Anybody like military aircraft?

[Captain Wes]

My Favorite is the F-15 Eagle for one reason alone

Spoiler: Greatest F-15 Eagle Ever

Starscream ftw

 

[Danny Ocean]

Why the hell has no-one mentioned these yet?!

This one comes a close second.

If you can't identify these, just... just... I don't even know. Do something bad to yourself.

 

[Hevoo]

A-10 Nuff said.

best plane aircraft made.

 

[meatloaf231]

My Favorite American Fighter:

(THIS

That was your avatar! Oh man, I'd tried forever to figure out what that red and white thing was.

Personally I'm a fan of helicopters over jets. They seem much more intimidating, mainly because they can just hover there and watch you. Sure, jets can completely dominate them before the helicopter even realizes the jet was there, but to infantry the helicopter would probably freak them out more. I mean, if a jet misses you, then it has to go turn around and come back. The helicopter's just sitting there, waiting for you to stick your head out again.

Spoiler: AD 64-D Apache Attack Helicopter

Spoiler: Apache Longbow Helicopter

 

[Ronwue]

Planes are all awesome. Millitary planes are awesome incarnate. But if I had to choose. Spitfire, P51, and the B52 are the most awesome.

 

[Eipok Kruden]

My favorite plane that's currently in existence would have to be the A-10. My favorite jet is actually an automated stealth jet that hasn't been made yet. It's called the Cormorant, its wings fold in so it can be fired from a submarine. It then drifts to the surface and takes off to do its mission. I can't wait for it to go into production.

EDIT: Here's Lockheed's site if you want info on the Cormorant. http://www.lockheedmartin.com/how/stories/cormorant.html

 

[The Sorrow]

A-10, P-38, P-51, P-40 (I knew one of the Flying Tigers personally before his death), B-52, XB-70, X-15...

 

[godinshorts]

the kick assiest aircrafts have got to be the B-52, A-10, F-22, f-23, and F-15 to F-18.

but have u ever gotten a closer look at the A-10 gun? especially when firing that thing is frigging scary

 

[Zephirius]

Personally I'm a fan of the Huey and the Chinook, though the A-10 kicks ass. If we're gonna go back a ways then the Fokker Dr.I is awesome, though it loses a lot of appeal when not painted red. My favorite military aircraft ever is not real, I'm afraid. It would have to be the Kirov airship from the Red Alert series. I'm sure similar airships were employed during World War I or whatever but I don't really care. Oh, and the B-2 Spirit is also very nice.

 

[brtshstel]

I like the Panavia Tornado, mostly the ground-combat iterations, but the ADV is cool too. The SEPECAT Jaguar is also another really good strike craft. The F-15 is a legend in air superiority, and the E-model Strike Eagle and the I-model Ra'am used by Israel are powerful strike fighters. The F/A-18 is another favorite, especially in its E and F model Super Hornet line. I also like the Mirage III, F1, and -2000, as well as the Israeli Kfir. The Sukhoi Su-27 and Su-30 line are just like the F-15 line; air superiority fighter and then made into an excellent strike craft. The MiG-29 is not only a capable multi-role fighter, but it can even make it to the edge of space and maneuver like a charm without fly-by wire.

I'm not big on strictly one-role aircraft, but rather multi-purpose planes. It doesn't make sense to me to have a dozen different models of aircraft each only performing one or two roles. One for fighter, one for recon, one for bombing, one for air support, one for etc. That means you have to have different engines, parts, and crews for each one, which is expensive and wasteful. One aircraft means one reserve of engines, one set of parts, one set of equipment, and one line of crews. You can have fewer aircraft, fewer people, use fewer resources, spend less money, and yet get everything done. The USAF knows this with the F-16. The U.S. (F/A-18) and French (Rafael) Navies know this really well where carrier space is at a premium. The RAF likes the Tornado and Typhoon for the same reason. The Russian Air Force enjoys this with the Su-27/30 and MiG-29. Israeli customised F-15s and F-16s are designed to do everything that a combat aircraft can do.

