Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!julius.cs.uiuc.edu!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!pacific.mps.ohio-state.edu!linac!att!cbnews!cbnews!military From: newave!john@uunet.UU.NET (John A. Weeks III) Newsgroups: sci.military Subject: Re: F-14 vs F-15 Message-ID: <1991Feb4.053054.15763@cbnews.att.com> Date: 4 Feb 91 05:30:54 GMT References: <1991Jan19.043622.6577@cbnews.att.com> <1991Jan22.014043.18325@cbnews.att.com> <1991Jan24.034935.21643@cbnews.att.com> Sender: military@cbnews.att.com (William B. Thacker) Organization: NeWave Communications Ltd, Eden Prairie, MN Lines: 72 Approved: military@att.att.com From: newave!john@uunet.UU.NET (John A. Weeks III) >From: Tigger > So where, in the overall scheme of things, does that leave my personal > favorite 'sexy' plane, the F-16? The USAF would like to equip all of its fighter units with F-15's, but the cost of the F-15 makes this all but impossible. The 'Electric Jet' was developed as a low cost highly manuverable fighter for the USAF. It has since been adapted to an attact roll as the proposed A-16 which is slated to replace the A-10. F-16s have replaced many of the remaining F-4's in USAF inventory. > Also, where does the F/A-18 fit in? The Hornet is descended from the F-17 Cobra, which lost out to the F-16 in a USAF fly-off for the F-16 roll. McDonnel-Douglas adapted the F-17 for carrier operation, then totally revamped the Cobra to make the F-18. The Navy still had a number of F-4's in service and they could not justify buying the very expensive Tomcat to replace the F-4s. The A-7 Coursair II was also nearing the end if its service life. So the Navy bought into the F-18 concept to replace the F-4s with F-18 fighters, and the A-7s with A-18 attack planes. As it turned out, the F-18 could do perform rolls with the same basic configuration, so the two projects were folded into the F/A-18 which both the Navy and the Marines fly. It is used as a fighter, as escort for the heavy attack planes (A-6), and as a light attack bomber. > Finally, where will the ATF fit in, whichever model is chosen? The F-15 is currently the top air superiority fighter available. But it might be equalled or surpassed in the 90's. There are plans for advanced European fighters, the Su-27 is quite impressive, and the Mig-31 is an unknown quantity. The big questions is whether to come up with a better F-15 based on a 20 year old design, or start from scratch. Since a number of new technologies have been explored in the past 20 years, the decision was to propose an advanced fighter. Some of the mission parameters include stealthieness and super-cruise (flying supersonic without using after-burners). The Navy faces much the same problem. The Tomcats are getting old. The will all need new engines at some point. There have been Tomcat variants proposed, such as the F-14A+ and the SuperTomcat. Both are very impressive, but they again are based on a 25 year old design. And the Navy would like to have some measure of stealth. The Lockheed YF-22 Lightning II and the McDonnel-Douglas YF-23 were funded in 1986 for two prototypes each. The USAF may choose one of these, or it might try to make the F-15 last another generation. The big question that will need to be answered are either of these new planes good enough to warrant the expense? The Navy has been encouraged to choose one of these planes to replace the Tomcat. The choosen plane would have to be modified for carrier operation. My personal opinion is that the USAF will pick one of the ATF for a small production run, improve some of the F-15s, then wait for the next generation. I personally like the F-23, it looks totally cool. I do not see the Navy going for either ATF plane based on its F-111 experience. Besides, could anyone sleep at night knowing that the Navy did not have a Grumman 'cat plane flying fleet defense? -john- -- =============================================================================== John A. Weeks III (612) 942-6969 john@newave.mn.org NeWave Communications ...uunet!rosevax!tcnet!wd0gol!newave!john ===============================================================================