The Air Force is officially picking up its first new F-15 in nearly 20 years

[Cookie Monster]

Interesting right?

@Cookie Monster

Especially in light of this.....https://www.airforcemag.com/article/mosaic-warfare/

Like I said before, it would be wise to keep an eye on how the US utilizes 5th gen types.

It's a long and comprehensive article...covering many aspects on the future warfare doctrine and strategies. I was only able to do a cursory read at the moment.

I've been very busy lately. I will write a detailed reply to u once I find some time to sit down and collect my thoughts.

 

[Avicenna]

It's a long and comprehensive article...covering many aspects on the future warfare doctrine and strategies. I was only able to do a cursory read at the moment.

I've been very busy lately. I will write a detailed reply to u once I find some time to sit down and collect my thoughts.

No worries bro.

I keep my thoughts to a few lines due to time constraints as well.

LOL.

But as always good to hear your thoughts.

 

[LeGenD]

The USAF hopes to gain air superiority so that aircraft like the F-15 can operate in enemy airspace. Perhaps the F-15s are for the states that are not peer competitors, because other than China and Russia, the F-15 is still capable against most of the rest of the world.

F-15EX is equipped with cutting edge technologies to infiltrate heavily contested environments such as those of Russia and China but the most striking aspect is the sheer amount of firepower it brings to the table all on its own. This is like a bomber in combat jet form.

Neither Russia and nor China can challenge USAF head on. These are near-peer adversaries to USA due to their nuclear arsenal only. China is likely to surpass Russia in the military aspect due to its much higher level of spending and investments in affiliated R&D programs.

 

[FuturePAF]

F-15EX is equipped with cutting edge technologies to infiltrate heavily contested environments such as those of Russia and China but the most striking aspect is the sheer amount of firepower it brings to the table all on its own. This is like a bomber in combat jet form.

Neither Russia and nor China can challenge USAF head on. These are near-peer adversaries to USA due to their nuclear capbility only.

"Peer competitors" is how the pentagon describes them. Current China is still more then a decade from even regional parity. The F-15EX is indeed a great platform, but the longer range weapons it could carry could make it relevant in an A2AD enviroment. Basically if it is used in the role which was originally planned for the "B-1R"; the missile truck. Although the Chinese are aware of this concept, and seem to be planning for it with their long range a2a missiles.

 

[LeGenD]

"Peer competitors" is how the pentagon describes them. Current China is still more then a decade from even regional parity. The F-15EX is indeed a great platform, but the longer range weapons it could carry could make it relevant in an A2AD enviroment. Basically if it is used in the role which was originally planned for the "B-1R"; the missile truck. Although the Chinese are aware of this concept, and seem to be planning for it with their long range a2a missiles.

Bro,

MOSIAC warfare strategy is about reducing reliance on a single platform to achieve breakthrough in a mission. Idea is to enable multiple platforms to share information in realtime (sensor fusion) and be able to fulfill a mission in the process.

If a potential adversary is somehow able to counter an F-22A, no issue - F-35A nearby will get the job done. If a potential adversary is somehow able to counter an F-35A as well, no issue - F-15EX nearby will get the job done. This is literally Science Fiction coming to life. However, this paradigm makes it important to equip legacy platforms with cutting edge technologies such as in F-22A and F-35A because you cannot have sensor fusion with them otherwise. This isn't conventional networking - this is Cooperative Engagement Capability (CEC) Sensor-netting in the air.

USAF in its present form is already without a peer. MOSIAC is literally cementing its position at the top of the food chain for indefinite period. In fact, MOSIAC is bigger than USAF; it will encompass all branches of armed forces in the near future. USN have already experimented with CEC in recent years.

I am of the view that War On Terror provided ample opportunities to US to experiment with new technologies and warfighting concepts in different spaces, and these experiments will collectively translate into something much bigger and significant in the future. Afghanistan; Iraq; Libya; and Syria - each was instructive in this regard.

I will expand on the capabilities of F-15EX when I am time.

