{"id":191816,"date":"2009-06-21T11:29:00","date_gmt":"2009-06-21T16:29:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.panix.com\/~msaroff\/40years\/2009\/06\/21\/an-idea-so-good-that-the-usaf-will-never-do-it\/"},"modified":"2009-06-21T11:29:00","modified_gmt":"2009-06-21T16:29:00","slug":"an-idea-so-good-that-the-usaf-will-never-do-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.panix.com\/~msaroff\/40years\/2009\/06\/21\/an-idea-so-good-that-the-usaf-will-never-do-it\/","title":{"rendered":"An Idea So Good, that the USAF Will Never Do It"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><object type=\"application\/x-shockwave-flash\" data=\"http:\/\/www.slideroll.com\/player.swf?s=a38bvc1a&amp;nocache=1&amp;nologo=0\" base=\"http:\/\/www.slideroll.com\" wmode=\"transparent\" scale=\"noscale\" salign=\"tl\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allownetworking=\"all\" style=\"margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; float: right; cursor: pointer;\" width=\"400\" height=\"310\"><param name=\"base\" value=\"http:\/\/www.slideroll.com\"><param name=\"movie\" value=\"http:\/\/www.slideroll.com\/player.swf?s=a38bvc1a&amp;nologo=0\"><param name=\"s\" value=\"a38bvc1a\"><param name=\"scale\" value=\"noscale\"><param name=\"salign\" value=\"tl\"><param name=\"wmode\" value=\"transparent\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\"><param name=\"allowScriptAccess\" value=\"always\"><param name=\"allowNetworking\" value=\"all\"><\/object><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/img14.imageshack.us\/img14\/9158\/thumbphpf.jpg\" style=\"margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; float: right; cursor: pointer;\" width=\"400\" \/>Specifically, the idea that a relatively low performance airframe can serve better in the counter-insurgency (COIN) or the close air support role than something like the F-15, F-16, F-22, or F-35 <span>JSF<\/span>.<\/p>\n<p>Not only would lower performance aircraft tend to have better short and rough field capabilities, just as the A-10 Warthog currently does, but they would be able to loiter over the battlefield for a much longer time, as they are designed for this regime, unlike aircraft designed to operate above 30,000 feet and to reach supersonic speeds.<\/p>\n<p>Case in point, the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.defensetech.org\/archives\/004865.html\">Combat Air Tractor<\/a>, an aircraft based on Air Tractor&#8217;s crop dusting aircraft.<\/p>\n<p>It can take off and land off of rough airfields in less than 100m, and can loiter over the battle field for over 10 hours.(click slide show [top] for pictures of aircraft and weapons <span>load outs<\/span>)<\/p>\n<p>The CAT also <a href=\"http:\/\/www.dodbuzz.com\/2009\/06\/02\/look-schwartz-new-coin-plane\/\">costs somewhere between $4 and $10 million dollars<\/a>, as opposed to the $80-$200 million of a <span>JSF<\/span>, and it has been used in combat situations, spraying herbicide on coca fields and the like, and the aircraft is on the tarmac at the Paris air show.<\/p>\n<p>While it would be an unlikely choice, there are also rumblings that the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.dodbuzz.com\/2009\/04\/24\/af-mulls-coin-wing-new-planes\/\"><span>USAF is<\/span> considering modifying their T-6 trainer for a similar role<\/a> (<span>bottom<\/span> pic)<\/p>\n<p>Personally, I&#8217;d favor something turbofan powered, because it could be designed with narrow-band stealth against radar guided AAA, but anything is better than the current plan, which is <span>JSF&#8217;s<\/span> for everything.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Specifically, the idea that a relatively low performance airframe can serve better in the counter-insurgency (COIN) or the close air support role than something like the F-15, F-16, F-22, or F-35 JSF. Not only would lower performance aircraft tend to have better short and rough field capabilities, just as the A-10 Warthog currently does, but &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1007,1008,1025],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-191816","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-aviation","category-defense-procurement","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.panix.com\/~msaroff\/40years\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/191816"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.panix.com\/~msaroff\/40years\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.panix.com\/~msaroff\/40years\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.panix.com\/~msaroff\/40years\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.panix.com\/~msaroff\/40years\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=191816"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.panix.com\/~msaroff\/40years\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/191816\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.panix.com\/~msaroff\/40years\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=191816"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.panix.com\/~msaroff\/40years\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=191816"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.panix.com\/~msaroff\/40years\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=191816"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}