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From: jtchew@csa2.lbl.gov (JOSEPH T CHEW)
Newsgroups: sci.military
Subject: Re: why F-4's as Wild Weasels?
Summary: Same reason you keep that old pickup truck behind the barn
Keywords: radar suppression, F-4, airframe
Message-ID: <1991Feb5.044632.7166@cbnews.att.com>
Date: 5 Feb 91 04:46:32 GMT
References: <1991Feb4.072034.23521@cbnews.att.com>
Sender: military@cbnews.att.com (William B. Thacker)
Organization: Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, Berkeley CA
Lines: 28
Approved: military@att.att.com



From: jtchew@csa2.lbl.gov (JOSEPH T CHEW)
>Can someone fill in the blank in the following sentences?

>(1) "The F-4 makes an ideal aircraft to carry out the
>    Wild Weasel mission, compared to other a/c in the USAF
>    inventory, because _____________________."

Because it's not exactly a state-of-the-art fighter anymore, but there's
still a dance left in the old girl -- same reason the F-4 is also used for
tac recon.  It can also carry quite a lot by fighter standards, and, as
the original poster pointed out, has a backseater to twiddle the knobs.
The USAF, like everybody else, does what it can with what it's got.

>(2) "The F-117 ___________________ (would, would not) make a
>    good Wild Weasel platform."   (If not, why not?)

Nah. See above.  It has a pretty small payload, and besides, talk about an
expensive and scarce asset to send on a high-risk mission!  I also doubt
that we've yet come up with a radar-suppression missile designed for "low
observables" so that it wouldn't compromise the Stealth's stealthiness. And
remember that the F-117A is not INVISIBLE to radar -- just extremely low
in cross section at strategically selected wavelength ranges and angles.
All in all, there are better things to do with it than go trolling.

--Joe
"Just another personal opinion from the People's Republic of Berkeley"