F35's for Singapore ?

Idle_King

9 Jul 07, 22:28

If we get the JSF, which imo is an expensive waste, should we be getting the Conventional F-35A or the F-35B STOVL just in case, God forbid, our RWs get cratered by MY astros?

SingaporeTyrannosaur

10 Jul 07, 00:44

Originally posted by tankfanatic:
dude...
Discovery Channel : Future Weapon

it shows a clip of the destroyed B2 bombers....he even said its a B2 bombers.

While I am a Discovery fan, their military stuff isn't always bang on the dot. I didn't see the clip thou, but a youtube search turned out nothing. Did it clearly show a B-2 destroyed or just a bunch of parts?

I think they must be mistaken, because no other sources (except what seems like Serbs and co. repeating the story) confirm it. Just do a search on the story and it seems mostly that the sources about the B-2 (supposedly Spirit of Missouri) are repeating the Serb claim.

Though I expect the Yanks to be quiet about it if the B-2 had been shot down, but the question remains, if it was really the case why no proper evidence has been produced by the Serbs? Downed aircrews, wreckage, and the like?

The other alternative is that the B-2 wreckage was somehow secured by NATO forces and another built to replace it with exactly the same name, but we're delving into conspiracy theories here. Smells a lot like a wild rumour during the time there were bilateral tensions over airspace that Singaporean F-16s intruded Malaysia airspace with weapons and decided to play around with their air defence radars until RMAF Mig-29s (or F-18 depending on the version) managed to force them out.

Not that the B-2 cannot be shot down, but then again to confirm something needs a lot better then repeated rumours. I wouldn't be surprised if a B-2 did get shot down though, but I doubt any other bomber in the world could have done better in that case. It would be more of a suck thumb thing.

And of course this is not to mention that since the B-2 is nuclear capable, as part of START its inventory must be known to all signatory states at all times, any airframes destroyed or lost must be reported, as well as their places of deployment. Unless the treaty was violated (which is not impossible), many nations (including Russia) would have to be informed about the loss of the B-2 and I wonder how quiet they are going to be about it.

tankfanatic

10 Jul 07, 14:02

the clip shows a wreckage.....smoking...with one part that have the strategic air command logo... it tyres were too big for a f117....

SingaporeTyrannosaur

10 Jul 07, 17:38

Originally posted by tankfanatic:
the clip shows a wreckage.....smoking...with one part that have the strategic air command logo... it tyres were too big for a f117....

Don't think that's enough to really go on.

Ever wondered if the footage could be faked, or simply of something totally unrelated mistaken for that (aka another crash of an unrelated aircraft)?

I mean a B-2 bomber in the hands of the Serbs is a TON of evidence, surely more would turn up then just a single bit of footage that is a bit dodgy to go on?

When the Russians shot down a U-2, they managed to recover a lot of the aircraft and parade them around the world for all to see.

Unless there was some conspiracy to go on that the Yanks managed to recover all the evidence and buy everyone off, then it's really hard to confirm anything at all. As I said, it remains an interesting rumour.

The B-2 is not impossible to shoot down, but just that I think in this case we are going to need more evidence.

SingaporeTyrannosaur

10 Jul 07, 17:44

Could it simply be a case of the Discovery dudes mixing up the F-117 incident with the B2 during their "Mission Invisible" episode?

In any case, I have yet to find any discussion on the supposed B2 shootdown on the B2 webpages, which contain a lot of discussion of the aircraft. Also found nothing on Janes, or other online military webpages.

The only evidence I do find on the "shootdown" seem to come from the Serbian side of the story.

Pitot

10 Jul 07, 19:09

I watched that episode of future weapons, he was talking about the JSF.

He mentioned that it was the Nighthawk that got shot down not the B2.

tankfanatic

11 Jul 07, 12:30

my bad..it probably F117... but the guy said "bomber" instead of stealth fighter...or do we classified the F117 as bomber too?

duotiga83

11 Jul 07, 14:35

Originally posted by tankfanatic:
my bad..it probably F117... but the guy said "bomber" instead of stealth fighter...or do we classified the F117 as bomber too?

Designation
Despite its "F-" designation it is not a fighter. The Air Force did not want another bomber when they bought the F-117. However Lockheed wanted to sell it. What Lockheed did to convince the Air Force was attach a missile to it and shot down a target to show the aircraft's "fighter capabilities"[citation needed] Most modern U.S. military aircraft use post-1962 designations in which the designation "F-" is usually an air-to-air fighter, "B-" is usually a bomber, "A-" is usually a ground-attack aircraft, and "C-" is a cargo plane. (Examples of this include the F-15 Eagle, the B-2 Spirit, the A-6 Intruder, and the C-130 Hercules). The Stealth Fighter is actually primarily a ground-attack plane so its "F-" designation is inaccurate.

A recent televised documentary quoted a senior member of the F-117A development team as saying that the top-notch fighter pilots required to fly the new aircraft were more easily attracted to an "F-" plane, as opposed to a "B-" or "A-" aircraft.[8] There has been something of a class distinction between fighter and bomber crews, particularly in the days of the Strategic Air Command (1945-1991), and flying one type often limited a pilot's prospects for flying the other.[citation needed]

The USAF maintains that the F-117A can carry air-to-air missiles, giving it air-to-air combat capability in addition to its primary air-to-ground mission. While that may be technically true, the aircraft is of unknown capability in air-combat. It lacks the radar to guide longer-range missiles and does not carry shorter-range missiles for self-defense. It is a poor dogfighter because its airframe could not handle the stress of the aerial manoeuvers that would be required in such a situation

Wiki F-117 Explanation