[stalag8611]

Did the pilot survive the breakup of his F-15? I don't recall reading anything about that. Must have come as one hell of a surprise in any event.

[FormerViperDriver]

Originally Posted by mustangdriver

Well let's see the U.S. is in need of a twin engined jet that can carry some bombs. I wonder what we can use, that we have plenty of????????

The F-15Es are not grounded, only C/D models, and those don't carry bombs. What we need are more F-22s, which do carry them.

Everyone seems to forget (conveniently) that the current F-22 buy is well short of requirement, and is only due to Donald Rumsfeld's incompetent administration of the DoD when he was there. Why an arbitrary, stupid decision should stand "just because" makes no sense whatsoever. There is no need for more F-15 accidents to happen (risking pilots' lives) to justify more F-22s. They are needed regardless. The F-15 had its day, but now it just doesn't measure up any more. It might still get a 3 or 4-to-1 kill ratio against the best opposition (assuming they are not flying Eurofighters, Rafales, or the latest versions of Su-30s, in which case it's going to take all our best training and flawless tactics to just come up even), but that's unacceptable. We want 100-to-1 on a bad day, and that's what the Raptor gives us.

Not to mention the fact that an F-15 within an SA-20 ring is toast, whereas the F-22 has at least a chance.

FVD

[FormerViperDriver]

Originally Posted by stalag8611

Did the pilot survive the breakup of his F-15? I don't recall reading anything about that. Must have come as one hell of a surprise in any event.

He survived with a broken and separated shoulder. Could have been much, much worse.

FVD

[Armour Addict]

Found an animation regarding the accident:

Military Videos: Videos, Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine, Marines - Military Times

Pretty frightening!

[Old Crow]

It is interesting how a news report on something like this will find a way to subtly imply the applicable branch of the military is somehow nefariously using such an event as political capital.

By the way, the F-16s from the Air Guard wing in Fresno where I live are now flying missions to cover the entire West Coast and bringing in pilots from elsewhere to help with the load.

[mustangdriver]

Originally Posted by FormerViperDriver

The F-15Es are not grounded, only C/D models, and those don't carry bombs. What we need are more F-22s, which do carry them.

Everyone seems to forget (conveniently) that the current F-22 buy is well short of requirement, and is only due to Donald Rumsfeld's incompetent administration of the DoD when he was there. Why an arbitrary, stupid decision should stand "just because" makes no sense whatsoever. There is no need for more F-15 accidents to happen (risking pilots' lives) to justify more F-22s. They are needed regardless. The F-15 had its day, but now it just doesn't measure up any more. It might still get a 3 or 4-to-1 kill ratio against the best opposition (assuming they are not flying Eurofighters, Rafales, or the latest versions of Su-30s, in which case it's going to take all our best training and flawless tactics to just come up even), but that's unacceptable. We want 100-to-1 on a bad day, and that's what the Raptor gives us.

Not to mention the fact that an F-15 within an SA-20 ring is toast, whereas the F-22 has at least a chance.

FVD

I am on your side man, but I would love to see the F--14 come back as a stop gap until more F-22's are built.

[STARMAN 352ND]

Originally Posted by Armour Addict

Found an animation regarding the accident:

Military Videos: Videos, Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine, Marines - Military Times

Pretty frightening!

Wow,,,That was spooky stuff right there...Happy to hear the pilot got out ok...

JP

[SKUNKY]

Originally Posted by mustangdriver

I am on your side man, but I would love to see the F--14 come back as a stop gap until more F-22's are built.

They're gone and they ain't ever coming back, md....as sad as that sounds. They were too high maintenance in their final years, they would only be worse now. The Navy isn't as sentimental as we are.

[Shawn 507]

Lets see, are those responsible with this decision in any way connected to the F22 project? Any of these guys due to retire soon and need a job with Lockheed? Enquiring minds want to know.

[TopHat]

Originally Posted by stalag8611

Did the pilot survive the breakup of his F-15? I don't recall reading anything about that. Must have come as one hell of a surprise in any event.

Yeah, he lived. BTW, the a/c was from the Missouri Air National Guard's 131st Fighter Wing, based at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport, very close to my house.