Path: utzoo!attcan!telly!lethe!torsqnt!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!rpi!bu.edu!att!cbnews!cbnews!military From: twb@goanna.cs.rmit.OZ.AU (Tony Basaranowicz) Newsgroups: sci.military Subject: Re: YF-22 Launches Missiles First Message-ID: <1990Dec21.030654.11855@cbnews.att.com> Date: 21 Dec 90 03:06:54 GMT References: <1990Dec19.010923.26217@cbnews.att.com> Sender: military@cbnews.att.com (William B. Thacker) Organization: Comp Sci, RMIT, Melbourne, Australia Lines: 47 Approved: military@att.att.com From: twb@goanna.cs.rmit.OZ.AU (Tony Basaranowicz) >From: Dean Helm > In the December issue of U.S. NEWS they have an article on the > YF-23 "Black Widow " and the YF-22 "Lightning" the next generation > ATF "Advance tactical Fighter". These 2 aircraft are in competition > for a 750 jet contract with the Air Force. > My question is, can these jets be used in combat? What > better way to find out how good these jets are than in actual > combat. Saudi Arabia would be a real good testing ground on how they > would fair if a war broke out. > > Any comments? I'm sure that most people that are following the development of the YF-23 and YF-22 are eager to see how well they will perform in combat-type sit- uations. However, when you only have two of each (different engines), you can't seriously consider losing expensive hardware that has not yet logg- ed valuable experimental and performance data. Also, pilot training would have to be a non-trivial point of contention - even with simulators and a limited number of hours of flight time, the pilots will need to get reas- onably well acquainted with their cockpits and get used to the flying characteristics of the aircraft. Finally, (for me anyway) how about the mating of various weapons that the aircraft would need? There's a lot more to strapping on missiles and guns, even if the aircraft has smart weapons systems. Call me a wimp if you want to, but I'd prefer to see these ATF candidates pitted against themselves in a head-to-head showdown in a year or two, rather than scattered over some desert because they hadn't been tested to any extent. Tony Basaranowicz, (twb@goanna.cs.rmit.OZ.AU) .-------. Dept. of Comp. Sci., ._____.:'____|____\___. ________ Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, [_ .-. | | .-: | ______ GPO Box 2476V, Melbourne, 3001, `;: :=========: :=='_____ Victoria, Australia. "-" "-" Ph: +61 3 660 3576 Fax: +61 3 662 1617 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------