I also like twin-engine craft over singles. This is the only gripe I have over the F-16; it's good but what happens if that one engine fails? Your fighter is toast and your pilot is in even more danger. If an F/A-18 or MiG-29 loses one, it still has a chance to fly back to safety.

 

[Finnboghi]

The A-10 Warthog

I'm sorry all of you that didn't vote Warthog, but the A-10 is simply put, the best piece of hardware in the sky. Why? Because the Hog is a unique craft filling a role that they've always needed but never addressed. You've got jets for long-range, medium range, and short range anti-air, dogfighters, interceptors, and air superiority fighters. You have bombers big and small, dropping anything from 500lb gravity bombs to air-borne launch nuclear warheads and MOABs, but traditional jet bombers are not efficient means to harass ground forces.

Enter the A-10. Capable of a controlled flight at speeds so slow that any other jet would fall out of the sky, and at such low altitudes that it would be comparable to helicopters, the Thunderbolt II (Aka Warthog) can circle the field like a vulture, picking off targets as it goes. Yes, jump jets like the harrier or JSF can also perform this role, but VTOL maneuvers are very fuel consuming, and for the same jet fuel that would allow the harrier to hover-engage one target, a warthog can fly for an hour. Add to that the Hog's greater payload; a hair under 3,000lbs more than the AV-8B when it comes to hardpoint munitions and almost 4x as many rounds for the cannon.

But jump jets aren't the only craft losing work to the Warthog, the AH-64 Apache is also being out-done by the A-10. While the Warthog will never fully replace helicopter gunships, pitting the US's top copter against the hog, the AH-64 has half the operational range and only 1/3rd the speed that the A-10 possesses, and like the AV-8B, carries less payload (9600lbs compared to 19400lbs) and of a less various nature, mostly limited to hellfire missiles and rockets.

Finally, the A-10 is one tough son of a *****. Every possible component onboard was designed to be left/right compatible. You can literally take an entire wing and flip it to the other side with minimal adjustment, the engines are the same on either side, making maintenance costs, repair times, and required parts inventories drastically less than any other military jet. The A-10 can take a severe beating in the air, and its low flight speed makes crash landings a survivable affair.

It kicks the shit out of jets, tanks, infantry, and helicopters. It can take far more punishment than any other jet aircraft, and at the end of the day, they can strip off damaged parts and replace them in less time than it would take to ready another jet for flight. And that's not exaggerating. Give the damn thing a 10-disc MP3/CD player and a cup holder in the cockpit, and you'd have to worship it as a god.[/QUOTE]

EXACTLY!

Or the SR-71.

 

[captain awesome 12]

I forgot to ask, can the A-10 engaged other aircraft (helicopters, fighter, bombers)? If so, how effective are they/would they be?

Yes, very effective at long and medium range interception, 50/50 crapshoot at close-in dogfighting. They can turn, bank, and roll more sharply than other jets, but at a much slower speed. Really, it comes down to "Can the jet pilot get a solid lock before it's whipped passed the A-10?" because the hog can slow down to speeds that cause the enemy to pass them. With their larger stores of countermeasures than the average interceptor, the A-10 is actually able to hold its own, and has been used in air-to-air roles many times.

Edit:

favourite yankee aircraft would have to be the F-117 Nighthawk it just looks so otherworldly

Bah!, the Nighthawk only carries two missiles. Most often, a modified custom load of the Paveway. For its cost, two shots ain't shit.

However, when you can fly deep into enemy territory without anyone knowing you're there and deliver those two missiles with godly accuracy, and you can keep sending those aircraft over and over and no one can do anything about it, it counts for something.

 

[captain awesome 12]

The F-35 is an awesome aircraft, despite the fact that it costs 110 million dollars each.

 

[bluemarsman]

F-4 Phantom.

 

[sneakypenguin]

I forgot to ask, can the A-10 engaged other aircraft (helicopters, fighter, bombers)? If so, how effective are they/would they be?

