Are helicopters niche hardware for the GWOT, or are today's conflicts actually harbingers of what is going to be the future? It might very well be the latter.
Amen!
While we are adding wood to the fire, why doesn't the S have GAU-17? Proven system, already flight tested in the HAWK, and the S was known to be replacing the H. Is it really going to take the complete extinction of the H to get it implemented in the S?!?! Of course it is, because that's how we roll ...
FWIW I think the Rhino can't shoot an ILS. I heard that from a buddy of mine in Advanced Tailhook. I thought it was stupid that a 58 Million dollar jet doesnt have anything more than a TACAN but...
I may be wrong, but thats the gouge I got.
The GAU-17 may be authorized in the HH, but I've never heard of an AC squadron having one. So if the active squadrons can't get their hands on the weapon, why would Big Navy pay to get the flight clearance for the weapon for the Sierra?
I think the -17 is the perfect weapon to counter the "swarm tactics" threat that we may encounter, but that is irrelevant to the fact that Big Navy doesn't want to pay for the ammo needed to keep crews current on the weapon system.
Not to mention the fact that I can't shoot a .50 cal at a person ... so what good are those things ;-P
What happens when you bingo to a divert that's NOT in this country, and SHOCK, they don't have a TACAN - but an ILS?? And weather's dogshit..."Why pay extra money for a system to use only in bad weather on good deal XCs?" It does seem odd for such an advanced jet to not have a civilian-compatible ILS, but the Rhino is a Navy fighter and is equipped to use any of the possible options to get aboard in Case III.
I really hope you're joking... but that is simply untrue. Go ahead and check snopes, wiki, google, read the Geneva Conventions and Law of Armed Conflict in their entirety, or, aw heck, don't take my word for it, do a word search in the NWP 1-14 for an authoritative answer.
Also, if someone--anyone no matter what the rank--giving an official brief makes that statement, call that person out for spreading bad gouge and being generally dumb.
Sorry, nothing personal man
/rant off
The ammo to keep crews current would be less than what we spend on HELLFIRE currency -- a capability I think we all can agree is misplaced in the current Naval SCAR / Anti-Piracy Environment.
Not to mention the fact that I can't shoot a .50 cal at a person ... so what good are those things ;-P