Air Force's new attack plane

[Rogue Hawk]

Look at this, it uses a prop. :shocked:I would have expected a more A-10ish type plane.

http://nationalinterest.org/blog/th...-soon-have-deadly-light-attack-aircraft-24356

 

[ARtraveler]

Looks somewhat like a Mustang from WWII. With updated electronics, etc. it will probably give others a good run for the money. :bbq::bbq::bbq:

 

[RinconRyder]

I think the difference is in the aircraft type. The A-10 is a heavy ground attack aircraft. These look much lighter - meaning their potential targets are not armored.

 

[Grandpot]

There's an old saying, "Don't throw out your old ties. " Looks like old school planes are coming back.

 

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

ATTACK PLANE

Very reminiscent of the P- 40 ....Flying Tiger ...............remember the movie Flying Tigers ....they don't make like that anymore ....... Mike :thumbup:

 

[Bob Denman]

C'mon; tell the truth!


Is it April 1st already? :roflblack:

 

[Peter Aawen]

They are intended to be Light Attack Aircraft, for use in circumstances, places, or countries where there is no need to deploy the really expensive & complex Front Line Aircraft - after all, why would you need anything more complex/expensive to destroy a back yard drug lab in a remote Afghanistan Province.... or to chase AK47 armed rebels out of a poppy field in Columbia?? They are cheap, quick, & easy to make, don't need much in the way of runway or support infrastructure, can be fitted with avionics & electronics to let them work with hi-tech & modern over-sight agencies, and they work just as well if not better than the Front line Aircraft in remote/low threat/low tech environments. It hadta happen eventually! :lecturef_smilie:

 

[Bob Denman]

While I agree that there's you don't use a cruise missile, if a hand grenade can do the job: there's nothing quite like a "flexing of the muscles", to loosen up the bowels of the enemy. :thumbup:

 

[SPECTACUALR SPIDERMAN]

if it does the job & save tax payer $$$'s then that is the way to go

 

[Lew L]

50 cal. machine guns

As long as it has six 50 cal. machine guns in the wings, it should do just fine.

Lew L

 

[Rogue Hawk]

Very reminiscent of the P- 40 ....Flying Tiger ...............remember the movie Flying Tigers ....they don't make like that anymore ....... Mike :thumbup:

Yeah, it looks pretty cool. Now they just need a WW2 mascot

 

[MisterP]

One thing I noticed immediately is the aircraft is a turboprop. Turbine engines don’t respond immediately to throttle input, they have to spool up. Would be at a disadvantage against an enemy with an afterburner.

 

[RinconRyder]

Yeah, it looks pretty cool. Now they just need a WW2 mascot

d

Nose art isn't PC any longer. The best you could hope for today would be a squadron insignia on the tail.

As for the P-40's, they were severely outclassed by a whole host of other aircraft - both Japanese and German. Prior to both world wars it seems the USA was really behind the 8-ball in all manner of weapons. Our ships were not first line (our torpedoes were a world class failure). Neither were our infantry weapons. Our aircraft were terribly lacking. The only thing we had going for us was the width of the Pacific Ocean, a couple of very impressive intelligence breakthroughs and some strategic mistakes by our enemies. Fortunately, most of our early failures were improved upon within the first two years of WWII and what we could not fix by quality we fixed by quantity.

 

[RinconRyder]

One thing I noticed immediately is the aircraft is a turboprop. Turbine engines don’t respond immediately to throttle input, they have to spool up. Would be at a disadvantage against an enemy with an afterburner.

The Light Attack Aircraft is not designed to combat fighter aircraft.

 

[Bob Denman]

:agree: Low and slow... with lots of armor!
Kind of like an A10!

 

[sylvester]

d

Nose art isn't PC any longer. The best you could hope for today would be a squadron insignia on the tail.

In war nobody will worry about pc correctness

 

[SPECTACUALR SPIDERMAN]

how when you are trying to kill people in a war can anything be pc?

 

[MisterP]

The Light Attack Aircraft is not designed to combat fighter aircraft.

didnt say they did, but they have to respond defensively including reaction speed.

 

[Cavman]

[FONT=&quot]The AT-6 features a crew of two seated in tandem under a large, largely unobstructed canopy located at the center of the design. The engine - a single Pratt & Whitney PT6A-68D turboprop engine outputting at 1,600 horsepower.[/FONT]

 

[RinconRyder]

didnt say they did, but they have to respond defensively including reaction speed.

In the areas where they would be operating there would be a very small chance of enemy fighters (as in Afghanistan). If enemy aircraft are suspected they would be operating under a CAP - just as the A10's do.