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The problem with anything Europe is that the bureaucracy/joint work just drags the entire process down. Let’s take the EF. Terrific airframe / power plant per as designed in mid 80’s to be a Cold War dogfighter. Delays delays delays, cost overruns and more delays.....here we are in 2017 with a fighter that is awesome....for 1997 A/A. Power/maneuvering.....terrific. Radar...Captor billed as the worlds most advanced mech scan radar....awesome for 30 years ago. Captor-E Aesa...great, but not funded and years behind so we’ll see when it gets installed. Tranche 3 Eurofighters are rolling off the line at about $110 million per copy. Luckily most decent allies have gotten theirs and the F-35 is stepping in. Only people ordering them now are the Arabs. Austria is returning theirs and suing. Europe produces/buys military jets to create jobs. That’s the focus, not actual capability. Luckily they learned their lesson and allies who missed out in the F-16 in favor of the EF2K are buying F-35’s. I’m loving the EF guys who hate the fact that they are being pushed into A/G multi role, are getting destroyed by the fatter, slower and less maneuverable F-35 in the A/A arena.

They are called missles, not hittles

Took a little skill to add min AB while on the boom rather than dropping off selecting min AB then getting back on the boom (F-4G w/ 3 tanks, 2 harms, 2 AIM-7Es, ECM pod, full fuel = about 63k lbs)

I thought the F-4 was pretty cool when I flew it in the Seventies. Baumholder AAR track in Germany at 230 kts:

Word on the street is that the Aircrew Task Force colluded with the Russians to hack Baseops.net.

If Top Gun 2 generated buzz, then, of course, another in the genre will too... 12 O'clock Nigh Scene 1: Delta FO Harry Stovall, having parked his 787 at Heathrow, kills part of his 20 hour layover with a stroll down some shop streets near The City in London. Suddenly, he spots a model of an F-15C in the window in a junk shop...cue harp music and wavy focus camera... Scene 2: Then Captain Harry "Burner" Stovall is the reluctant wing exec and is slaving away at his desk awaiting the arrival of the new wing king after the previous one had been fired for boning SSgt Yummy Britches in the staff car. The door bangs open and in walks Col Frank Savage, fresh off his Air Staff tour (prior to that he'd flown the Eagle for one tour at Eglin, then had a career of exec/school/exec/school/command, to the Air Staff and now here at RAF Archbury). Stovall stands up to acknowledge the O-6. Who immediately berates Stovall for having the fun meter morale patch, his flight cap visible in his leg pocket, and his zipper slightly below his name tag. "Captain, I want to see the personnel folders of every pilot in this wing immediately." Scene 3: That evening in the Club bar, Stovall is at the bar trying to not badmouth the new commander as the bros gather 'round looking for gouge. When in bursts Savage himself, proclaiming "This bar is closed. All pilots will muster in the wing auditorium at 0700 tomorrow morning." The crowd files out grumbling unintelligibly... Scene 4: The next morning, at 0700, the auditorium is called to attention and in strides Savage, his Chief, and Stovall. Savage ascends the stage, dramatically pulls the cord to the curtain covering the big board, to reveal...The Plan "Gentlemen, effective immediately, every single one of you will reset your clock on all the ancillary CBTs the Air Force and DoD have mandated. You will complete this no later than a week from today. I will not tolerate sloppy uniforms or sloppy green dots." Raising his hand the OG asks, "Sir, that will take nearly 70 hours even if we group take all the on-line tests and the like. We are supposed to deploy for the Baltic Ops mission next week and had some LFEs scheduled with the Brits over the Wash." "Col Cobb, if I want your opinion, I will give it to you. That's all, gentlemen. Dismissed." Scene 5: A week later: "Stovall, why am I seeing all these 7-day opts?" "Dunno, sir. Here's mine..."

So this must be good news for the RPA community. Finally a decent AD location. https://www.wjhg.com/content/news/Tyndall-to-house-new-MQ-9-Reaper-Wing-460607493.html

This site helped me get picked up for OTS/UPT back in 05, here it is 2017 and it just got me hired with the NH ANG. Thanks everybody who helped since I joined this site in 2004. I’m forever thankful for the guidance. Cheers! 🍺