenary ‘joe’ and come home to their families every day :wink:

6

This may be the one you are thinking of Starfire

Globalhawk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HR6Cpz-Esyg&feature=channel

Stevie