 

[FuturePAF]

Bro,

MOSIAC warfare strategy is about reducing reliance on a single platform to achieve breakthrough in a mission. Idea is to enable multiple platforms to share information in realtime (sensor fusion) and be able to fulfill a mission in the process.

If a potential adversary is somehow able to counter an F-22A, no issue - F-35A nearby will get the job done. If a potential adversary is somehow able to counter an F-35A as well, no issue - F-15EX nearby will get the job done. This is literally Science Fiction coming to life. However, this paradigm makes it important to equip legacy platforms with cutting edge technologies such as in F-22A and F-35A because you cannot have sensor fusion with them otherwise. This isn't conventional networking - this is Cooperative Engagement Capability (CEC) Sensor-netting in the air.

USAF in its present form is already without a peer. MOSIAC is literally cementing its position at the top of the food chain for indefinite period. In fact, MOSIAC is bigger than USAF; it will encompass all branches of armed forces in the near future. USN have already experimented with CEC in recent years.

I am of the view that War On Terror provided ample opportunities to US to experiment with new technologies and warfighting concepts in different spaces, and these experiments will collectively translate into something much bigger and significant in the future. Afghanistan; Iraq; Libya; and Syria - each was instructive in this regard.

I will expand on the capabilities of F-15EX when I am time.

I see what you mean.

 

[Zapper]

Can anyone elaborate the difference between F15s and F18s, they both have similar capabilities. Whats the difference between their roles?

Missions

F/A-18 is a USN aircraft. It can land on carriers. It's main role is the goal of the US Navy: to attain and maintain air superiority over any naval or amphibious combat zone, and to provide air support for other branches of the US Armed Forces, mainly the US Marines.

F-15 and F-16 are USAF aircraft. They cannot land on carriers *. Their main role is the goal of the US Air Force: to attain and maintain air superiority over any land combat zone, and to provide air support for other branches of the US Armed Forces, mainly the US Army.

Classes

F-15 is a heavy fighter (compare with the Russian Su-27), with no expense spared to make it as durable as possible for air-to-air combat, developed around the doctrine of beyond-visual-range (BVR) combat, aka my missiles can shoot you down before your missiles can and btw neither of us can see each other at this point. These fighters are extremely valuable and represent the epitome of US military aerospace engineering, and thus are only sold to the most trusted inner circle of allies (or pseudo vassal states, depending on your point of view). Note: Iran was in this circle before 1979, which is why they have the F-14.

The F-16 and F/A-18 are light fighters (compare with the Russian MiG-29), which are the scaled down versions of the super awesome no-expenses-spared versions, because accounting and finance. Due to their stripped down role, it is easier to modify them or reconfigure them for different missions (the Pimp My Ride of military aviation). These fighters are on sale now, as long as your country is on the NATO member list or a participating loyalty programme.

Additionally

The F-15 Eagle is designed to be the ultimate air superiority fighter. But due to having no equal for most of its career, it also has a mod to make it suitable for air support: F-15E Strike Eagle, which is like F/A-15 on paper.

The F-16 Viper or Falcon is mean to embody the Way of the Dogfight by the legendary John Boyd. However, the Air Force needed attack aircraft and it was cheaper to have a multipurpose fleet instead of fleets of mixed aircraft. So the F-16 also got pimped out for air support mods.

The F/A-18 Hornet is really an attack aircraft that got pimped out with air superiority upgrades. Although the USAF does not operate any F-18s, several other air forces around the world do, including Canada

Future

The F-22 Raptor was intended to fully or partially replaced F-15 but due to it's astronomical cost, F-22 was stopped. Tactically speaking, the F-22 is basically a stealth version of the F-15, taking over the air superiority and occasional air strike roles.

The F-35 JSF (joint strike fighter) is supposed to replace the F-16 and F/A-18

 

[Cookie Monster]

Interesting right?

@Cookie Monster

Especially in light of this.....https://www.airforcemag.com/article/mosaic-warfare/

Like I said before, it would be wise to keep an eye on how the US utilizes 5th gen types.

