cky7 wrote:The USAF demonstrated a pair of autonomous strike aircraft that could cooperatively search and engage targets by them self, and that was back in 2005. We're now looking at introducing that capability operationally 30 years later.
- well, they seem to be wanting something else (as a capability) now
Penetrating
Counter
Air... so much more than what we would call "an air superiority fighter"
Before the Franco-German announcement the the Germans seemed to be aiming for a stealthy, twin-tail, two-man "Strike Eagle"
... could turn out more multi-role now
The Japanese on their part seem to be aiming for a long-range' heavy weapon load "F-22"
So our three-legged stool seems to be quite balanced, if you take the angle of how much risk it entails (for not delivering an all-round, capable force)
- the work horse (in numbers)
- a penetrating day one asset (that is also carrier capable, though imposing a fleet-in-fleet cost for achieving that). Note that the Americans do not count on the penetrating aspect of this package remaining "bomb proof" into the '40s... but for us retiring the Typhoons about then will create financial leeway to plug that gap (and alternatives will be better known by then)
- FCAS (the German project carried the same name. Now that "nuisance" is probably going to be eliminated)
Bridging our future from here to 2040? Other than making the budget available,well, the co-operation with Japan
for improving the ramjet powered Meteor, which is extremely fast and retains its kinematic capabilities to the edge of its range comes to mind. As Popular Mechanics put it, when surveying this field in broad brush terms a quarter ago:
"Japan on the other hand has been a leader in missile seekers, producing the AAM-4B, the first missile with a built-in active electronically scanned array radar—the same kind of radar that rides on modern fighter planes such as the F-22. A joint effort would produce an exceptionally deadly missile: a ramjet-powered, AESA-equipped guided weapon capable of fitting in the internal weapons bay of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, which both countries are purchasing."
- not bad
- get the internally fitting JSF (also for the RN to bridge their gap), on the deal get triple the range vs. SPEAR 3 and also gain in ECM resistance
What's there not to like?
Ever-lasting truths: Multi-year budgets/ planning by necessity have to address the painful questions; more often than not the Either-Or prevails over Both-And.
If everyone is thinking the same, then someone is not thinking (attributed to Patton)