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The Best Fighter Aircraft Ever Made
FrancF
Member Posts: 35,278 ✭✭✭
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The best fighter to see actual air-air combat is the F-15. A couple of the ground attack version were shot down in Iraq, but there's never been an air-air defeat, flown either by our guys or by Israelis.
Mustang
Sabre
Phantom
Tomcat
Rafale
Mig 29
HORNET
Falcon
Eagle
Raptor
That's one I think the ground forces would vote for, if given the opportunity, imho.
Big Al (no, I'm not biased, not at all! Being only a few miles away from the front gates of DMAFB in Tucson wouldn't affect me like that! ) [;)][:0]
No A-10 Warthog in your top ten, Dave?
That's one I think the ground forces would vote for, if given the opportunity, imho.
Big Al (no, I'm not biased, not at all! Being only a few miles away from the front gates of DMAFB in Tucson wouldn't affect me like that! ) [;)][:0]
While it's a great plane, it's not technically an air superiority fighter like the others talked about. It's designed mainly as a ground attack aircraft.
He says that the F-22 is an engineering nightmare, constantly breaking down and needing repair. The electronic support systems are unable to withstand the stress of the aircraft's maneuvering.
He says he was glad when he retired and did not have to deal with the aircraft any longer.
BTW, bigal125 - the A-10 Thunderbolt is not a fighter, it's a close-air-support attack aircraft.
quote:While it's a great plane, it's not technically an air superiority fighter like the others talked about. It's designed mainly as a ground attack aircraft.
Yeah, good point(s) from Rocklobster and NeoBlackdog. For high-speed, high-altitude air combat, the A-10 isn't the best plane. Comparing apples and oranges, I guess.
Still like the story about the A-10 saying the gun was developed first and then the plane was built around it. Don't know how true it is, but I like it! [:)]
Big Al (can't believe they're being phased out, either. A proven platform, being replaced by ... what, exactly?)
It was the equal or better than any other WW2 prop driven fighter, and even shot down a MIG-15 over Korea.
Also, in the only decisive combat between the F4U and the P-51 during the El Salvador / Honduras soccer war in the late 1960s, the F4U emerged victorious.
Brad Steele
BTW, the "A" stands for Attack. Fighters start with "F".
There is no replacement Attack aircraft in development, or even on the drawing boards. The close air support job will be handled by the F-35, they say. How well remains to be seen.
The A-10 is a great plane, but its days are numbered. It's almost 40 years old, has been re-winged twice, has only limited night capability (and even that is a bolt-on mod), and is rapidly becoming overly expensive to keep operational. The gun is actually too big/powerful for close air support missions.
BTW, the "A" stands for Attack. Fighters start with "F".
There is no replacement Attack aircraft in development, or even on the drawing boards. The close air support job will be handled by the F-35, they say. How well remains to be seen.
The Air Farce is fast reaching obsolesence and if the Army opts for their own CAS, the only job they really have left is to ferry troops. The Minute Man silos are obsolete, the manned nuclear bomber is obsolete, space is best left to the service that actually has ships already.
I know Boeing paid off a lot of folks to get their overdue and overbudget tanker and the F35 bought, but at some point, the gravy train will end.
With no suitable A10 replacement coming out, the Pentagon needs to get their heads out of their * and built an A-11.
Russia still has a lot of tanks if nothing else and the Europeans depend on vulnerable helos too much.