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Just imagine how utterly insane America will become when it realises or thinks that it is completely militarily dominant. Unbeatable. It doesn't bear thinking about.
@@jasperlawrence5361 @jasperlawrence5361 Jasper, we just might be there now. I like your comment but I don't think we'll be out of control. In all seriousness, the only way I think we get out of control is if a fascist regime, like Diaper Donny's, gets elected. Project 2025 becomes the ideology of the government and who knows if there will be a General Mark Milley to stop them!!
Capitalism and a fully captured regulatory body. If we didn't have to prop up capitalism and glass the middle east (after destabilizing it for half a century, South America too) we wouldn't have need for such a gluttonous military.
@@Facts-Over-Feelings 90% of countries have trouble to organize a proper monday yet alone fighting and winning a war in a middle east + other big scale exploitations in the meantime
The underrated factor many forget about. The pilots. American pilots never stop training. Not a moment not ready. Also the ability of many different type of craft to communicate woth each other is underrated too.
Shortly before Pearl harbor, a civilian organization called the Civil Air Patrol was signed into existence by the Congress, allowing civilians to participate in the national defense and especially with shoreline reconnaissance. During the events of WWII, the Civil Air Patrol proved to be critical to the defense of the sprawling US shoreline, locating and even bombing several U-boats. Their efforts would go on to lead directly to the capture of the first enigma machine, a major turning point for the allies. The organization is still around today, having transitioned to a primarily youth organization in the 50's (I think, not 100% on that one but you gotta pay your writers to do something, right?). Their primary functions now include land based search and rescue across the Continental US, and some work in Canada and Mexico as well. They assist and often lead disaster relief efforts, including during 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina. They are America's unsung heros, truly. During the grounding of all flights in US airspace after the attacks of 9/11, CAP was the only non-military organization allowed to fly, and nearly every photo of 9/11 from the air was taken by a CAP pilot. It is an incredible organization and would be a great fit for most of your channels, but especially Today I Found Out. No one knows about them but everyone has been impacted by their efforts. Feel free to PM if you have questions, I was part of the organization for nearly 10 years and was quite high in the organization. It's a military-esque organization similar to ROTC, but actually MORE affiliated with the military, and has been credited with saving civilian aviation during WWII, when many nations were banning it, we encouraged it and integrated it. When the government wouldn't give them permission to drop bombs, a pilot dropped flour sacks on the white house, showing that not only could they be accurate, but also exposing a HUGE gap in aerial coverage and protection for the capital. I would LOVE to see you do a report on this
When I was younger I was in a youth group ran by the Marine Corps League called the Young Marines. We used to March in parades and I do believe the Civil Air Patrol did as well. I never knew too much about them. Thanks for sharing!
Conceivably those missiles could themselves be drone carriers, carrying a bunch of something akin to the Switchblade drone. Makes a bad day even worse...
@@mikeharvey9184- And those drones could carry swallow-sized drones, and those drones could carry bee-sized assasin drones that land, take blood samples, confirm human target via rapid genome sequencing, and explode. 😊 Well, maybe in the 2060s.
I've got 25 years in 52X USAF. I'm use to land , sea , Air 2000 doctrine . That's old now like me .what big blue has now and it's tactics is beyond imagination. I can say this nobody will see us coming or know we are there. FLY FIGHT WIN
the problems in this video wouldn't exist if the US was part of a massive defensive alliance. maybe something between Europe in the north Atlantic? then the US could rely on strategic allies that OF COURSE would provide forces for their shortfalls. it's not like they wouldn't keep their military up to speed and let the US carry the burden! right....
NATO already gives both sides what they want. Europe doesn't want to pay for a military. The US doesn't want Europe to have operational independence. This is why the Washington establishment is actually against them reaching the 2% goals.
You misquoted sandbox, the f35 is the is the quarterback in the sky not the raptor. A very expensive raptor refit to allow the raptor to be better at data sharing is being considered now
In some ways yes however the f22 still has a stealth edge. The first part of any kill chain is being seen meaning even then the f22 may have a role as an attack recon aircraft.
@@CausticLemons7 no it wasn’t, but it’s lack of upgradeability is slowly making it obsolete. Like a vintage muscle car, they really should invest in it and put more than some lipstick on her. Some fake boobs at least and a tummy tuck at least. To be honest tho, I don’t think there will be a raptor replacement in the near future…if ever. Even NGAD probably won’t 🤷 #love the raptor
The B-21 has 1 primary center bomb bay, and 2 side missile/JDAM capable bays. Since the Raider is UAV capable, it can have a modular reconnaissance pod and extra fuel installed in the primary bomb bay, and side missile bays filled with missiles. Being a flying wing, it can act as an ultra high altitude platform above 80,000ft to drop missiles into a highly contested airspace. This supplements the F-22 with not only more missiles, but data networking and reconnaissance that would otherwise be slated for the RQ-180 or even the F-15EX platforms while still maintaining full stealth profile.
