The RCAF's Next Generation Fighter (CF-188 Replacement)

[ArmyRick]

An interesting video from an american commentator

 

[GR66]

My gut tells me that we need a larger Reg Force fighter fleet...as much to have a large enough pool of pilots to support all the non-operational pilot roles we require as for the purely military requirement.

But when it comes to adding a Reserve fighter fleet in addition to (ideally?) 130-150 Reg Force fighters I'm pretty sure that the major resources required to do so would be much better spent on UCAVs and GBAD to support the Reg Force fighters. I don't see the need for crewed aircraft disappearing any time soon, but definitely see unmanned systems and missile defences taking a much more prominent role going forward. I see Reserve fighter squadrons as more of a 1960's requirement than a 2060's requirement.

 

[ytz]

I don't see the need for crewed aircraft disappearing any time soon, but definitely see unmanned systems and missile defences taking a much more prominent role going forward.

It's a question of ratio. Most major air forces are aiming for a ratio of 2-3 unmanned systems for every manned system by 2050.

By this view, after we get 88 F-35s (or whatever our final mix is in 2035), our biggest gap won't be manned aircraft.

You're falling for the same fallacy here as a lot of the kids on Reddit. You find it harder to understand unmanned systems. So you to default to saying we need a lot more manned systems. What we need is a balanced force. And the only way to build substantially more mass these days is unmanned systems.

 

[Jarnhamar]

An interesting video from an american commentator

Does he mention kill switches?

The F35 has to have em. The government can take control of my issued cell phone and Telsa can lock down their vehicles remotely

 

[ArmyRick]

Does he mention kill switches?

The F35 has to have em. The government can take control of my issued cell phone and Telsa can lock down their vehicles remotely

Watch the video, he says its a myth

 

[ytz]

Max,

Some very good points to ponder. Related question - with the F-35's mission awareness/situational awareness/data sharing/sensor fusion aspects, will that make the fighting part of flying easier for the pilots?

And, I suspect you're understating how easy it is to fly a fighter...I suspect there's more to it than meets the eye.

NS

I'll let Max give the true professional opinion. But I do remember this anecdote from a Red Flag:

One pilot who flew in the exercise reported that even novice pilots were quickly “killing” fourth generation aircraft during air-to-air combat.

“My wingman was a brand new F-35A pilot, seven or eight flights out of training,” Col. Joshua Wood, 388th Operations Group commander, said in a news release. "He gets on the radio and tells an experienced, 3,000-hour pilot in a very capable fourth-generation aircraft: ‘Hey bud, you need to turn around. You’re about to die. There’s a threat off your nose.’”

The younger pilot “killed” the simulated enemy aircraft and was able to rack up three more kills over the next hour.

Air Force chief defends F-35A against critics, boasting kills at Red Flag

Think of the F-35 as the “quarterback of the joint team," and not simply another stealth fighter, the Air Force chief of staff said Tuesday.

www.airforcetimes.com

The automation and information fusion was specifically designed to substantially reduce pilot workload. The pilot can't operate the radar beyond on/off. Very different from doing different types of scans with radars of the past. This should help explain it:

However, I would caution against thinking this might make it easier to be a fighter pilot. That headspace is probably going to get taken up by CCAs over time.