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Post by LHR02 on Jun 8, 2006 8:25:15 GMT -5
Nicholas Berg...and many others.....avenged last night.
Al-Zarqawi is dead.
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Post by Eagle on Jun 9, 2006 0:25:45 GMT -5
Ging, that's been all over the news today. I watched the footage of them "reaching out to touch him" with a couple of 500 lb. Greeting Cards (with his name on them)!!! They didn't say which service "did the honours", but I'm hoping it was the venerable USAF WartHog!
He was an evil S.O.B. and hopefully someone worse won't pop out of the woodwork to take his place.
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Post by me on Jun 9, 2006 2:14:39 GMT -5
I'm hoping it was the venerable USAF WartHog! F-16s, not A-10s. i've read that several in the USAF brass didn't much like the Warthog. being a subsonic attack jet that mostly does support missions for ground troops, Warthogs just aren't as sexy as stealth fighters. seems our Air Force mostly wants to expand its fleet of $130 million apiece F-22 Raptors. Hogs are to be replaced with F-35 Joint Strike Fighters at some point. Army leaders reportedly want more attack helicopters, which the army can fly. inter-service rivalry still causes problems, i've read. it's possible what i read isn't accurate. but, that happens. you know what they say about the accuracy of some of the stuff on the internet! |
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Post by LHR02 on Jun 9, 2006 7:07:21 GMT -5
Latest news this morning:
He survived the blast and had "visual recognition" of US troops. He knew after all what had happened to him and from whom. And then he died. Now that's satisfaction sweetened.
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Post by Eagle on Jun 9, 2006 13:21:26 GMT -5
David, F-16's eh? Too bad, I was hoping it was a WartHog.
Yes, I've heard that the USAF 'brass' prefer the "pointy nose" Fighters. In fact, Chuck Horner who used to be the Commanding General of the USAF, reportedly teased his Son about having "brain damage" as he preferred to be a "Hog Jockey".
Unfortunately, neither the "sexy" Fighters nor the Apaches have the qualities of the Hog, in terms of loiter time (for ground support) or survivability if hit by ground fire. The fact that several Apaches (and of course Blackhawks) have been shot down in Iraq illustrates my point. The Hog was designed to withstand hits from the Russian made ZSU-4, with the Pilot being protected in a titanium "bathtub". While no aircraft is totally immune to ground fire, the Hog will survive in a combat environment much better than the others. I've seen photos of Hogs that were torn to pieces by ground fire in the first Iraq war, and yet still made it back to base (in many cases using the "manual reversion" system of cables, after both hydraulic systems were disabled).
Another nice feature is that if it loiters above 10,000 feet, it can't be heard on the ground because of the characteristics of the turbofan engines. During the first Gulf War, the Iraqi's called them "the silent death"! The GAU-8 30 mm Cannon can destroy targets at a distance of a mile or more, without bringing the aircraft into range of ground fire.
It's too bad that inter-service rivalry has to enter the picture. It would be better if the best "tool" was used for the job, regardless of which service was using it.
Cheers!!!
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Post by LHR02 on Jun 9, 2006 13:51:48 GMT -5
Oh....you Air Force guys!  Always talking technology....it's the boots on the ground....11B's that get the job done. ;D ;D But with a daughter who crewed on a Hawk and a SIL who still pilots one...I do have a soft spot for the Blacks.  |
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Post by me on Jun 10, 2006 22:52:14 GMT -5
actually, i'm complaining about that hyperexpensive hardware! USAF buy's $130M each fighters when they could buy 10 - 15 A-10's, and those A-10's are much better at protecting those boots on the ground! a few of those fighters might be useful in a crisis, but not so many. Oh....you Air Force guys! Always talking technology....it's the boots on the ground....11B's that get the job done. ;D ;D |
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