An American C5 galaxy once dumped a Minute man ICBM out of the cargo bay on a parachute, then the motor ignited and off the missile went. No other country on the planet has accomplished that. That's the ultimate missle truck aircraft.
@@Posting-Maharashtra not sure if this is to agree or disagree with my comment but I agree with your statement… though I still think America arms to deter as best it can with the budget constraints it has.
Minor quibble: At 13:15, Mach 2.5+ would be around 1,700 mph at altitude rather than 2,800 mph. (The SR-71 flew over Mach 3.0 and was just over 2,000 mph at altitude). But, as usual, this is a great video.
@NinjaRunningWild I don't know about this channel, but I know some of his other channels he has a few millennial writers, even some that are older then Simon.
When they call the F-15EX a munitions truck, it’s an understatement. The Bone (our max payload bomber) carries 75,000 lbs of bombs. The EX can carry just under 30,000 lbs and fly at Mach 2.5+. It’s absolutely amazing!
The F-15EX is the American Spirit epitomized. Loud, Proud, packing more heat than a small nation, and technically ita a rocket. It has wings as a courtesy to physics.
@@RussetPotato exactly. Russia and China lie and say their stuff is better than it is. The US publicly releases info and tests our equipment with a hand tied behind its back, like the f22 with drop tanks so enemies can actually find it in friendly war games
Love it when HLC talks about rockets. He refers to them as telephone poles coming out of nowhere and sending you back to God. Even he thinks it's scary. That means a lot!
HLC, Ryan Macbeth, Cappy are all absolutely awesome. As an Australian the only guy we have like that is hyperhiestericalhistory he covers a lot of Australia’s capabilities, from land sea and air, as well historical videos… his average video is 2hrs long.
@@Giveme1goodreason Ummm, if you want something other than dumbed down propaganda, you have one of the actual best: Perun. And yeah, those first 2 and to a smaller degree the 3rd are nothing but propaganda. If you don't believe me, ask yourself: Why are you not hearing from HLC or Macbeth the fact that the NGAD is now officially on hold? Why don't they talk about the fact that the TR-3 upgrade for F-35 has been, "truncated," and the next set of upgrades after that going to be, "re-imagined." For those last two it translates to: couldn't actually update the software and the last one means no new engines. That's just 2 things. It is endless drivel on those channels with no attachment to reality.
@@LackofFaithifybecause that’s not what their content is about lol perun is very technical and his entire niche is telling you how it is and why it is . His entire niche is telling you the best available information without speculating much Ryan mcbeth is a intel guy and misinformation expert Cappy is a grunt talking geopolitics in a dumb down version so the average joe understands And HLC is the comedic relief while giving some what interesting information- by far the least impactful You got a weird take on the information you consume
23:46 before everyone says "but the kinzhal the kinzhal!" The Kinzhal is a ballistic missile which technically does travel at hypersonic speeds, but it is not a maneuverable weapon, and doesn't really count in the modern definition of "hypersonic missile"
You should probably of mentioned Rapid Dragon when talking about putting missiles on cargo planes, it's literally what that project is, well sort of, it drops them out the back in parachuted pallets that shoot multiple missiles while descending. still cool though.
And yet we can't build more F-22 because they're too expensive? Put the advanced avionics in an updated F-22 and I don't know if the F-35 would even be needed.
@@SpidermanandJenyF-22 was built for a different war in a different time period there is no carrier or short landing and take off versions, it isn't a strike aircraft nor was it built to carry air to ground weapons like F-35, not to mention newer air to ground and air to air weapons, it doesn't have the same data link capabilities nor the situational awareness built in like F-35, it's doesn't have open architecture like F-35 meaning that upgrades are costly and limited in scope, and most of all the F-22 had its production line closed in 2011 so no more can be built. F-22 cant replace F-35 even with the avionics upgrade it still doesn't have the situational awareness of the F-35 and it even loses some if it's stealth capabilities because it would have to use its external pylons for newer weapons and conformal fuel tanks for range.
1:15 - Mid roll ad 2:35 - Chapter 1 - A shifting landscape 12:25 - Chapter 2 - New problems, new solutions 21:40 - Chapter 3 - The tech 30:20 - Chapter 4 - But can it work ?
