Pentagon's Mach 6 Warplane May Return From Limbo

Makes sense. Now that the Chinese have their own stealth fighter, DARPA needs to focus on the next "untouchable" aircraft.

China's 5th gen fighter, the J-20, is years away from production and this is their first whack at it. So, you really can't say they have a stealth fighter. That is probably 8 to 10 years away.

What we saw was only a lab prototype designed to test the theories behind the design. Expect extensive changes to the exterior based on those tests. Just look at he F-22 and compare that to the YF-22.

What the aircraft looks like is one thing, but it really doesn't tell us whats under the hood. The avionics package is what makes or breaks the design. Chances are the avionics are very rudimentary at this stage and China has a long road to go to catch up with the US's advanced avionics, radar, and sensors.

We don't know exactly what China's capabilities are at this stage, but remember that this is more of a poker game. The defecting Russian with the MiG-25 shocked the world when we finally got to see what was inside. The West had severely overestimated that aircraft's capabilities, proving that high technology is not as easy to develop as it is to generate propaganda.

Nevertheless, I would not mind if the US government contracted more F-22s from Lockheed. ;-)

Gee...involved with the F-22? Wouldn't it be a good thing to actually try to work on the next generation of aircraft BEFORE we're in a panic mode? We're already being teabagged......Let's not get taken over physically while we're at it.

I am not sure at all what you are saying.

The F-22 is already operational and deployed.

While these 5th Gen aircraft are very impressive, Remote Piloted Aircraft are the real wave of the future and we have a big head start there, too. So, relax a little.

Don't under estimate the Chinese.They have proven their ability to go from zero to 100 in a very short time. It's their perserverence and mindset that allows them to get ahead of everyone else. Look at maglev. There's is operational while everyone else is still experimenting. I think in the next decade, most of the new and improved technologies will be from China. I predict the breakthrough in battery technology will come from China. Watch out! The giant has awaken. Mr. Ron (forget to log in).

Don't underestimate the complexity of designing, building, testing, redesigning, retesting, and finally deploying advanced aircraft.

That is particularly true for first time at bat.

However, no doubt that China is determined and posses vast resources.

Didn't we have a thread recently on 'defence chip outsourcing'?

wonder if the Chinese will display it at international air shows.

The hypersonic, unmanned Blackswift could become almost anything...
Except usefull!
Especially against terrorists or a low tech enemy like in Afghanistan.
Del

Not necessarily, if the mission requires time on target to be quick.

An example would be when the window of opportunity on an important target is very short. Bin Ladin escaped just such an attack because the weapons used were sub-sonic cruise missiles.

Such a platform also serves as recon over countries that may be a safe haven for low tech terrorists, but hostile for normal remote piloted vehicles (i.e., Iran). High altitude and high speed make hitting it difficult if not impossible.

It also serves as a deterrent for bigger wars.

However, all of these scenarios are out of the ordinary, so it makes it hard to justify a lot of revenue investment unless the technology can be used in other places.

"Bin Ladin escaped just such an attack because the weapons used were sub-sonic cruise missiles."

Please explain

Mostly; why is the 'subsonic' time to impact factor now 'key', rather than the deployment approval decision making process?

Both are important and they work sequentially.

However, if I were to improve the time of one leg of the sequence I would rather it be the in-flight time because it gives the decision making time the greatest advantage. That is, I can wait longer before the commit, which allows for more and better intel and additional time for command and control to make the best call.

Ummmm then maybe they should spend more on satellites, so it doesn't take so long re-tasking to get visual for the media release?

Yes, and spend more on weather control, too, so they can move the clouds to get a visual. ;-)

Satellites are great, but it costs money and time to reposition satellites.

It's good to have as many tools in your toolbox as you can.