I know all Naval aviators have call signs, if you want I can nominate yours as “Donut”.
It could absolutely be worse so I'll take it.
Maverick is a fantastic movie!
- Thread starter JimGaster
- Start date
It could absolutely be worse so I'll take it.
Greyghost is know to his friends as "Blowhole" ...
Did everyone forget we have this thing called a B2. So mission could be done with 35s, 22s, and B2s. Probably could be done with tomahawks using tercom mode as well.
Fun movie none the less
That's what I was suggesting, F-117/B2 two punch combo.
My son and I saw it today; it was terrific. He is ready to go to TopGun school 😂
My husband is a Naval aviator himself, currently deployed, and he saw it on base over the holiday weekend. We are both somewhat nostalgic about the original TG (pretty sure it inspired my husband’s aviation career!) and we loved the sequel. There have been only a handful of movies over the years I’d see a second time in theaters and honestly this is one. So well done.
My husband is a Naval aviator himself, currently deployed, and he saw it on base over the holiday weekend. We are both somewhat nostalgic about the original TG (pretty sure it inspired my husband’s aviation career!) and we loved the sequel. There have been only a handful of movies over the years I’d see a second time in theaters and honestly this is one. So well done.
They retired the 117 in 2008.
If this was "Iran" or any other ME country then Israel or SA would have let us use their bases for the 35s or 22s. But since the movie already was using a fictional aircraft then they could have made the date further out and pretended to have operational F35Cs
The F-18 Super Hornet Strike/Fighter is still one of the best planes in the world, and it's useful life is not nearly over yet....
March 24, 2022 5:04 PM
NAVAL AIR STATION NORTH ISLAND, Calif. – The Navy is making the first major changes to the carrier air wing in a generation. The service just wrapped up the first carrier deployment of the F-35C Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters – the first new fighter jet on a carrier in 20 years.
The complete transition to the as yet combat unproven F-35 will take years yet.
In an interview last month with USNI News, Vice Adm. Kenneth Whitesell, the commander of Naval Air Forces and Naval Air Force Pacific, laid out his vision for blending 4th- and 5-generation aircraft into the future carrier air wing and the transition to future sixth-generation systems.
Whitesell is also focused on remediating the backlog of Super Hornets waiting to enter the Service Life Modification program that will upgrade the aircraft and extend their service lives; implementing lessons from the first F-35C deployment to inform the future of carrier aviation; and ensuring it has enough fighters to meet its air wing requirements by 2025.
From modernizing the fourth-generation F/A-18E-F Super Hornets, to the ongoing integration of the F-35Cs into the carrier air wing, to a 2022 emphasis on cost-saving measures, Whitesell says U.S. naval aviation is on a path to eliminate fighter gaps in the next three years, while achieving new mission-capable rate goals affordably.
“We can’t afford the ultimate numbers that we have at this price that we’re paying today. We have to squeeze efficiencies out. And that is the 2022 focus for naval aviation, is the cost transformation,” Whitesell said, referring to the mission-capable rates the Navy uses to evaluate the readiness of its aircraft.
But Congress remains skeptical of the service’s math on its strike fighter shortfall, which the Navy says it can eliminate by 2025, five years sooner than anticipated. The Navy’s future carrier air wing will include a mix of both fourth- and fifth-generation aircraft, with the F-35C and the Super Hornets making up the strike fighter fleet. The recent F-35C deployment aboard USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) – the first fifth-generation aviation deployment on a carrier – featured a squadron of 10 aircraft, so the Navy could get the F-35 operating forward quickly.
The Navy is required to have nine carrier air wings and has called for each air wing to include 44 strike fighters for a total of 396 combat-coded aircraft, according to a 2020 summary reviewed by USNI News. In addition to the strike fighters earmarked for air wings, the Navy says it needs 263 for training and development and 126 in long-term maintenance for a total of 785 fighters. These numbers do not include attrition reserve aircraft. The shortfall is the difference between the number of aircraft in the Navy’s inventory and the number of combat-coded strike fighters it says it needs to meet its missions, or 396.
The Navy’s stated goal is to eliminate the strike fighter shortfall by 2025, an objective Whitesell described as having several moving parts. According to the service, the current shortfall is 35 aircraft.
March 24, 2022 5:04 PM
NAVAL AIR STATION NORTH ISLAND, Calif. – The Navy is making the first major changes to the carrier air wing in a generation. The service just wrapped up the first carrier deployment of the F-35C Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters – the first new fighter jet on a carrier in 20 years.
The complete transition to the as yet combat unproven F-35 will take years yet.
In an interview last month with USNI News, Vice Adm. Kenneth Whitesell, the commander of Naval Air Forces and Naval Air Force Pacific, laid out his vision for blending 4th- and 5-generation aircraft into the future carrier air wing and the transition to future sixth-generation systems.
