Someone, on 14 Apr 2009, 1:41, said:
I know it has been a while, but I want to quickly comment on 2018 bomber & FB-22:
...
So according to the article, some experts are
predicting that the development of the 2018 bomber
may be delayed. That is not the same as saying 2018 bomber project was
canceled. You should choose your phrasing more carefully CommanderJB
(No offence intended)
Turns out the prognosis set out in the article was pretty good actually:
Secretary for Defence Robert Gates's 2009 Intended Budget Statement:
Quote
With regard to our nuclear and strategic forces:
...
* We will not pursue a development program for a follow-on Air Force bomber until
we have a better understanding of the need, the requirement, and the technology.
If Gates gets his way, which in this area he probably will, it'll be delayed without a timetable and denied any serious developmental funding. Congress are likely to agree that an open-ended program with serious budgetary risks and impacts is not appropriate right now in more fiscally restrictive times when the aircraft is facing a serious aircraft shortfall in its front-line fighter fleet and needs far more significant big-ticket items such as the KC-X tanker far more urgently. NGB also doesn't have the promotion of existing jobs behind it of the sort that the F-22, the ceasing of the purchase of which the statement also advocates and which Congress are far more likely to give him a fight over, does. I'd call that scrapping it as the '2018 bomber' alright. While I could have been clearer with the specific word used, and I will admit that when I first used it I was under the impression that it had been totally cancelled, which, as I acknowledged in the next post, I found out was not the case, I think that the point remains the same; the NGB programme is not really working at present and certainly not going ahead to design and production any time soon. They'll get one eventually but when they do it'll probably be into the 2030s at this rate and it's virtually guaranteed to be unmanned, and most likely look like a smaller B-2.
Someone, on 14 Apr 2009, 1:41, said:
CommanderJB, on 24 Feb 2009, 8:33, said:
I suppose my main point is that the F/B-22 died stillborn for very good reasons. There just isn't the demand for it and won't be, with the F/22 covering SEAD/DEAD, the F-35 covering battlefield interdiction/moderate strike (with considerably more versatility) and the B-1B plugging any deep strike gap probably until the NGB finally arrives, at which point it'll probably be a UCAV.
I do not know a lot about B-1B’s capabilities, but I always thought it was a “heavy” bomber unsuitable for “medium” roles. That is why FB-22 was suggested, was it not?
B-1B can indeed actually carry the heaviest weapon load of any aircraft in the U.S. Air Force, correct. However, as it was designed for the low-level penetration role with a view to delivering SAC's primary late Cold War tactical nuclear strike capability with the AGM-69 SRAM it's perfectly capable 'down in the weeds' so to speak, though it doesn't operate there unless it has to. The only real problem with the B-1B is that it's expensive to maintain, but I think recent experiences with the Raptor have demonstrated that using an F-22 derivative, though smaller, isn't really going to provide you with a heck of a lot of benefits in
that area. There is no clear distinction between tactical, medium, and heavy bombers any more; there are simply different platforms for different jobs. As the USAF's primary bomb truck (20 B-2As are not going to get you very far, plus they're so horrifyingly difficult to maintain that only about six are serviceable at any given time, and on top of that they are slow and vulnerable to attack if discovered, and the B-52 was never designed for modern high-intensity aerial warfare and would fare as such) the B-1B provides the range necessary to deliver large quantities of ordnance on targets deep in enemy territory. The only difference that the F/B-22 would give is that it would not need to be escorted, but by the time you factored in the greater number of aircraft for the job given their smaller and less-diverse weapons payload (and of course the development and unit costs) I doubt you'd end up with a wholly superior and practical solution using a solely F/B-22 package. So did the U.S. Air Force.
Someone, on 14 Apr 2009, 1:41, said:
About the Kodiak tank:
CommanderJB, on 4 Apr 2009, 14:38, said:
IIRC it was primarily chosen simply as an appropriate-sounding name for a heavy, brawling Russian MBT that fitted the naming pattern.
I thought that the Kodiak tank in Rise of the Reds was named after Kodiak Island. It would make some sense since in reality some Russian military vehicles are named after geographic locations (eg: T-72 “Ural”, M1 “Tunguska”, etc.)
Although it is now part of USA (it is located off the coast of Alaska), Kodiak Island used to belong to Russia and was one of the first places in the New World settled by Russians.
To be honest, when I first saw ROTR’s Kodiak tank, I was disappointed (something that would become a “status quo” now that Shockwave team is in charge of that mod) – it looks more like a
modernized T-62 than a Russian tank of the foreseeable future.
P.S.: I salute AaronAsh for making the Han gunships – one of the few units to come from the “new” ROTR that I actually liked.
I don't believe that Kodiak Island played any role in the naming of the tank in Rise of the Reds. As far as I can determine based on the evidence I have available to me (design documents et cetera) it was a simple reference to the bear, which was chosen as appropriate for its similar approach to warfare. It was originally intended to be a T-80 variant and the unit design still reflects this, but the name was changed to fit in with the Zero Hour naming convention of not using alphanumeric designators. To get a decent idea of what a future Russian tank will look like we'll have to wait and see what Uralvagonzavod have in store with the T-95, but for something that's supposed to see the light of day this year, things have been deathly quiet on that front for an awfully long time. Still, I do agree that the current version is rather... conventional, shall we say.
Edited by CommanderJB, 13 April 2009 - 16:33.