My initial assumption that 5th gen might be more widespread going forward was based on four things...
1) The general approach of western countries(US, UK, France, etc.) to generally go for quality rather than the Eastern(USSR now Russia, and China) approach of quantity
2) F35 becoming cheaper...over time...as more and more countries purchase it(slashing cost per jet further down the line).
3) The general trend towards 5th gen...and many nations trying to develop such a jet...might eventually bring the prices down(kind of like the trend we see with any tech).
4) As AI and drone tech progresses(drone swarms and specialized loyal wingman types of drones)...they can take on a lot of the roles of the 4th gen aircrafts for a possibly cheaper cost than a 4th gen fighter jet itself.

Other things besides those 4 listed above that I considered...were things like the absence of any new orders from USAF of any of its 4th gen fighter jets(I'm using the term 4th gen here loosely to refer to jets like F15, F16, etc. I'm well aware of their many variants that put them beyond 4th gen). However as u had shared with me earlier along with this news now...of US acquiring F15s...plus that article discussing the general shift in the doctrine...
...it means I was wrong.

The Eastern doctrine of quantity over quality remained in place for a while(pretty much throughout the entire cold war)...however they have closed the gap in quality at a very rapid pace...mainly China in this regard. With quality and massive quantity as well. I think this is the reason why US has reevaluated and readjusted...bcuz in a war of attrition especially if US was the aggressor and China fighting in a defensive posture(where US airforce will be fighting in a high threat environment laced with air defenses in addition to massive PLAAF)...plus the Chinese approach of taking out tankers, AWACS, etc. will put USAF at a big disadvantage.

It is due to this(among other reasons) that US sees the need to boost numbers in the short term(relatively speaking). This probably also means that other countries will follow this lead...
...this is my quick take on it. Perhaps more later once I have more time.

 

[Avicenna]

My initial assumption that 5th gen might be more widespread going forward was based on four things...
1) The general approach of western countries(US, UK, France, etc.) to generally go for quality rather than the Eastern(USSR now Russia, and China) approach of quantity
2) F35 becoming cheaper...over time...as more and more countries purchase it(slashing cost per jet further down the line).
3) The general trend towards 5th gen...and many nations trying to develop such a jet...might eventually bring the prices down(kind of like the trend we see with any tech).
4) As AI and drone tech progresses(drone swarms and specialized loyal wingman types of drones)...they can take on a lot of the roles of the 4th gen aircrafts for a possibly cheaper cost than a 4th gen fighter jet itself.

Other things besides those 4 listed above that I considered...were things like the absence of any new orders from USAF of any of its 4th gen fighter jets(I'm using the term 4th gen here loosely to refer to jets like F15, F16, etc. I'm well aware of their many variants that put them beyond 4th gen). However as u had shared with me earlier along with this news now...of US acquiring F15s...plus that article discussing the general shift in the doctrine...
...it means I was wrong.

The Eastern doctrine of quantity over quality remained in place for a while(pretty much throughout the entire cold war)...however they have closed the gap in quality at a very rapid pace...mainly China in this regard. With quality and massive quantity as well. I think this is the reason why US has reevaluated and readjusted...bcuz in a war of attrition especially if US was the aggressor and China fighting in a defensive posture(where US airforce will be fighting in a high threat environment laced with air defenses in addition to massive PLAAF)...plus the Chinese approach of taking out tankers, AWACS, etc. will put USAF at a big disadvantage.

It is due to this(among other reasons) that US sees the need to boost numbers in the short term(relatively speaking). This probably also means that other countries will follow this lead...
...this is my quick take on it. Perhaps more later once I have more time.

It's way better/easier for me to discuss this over some In and Out Burgers lol.

But InshAllah will try to expand my thoughts at a later time.

 

[Cookie Monster]

It's way better/easier for me to discuss this over some In and Out Burgers lol.

But InshAllah will try to expand my thoughts at a later time.

Hit me up next time u r in SoCal. I would love to eat In N Out and have a discussion about fighter jets.

 

[Avicenna]

Hit me up next time u r in SoCal. I would love to eat In N Out and have a discussion about fighter jets.

Yea InshAllah man that would be really nice.

I will if/when I go out there again.