Whitesell is also focused on remediating the backlog of Super Hornets waiting to enter the Service Life Modification program that will upgrade the aircraft and extend their service lives; implementing lessons from the first F-35C deployment to inform the future of carrier aviation; and ensuring it has enough fighters to meet its air wing requirements by 2025.
From modernizing the fourth-generation F/A-18E-F Super Hornets, to the ongoing integration of the F-35Cs into the carrier air wing, to a 2022 emphasis on cost-saving measures, Whitesell says U.S. naval aviation is on a path to eliminate fighter gaps in the next three years, while achieving new mission-capable rate goals affordably.
“We can’t afford the ultimate numbers that we have at this price that we’re paying today. We have to squeeze efficiencies out. And that is the 2022 focus for naval aviation, is the cost transformation,” Whitesell said, referring to the mission-capable rates the Navy uses to evaluate the readiness of its aircraft.
But Congress remains skeptical of the service’s math on its strike fighter shortfall, which the Navy says it can eliminate by 2025, five years sooner than anticipated. The Navy’s future carrier air wing will include a mix of both fourth- and fifth-generation aircraft, with the F-35C and the Super Hornets making up the strike fighter fleet. The recent F-35C deployment aboard USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) – the first fifth-generation aviation deployment on a carrier – featured a squadron of 10 aircraft, so the Navy could get the F-35 operating forward quickly.
The Navy is required to have nine carrier air wings and has called for each air wing to include 44 strike fighters for a total of 396 combat-coded aircraft, according to a 2020 summary reviewed by USNI News. In addition to the strike fighters earmarked for air wings, the Navy says it needs 263 for training and development and 126 in long-term maintenance for a total of 785 fighters. These numbers do not include attrition reserve aircraft. The shortfall is the difference between the number of aircraft in the Navy’s inventory and the number of combat-coded strike fighters it says it needs to meet its missions, or 396.
The Navy’s stated goal is to eliminate the strike fighter shortfall by 2025, an objective Whitesell described as having several moving parts. According to the service, the current shortfall is 35 aircraft.
You have very good knowledge on Fighter aircraft. I have many, many friends that are retired pilots, and now work in the defense industry at Eglin, which is a test base. Fighter planes from WWII until now have been my hobby! LOL
So these planes may be unproven in actual combat...but they HAVE flown against our F15's and 16's. It just is not a fair fight. To my knowledge, we have never lost an F15 in air to air combat. During testing, they were blowing F15's out of the sky before they ever knew they were being targeted. 5th gen is on another level, and it HAS to be. I was around in 1973 when F15's came in to service here. That plane is STILL better than any plane in the world...not American made. American pilots are the difference.
Leave it to the Chair fore to retire perfectly good aircraft (F-117. SR-71) or attempt to (A-10)
Lockheed's Have Blue concept was revolutionary for its time. This stealth design was built without the advantages of modern computer added design. It was an amazing feat considering.
However, the F-117 can't cope with modern radars and its design limits its speed, maneuverability and weapons load. It was time to retire her but agree on the A-10 especially.
Nerd point, it was referred to as "the stealth fighter" to confuse the Soviets...and it appears to have worked.
The snobs in the AF never really wanted the ugly warthog to begin with.
The troops on the ground still want it around when things go bad.
The troops on the ground still want it around when things go bad.
They claim it's mission scope is near unsurvivable against near peer adversaries and that's probably true but there's no other aircraft remotely capable of conducting those types of missions and those missions are critical.
The A-10's nickname “Warthog” is so popular and well loved that it appears in official documents. This is a beloved airframe: a robust ground attack aircraft proven time and again in battle. And the stories behind it are just as interesting as its combat record.
Here is a pretty good site to read about it with some more excellent photos of it.
militarymachine.com
Here is a pretty good site to read about it with some more excellent photos of it.
50 A-10 Facts: Interesting Features of the Warthog
The A-10 Warthog one of the most legendary aircraft to ever take to the skys. Here are 50 wild facts about the A-10 Warthog. Brrrrt.
militarymachine.com
My call sign would be: Poopy Joe.
Damit - that one was taken!!!! 💩
Damit - that one was taken!!!! 💩
Saw the movie this past weekend. Awesome might be stretching it, but it is a very good movie. It is a tad corny, but Hollywood does that. The airplane scenes are amazing. I was told they are actual flight scenes where each plane had a camera that the actor was in charge of running during the scene. Real pilots flew them, but the scenes are real life. That makes it really cool for me. Overall, it is 4 1/2 out of 5 stars for me. 😎
Excellent discussion with an actual Top Gun pilot where he talks about this and the movie
Actual TOPGUN, Dave Berke, Reacts to "TOPGUN: Maverick" with Jocko Willink
Good article, but they do check identity boxes with every best of the best pilot ...
I remember when the Russian pilot defected to Japan with the Mig 25. It was built out of stainless steel...not titanium. Has ZERO range in afterburner. The best think about the Mig 25 is it is THE reason we built the F 15 as good as we did. The F15 is in another league compared to the MIG 25.
