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Just going off of 11-401. "Only qualified aircrew members will log primary time." I don't have a dog in the fight, but for the guys getting boned with the 3-year PIT ADSC, I'd be looking high and low for ways to get out of it. Sent from my MotoG3 using Tapatalk

Article on the Iraqi Caravan shootdown https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3495947/Horrifying-video-shows-moment-Iraqi-plane-went-shot-sky-ISIS-extremists-anti-aircraft-gun.html It was a 57mm that shot them down, the Caravan could not realistically operate outside the WEZ of it but a Scorpion Jet could even if it was radar guided using open source max ranges, anyway we've used COIN aircraft in non-permissive environments (A-1s in Vietnam for example) - that doesn't mean we put them right in the WEZ of a SAM or only 25 NM from a Red Air threat but they have a role to play even in major combat ops, behind the FEBA but still useful and when the threat is removed, go to work boys... also if we can put an ALQ-188 EW pod on a 38 for a better adversary trainer then I am confident that a pod for a Scorpion Jet could be found for self-protection from radar guided threats if it was used during major combat ops or in a hybrid AOR like Syria from Russian or Syrian conventional forces... No disagreement on the importance of Building Partner Capacity and particularly the AVFID piece but we will need to keep our own capabilities to not only train these missions but to perform them also. What if no government or military exists and we are starting from scratch? Essentially the case with Afghanistan, until whatever fledgling state we are building or nursing back to health can at least stand on wobbly legs, we will be delivering the air power for several years... The cost piece of the has to be considered and I am not for scrimping on base defenses, equipment or manpower for the brave souls that go outside the wire on a routine basis, but if we can't find some efficiencies, better ways of delivering military effects in these fights, etc... then we're screwed for getting the very modern high end forces of the future, current ops will just eat away any money for modernization/acquisition - different color of money argument doesn't matter either as the pols take money from the future to pay for today, that is one of the reasons the F-22 was cut to an only 187 aircraft buy, we keep spending 10-15 million a day in OIR fighting ISIS and after Congress gets that bill the desire to fork out another 80 billion for a new bomber no matter how bad someone says we need it is going to probably get another look... True but the case could be made to Congress in the naive hope of penetrating their shields of ignorance and parochial mindset that the AF has a good strategy with acquiring less expensive planes to fly and fight with in the conflicts we are in now so Congress could / would spend more in the future (or better yet now) on new higher end airplanes / systems for the wars we might have to fight with peer adversaries. I wonder if there was no OCO (there shouldn't be) and it was all (our portion) rolled into the baseline for the AF (as mainly O&M) if this would give a market incentive for the AF to find less expensive ways of putting a JDAM on a mud hut, that is if you could shift O&M you saved to a multi year Acquisition Account to realize your savings, this has been the dream of many a Mr. Smith but I think it could work as it still will spend the money so Congressmen with military contractors or subs in their districts should like it as it feeds their constituents and in reality feeds them earlier and often No hate for the 5th gen just doubt we need as much of it as we are trying to get If we are just talking Fighters then my ideal AF would be 3 parts, a high end based on F-22s & FB-22s; a medium end based on a new 4+ gen fighter like Advanced Capability Superhornet and a successor to the A-10 and lower end based on Scorpion Jets and probably Pred-Cs - just a very rough overview but three levels of ass-kicking at three levels of cost, use as required...

Devil (and by extension, Huggy) are right. The picture is a composite of two images she took. In the photo description she says "I had to run to grab the right lens, so this is a bit of layering." In other words, the two pictures were taken from almost the same angle with the same lighting, but the U-2s were much farther away (and higher) than they appear. From the composite they look like they're south of the bridge at about 200' and ready to fly right over the Marina. Sorry dudes, I wanted to believe. We'll have to wait for the other pics.

The 5th gen haters routinely ignore the threat of double digit SAMs, which have become more ubiquitous and arguably the standard for denying us air superiority. Why do we need 5th gen? So my ass isn't a smokin hole when Uncle Sam tells me orbit inside an SA-10 MEZ.

Actually. I was there the day Tex rolled the -80. I grew up in Seattle and the big event that day was the annual Gold Cup unlimited hydroplane races on Lake Washington My dad, brother, and I went and were sitting on the grass next to the lake (with one or two hundred thousand others). My dad worked for Boeing as a buyer at the Renton plant and was fairly knowledgeable about the program but not an aviator. Midway through the day between heats, they announced the flyby, and the aircraft came from the South (Renton) and as it came abeam the VIP barge near the pits, it smoothly pulled up, rolled, and departed to the north. About 5 minutes later it returned and repeated the roll before departing the area. I was a little uncertain about what I'd seen so I asked my dad about it. I recall he was a little stunned but really didn't say too much. I thought it was kind of cool.

"Pretty darn good."