Yes, very effective at long and medium range interception, 50/50 crapshoot at close-in dogfighting. They can turn, bank, and roll more sharply than other jets, but at a much slower speed. Really, it comes down to "Can the jet pilot get a solid lock before it's whipped passed the A-10?" because the hog can slow down to speeds that cause the enemy to pass them. With their larger stores of countermeasures than the average interceptor, the A-10 is actually able to hold its own, and has been used in air-to-air roles many times.

Edit:

favourite yankee aircraft would have to be the F-117 Nighthawk it just looks so otherworldly

Bah!, the Nighthawk only carries two missiles. Most often, a modified custom load of the Paveway. For its cost, two shots ain't shit.

However, when you can fly deep into enemy territory without anyone knowing you're there and deliver those two missiles with godly accuracy, and you can keep sending those aircraft over and over and no one can do anything about it, it counts for something.

We actually retired the 117 years ago(well actually the 22nd of may or april this year.) they have been phasing out for quite a while.

 

[captain awesome 12]

However, when you can fly deep into enemy territory without anyone knowing you're there and deliver those two missiles with godly accuracy, and you can keep sending those aircraft over and over and no one can do anything about it, it counts for something.

First, the "Stealth" jets aren't nearly as undetectable as pop culture makes them out to be. Second, you can employ an entire squadron of conventional jets for the price of one stealth craft. Third, the F-117A Nighthawk "Stealth Fighter" is totally mis-named, the "F" designation and the "Fighter" part of its moniker are falsehoods as the Nighthawk has zero anti-air capabilities, and is in fact only usable against ground targets. Fourth, the F-117A lights up on radar like any other jet the minute they open the weapons bay. While the jet can open, fire, and close the port within a manner of seconds, it still gives away the position and the fact a missile is inbound.

Most of the F-117A's usefulness is dying, as the F-22 Raptor has begun deployment.

F-4 Phantom.

Now you Blue, I assume are voting based on the Phantom's kickass look, and not its awful track record. That damn jet was a flying brick, one of the least popular to be assigned to, well earning its nicknames such as "Iron Pig" or "Lead Sled". Yes, they were effective, but it's a miracle the things could fly, and had abysmal visibility.

I'm not starting a war or anything over the F-117, and you're right, it can be detected, and it doesn't have any anti-air capabilites, but it has served incredibly useful in the past if you look at Desert Storm. The fact is that if you want to track it you'll have to track every bird, bat, and dragonfly in the sky. And the point is that it destroys the radar array stations, that's the first target so it can't be detected or followed after it has dropped it's weapons, and there wouldn't be any time to react, the bomb would be there in seconds. With ultra-modern radar it can be tracked, but the people the U.S, are fighting and have fought don't have that capability. You're also right on with the F-22, and also the F-35. With those in deployment, and in the F-35's case soon to be deployed, the Nighthawk's usefulness is dying. But that wasn't my point, I was just saying how useful it has been, and any aircraft historian would agree. Also remember that the Nighthawk was developed for a specific role, and comparing it to modern multi-role platforms wouldn't be fair.

 

[captain awesome 12]

I forgot to ask, can the A-10 engaged other aircraft (helicopters, fighter, bombers)? If so, how effective are they/would they be?

Yes, very effective at long and medium range interception, 50/50 crapshoot at close-in dogfighting. They can turn, bank, and roll more sharply than other jets, but at a much slower speed. Really, it comes down to "Can the jet pilot get a solid lock before it's whipped passed the A-10?" because the hog can slow down to speeds that cause the enemy to pass them. With their larger stores of countermeasures than the average interceptor, the A-10 is actually able to hold its own, and has been used in air-to-air roles many times.

Edit:

favourite yankee aircraft would have to be the F-117 Nighthawk it just looks so otherworldly

Bah!, the Nighthawk only carries two missiles. Most often, a modified custom load of the Paveway. For its cost, two shots ain't shit.

However, when you can fly deep into enemy territory without anyone knowing you're there and deliver those two missiles with godly accuracy, and you can keep sending those aircraft over and over and no one can do anything about it, it counts for something.

We actually retired the 117 years ago(well actually the 22nd of may or april this year.) they have been phasing out for quite a while.

Yeah, I meant usefulness in the past. In the wake of modern stealth multi role fighters it's obsolete.