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by alkonaut
3981 days ago
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Manned planes will fly for several decades still, and even upcoming generations will most likely be optionslly manned rather than unmanned. The line will blur between manned and unmanned however.
Today's "drones" have more pilots than the manned craft! Often 4-5 for even a short mission. There is no autonomous flying. Quickly reacting autonomous fighters is still sci-fi. The problem with the F-35 project is mostly that it somehow was decided to replace the Harrier. Replacing the F-15/16/18 isn't a problems. Replacing the harrier with the same craft is an engineering nightmare. Upgrading old platforms is done continuously, up to a point where an upgrade would be so expensive/radical that a new design is better. Sticking more electronics in an old plane isn't easy, the power and cooling requirements can require big redesigns, for example. The planes it replaces are certainly near the end of their lifespans and have been upgraded a lot over several decades.
What they should have done is not make just one plane. A replacement for the F-15/16/18 would have been much easier. |
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This is another misconception. The F-35 emerged from a DARPA study in the 80s to create a stealthy STOVL aircraft. The F-35 as designed started with the F-35B. The other two variants were created through modifications to this design.