Planes!

[mirth]

Cool. Don't think I've seen that one. I'll check it out.

[mirth]

In early 2008, Northrop-Grumman paired up television documentary producer Michael Jorgensen and the National Geographic Channel to produce a documentary to determine whether the Ho 229 was, in fact, the world's first true "stealth" fighter-bomber.[3] Northrop-Grumman built a full-size non-flying reproduction of the V3, constructed to match the aircraft's radar properties. After an expenditure of about US$250,000 and 2,500 man-hours, Northrop's Ho 229 reproduction was tested at the company's classified[clarification needed] radar cross-section (RCS) test range at Tejon, California, where it was placed on a 15-meter (50 ft) articulating pole and exposed to electromagnetic energy sources from various angles, using the same three HF/VHF-boundary area frequencies in the 20–50 MHz range used by the Chain Home system in the mid-1940s.[3]

RCS testing showed that a hypothetical Ho 229 approaching the English coast from France flying at 885 kilometres per hour (550 mph) at 15–30 metres (49–98 ft) above the water would have been visible at a distance of 80% that of a Bf 109. This implies a frontal RCS of only 40% that of a Bf 109 at the Chain Home frequencies. The most visible parts of the aircraft were the jet inlets and the cockpit, but caused no return through smaller dimensions than the CH wavelength. Given the high-speed capabilities of the aircraft, it would have given the British defences just two and a half minutes to respond, which would not have been enough time.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horten_Ho_229#Operational_history

[mirth]

Boeing concept art for an F-15 variant capable of carrying 16 AMRAAMs

[Windigo]

Thats a squadron killer that config... jeesus H!

[OJsDad]

I still like the idea of the B-1R

[Staggerwing]

Or the unmanned Missile Truck:

http://www.realcleardefense.com/articles/2014/11/05/is_a_missile_truck_the_solution_to_one_of_the_scariest_wargames_ever__107528.html

[The RAND study] analyzed a U.S.-China air war over Taiwan made the bold assumption that every air-to-air missile fired from a U.S. F-22 hit a Chinese fighter (100 percent kill rate) and that every Chinese missile missed the U.S. F-22s (0 percent kill rate). In their simulation, the United States still lost the fight. The F-22s ran out of missiles and the Chinese fighters were able to go after vulnerable tankers and command and control aircraft. A far more detailed simulation the following year showed the same results. Even though U.S. F-22s were pegged with a 27-to-1 qualitative advantage over Chinese fighters, their diminished numbers and the fact that they had to fight from long range meant the Chinese had vastly superior numbers and won the fight.



The RAND study emphasized that improvements in forward basing infrastructure were necessary for U.S. airpower to achieve its objective effectively.

But in a new report from CNAS, "Robotics on the Battlefield Part II: The Coming Swarm," Scharre offers another solution to mitigate China's numerical advantage – an unmanned "missile truck" fighter:

An uninhabited "missile truck" that brought additional air-to-air missiles to the fight to supplement human-inhabited F-22s could tip the scales back in the United States' favor. Such an aircraft need not have the full performance characticeristics of a 5th or 6th generation fighter aircraft. It would only need to have sufficient stealth to get close enough to launch its missiles against Chinese fighters. If it then perished in the engagement, that would be acceptable provided it took a sufficient number of enemy fighters with it. It would still have accomplished the mission. The uninhabited aircraft would not need advanced autonomy, merely enough to fly in a straight line under a human's control and sufficiently robust communications links for the human-inhabited F-22s to pass targeting data. All targeting and firing decisions would be made by the F-22 pilots. If such an aircraft could be built at relatively low costs, this uninhabited "loyal wing-man" could be a tremendous force multiplier for U.S. human-inhabited fighters.

[GDS_Starfury]

IIRC properly data linked legacy aircraft can already turn their missile control over to F-22s.  they can fire them from way beyond the front line and hand them off to either F-22s or AWACS.

[Staggerwing]

In reference to the 'missile truck' concept- the vehicle would not have to be a true fighter airframe. Instead surplus airliners could be utilized in much the same way that the 747 was once proposed as a cruise missile carrier:

[mirth]

IIRC properly data linked legacy aircraft can already turn their missile control over to F-22s.  they can fire them from way beyond the front line and hand them off to either F-22s or AWACS.

That's pretty much the idea.

More air-to-air missiles is a good thing for the Eagle. As the the new AIM-120D AMRAAM comes on line and is paired along with the F-15C/D's APG-63V3 and F-15E's APG-82 Active Electronically Scanned Array radars, the Eagle will be able to sling missiles from about double the range they can today, depending on the engagement situation. More missiles means more tactical options when facing a robust foe, and it also means the Eagle may be able to work as an arsenal ship of sorts for stealthy F-35s and F-22s which have far less beyond-visual-range missile carrying capabilities. By using the F-35 and F-22's data collected forward of an Eagle's position, along with the Eagle's greatly enhanced radar data, the F-15 could provide missiles on demand from many dozens of miles away. This would also allow F-35s and F-22s to work as battle managers of sorts well ahead of the Eagle's position even after their weapons bays are empty.

http://foxtrotalpha.jalopnik.com/boeings-touts-new-16-air-to-air-missile-carrying-f-15-e-1730258333

[mirth]

Oregon Air National Guard F-15s firing missiles

[mirth]

Tupolev family photo

[Windigo]

I get a kick outta the Blackjack... if anyone wanted proof that the russkies steal technology/copy american design...

[mirth]

Putin says we stole it from them.

[BanzaiCat]

Of course he does.  ::)

[Airborne Rifles]

Oregon Air National Guard F-15s firing missiles

Sweet!