True. But they always say that...and then we fight nearly alone...and then they say they didn't need us in the first place. Five years down the road, they're calling us back, rinse and repeat. I'm glad we can the security forces people need, but the constant barrage of anti-US complaining WHILE we provide that security gets a little old.
Europe can help offset US weapons development, with an offer they can't refuse. But they couldn't even be arsed to pay 2% for their OWN defense, until the war came to their doorstep. Trump gave them a bow shot, to jumpstart them (threaten to shakedown if they didn't comply), before that.
USA and its so-called allies are outnumbered by China alone. 1.4 billion force of China. The collective West is dwarfed by the magnitude of it. The entire West doesn't stand a chance against China in a ground war. Not to mention the ultimate industrial prowess of China. They have more missiles than there are bullets in the collective West.
If the enemy figures out how to counter long rang standoff then you miss a few shots, if they figure out how to counter stealth, then you are sending tens of planes into a situation where they think they are hidden and you could lose lots of planes. Not saying stealth isn't good but diversifying the strategy and not hanging everything on stealth would be a good idea.
I'm having a hard time being overly concerned about this. The simple reason is this, It is not unusual for programs to go dark for security reasons. The $300 per hammer creative accounting ploys we have seen utilized in the past to hide these programs is still an ongoing strategy. In the age of growing drone significance, there is zero chance that they are going to cut back on a drone related technology. I realize that this video would not be as interesting if there wasn't a little tension and angst included, but it doesn't make any sense. Drones are the quintessential American style of warfare for the exact reasons that were mentioned. Who cares if your military is made up of women or out of shape men. Send in the drones. You got ambushed? Send in more drones!
Reminder that they announced the B-21 Raider's existence and entry into service out of nowhere last year. Who knows how long that had been flying around before hand?
God, I love the Sky Warden! It’s like the USAF equivalent of the British Home Guard during WWII. For those who don’t know, the Home Guard (or Dad’s Army) was a volunteer militia of British men who were either too old, too young, or physically disqualified from serving in the British military. So they were organized into a last line of defense for the Honefront with nothing but a cup of tea and their own insanity to equip themselves for war with Germany. Imagine elderly men driving around in cars with cast iron pans bolted to them. Imagine 70-year-old men running around with pre-WW1 bolt-actions in shorts. If you can imagine something happening in a Wallace and Gromit cartoon, they tried it. And that is the Sky Warden. By all rights, it shouldn’t be anywhere in the USAF arsenal. But it is, and I love it.
While that's all true. In WW2, most of the "old men" were probably WW1 veterans. Britain conscripted heavily, most the male population served in the war. These people all had military training and experience.
1. That Wallace and Gromit quip was legendary. B. Home Guard were probably the most motivated soldiers out there with the least to loose and lots to gain, and Germany is lucky to have they didnt have to find out. 4. The second Amendment means in the US, they also come with military grade stuff for equipment and i appreciate that.
These were the same kind of conversations that were being had during Desert Shield. "Iraq's army is using equivalent top of the line Soviet equipment and they are battle hardened. We are going to take serious casualties!" Look how that turned out. Im also confident that the technology gap has increased since then.
Radar scanning technology gets advanced for both our jets and the enemy missile defense systems at basically the same time. Also jamming and anti-jamming electronic warfare. There are even jam-proof drones that use 6 miles of fiber optic thread instead of giving and receiving signals.
Iraq was a second rate power with little domestic arms manufacturing. China is a nuclear armed country of over a billion people with the largest manufacturing base on the planet. If we go toe to toe, both sides would take extreme losses, the US included.
But Iraq was a small fry and the US had no "other obligations at the time". When you have as many SEAD/DEAD platforms and pilots as the enemy has GBAD systems, visually aimed AAA included, you can just start chipping away at your own leisure. It's not like the Iraqi army was going to hit Washington if the whole thing went too slow. My point is: It's not the same kind of conversation. There are fears, legitimate or nor, that China, Russia, Iran and North Korea might stir up actually serious shit at the same time. In that case the US would have to put considerable resources into defense as well as offense, as well as constantly prioritizing which direction to allocate which resources to.
Air force is for strategic strikes mostly. Air support and logistics are mostly an in house operation for the other branches. It's why we're the combined arms king.
@@funwithmagnus8570 The supplies that the helicopters deliver are brought to the base by Air Force fixed wings though. No matter what branch is operating the base
Except they refuse to allow the Army to run it's own fixed wing dedicated close air support essentially because they don't want to give up that part of their budget to the Army. Like just let them run fixed wing subsonic bomb trucks which can operate from primitive forward conditions like the A-10 (and it's eventual heavy DCAS replacement, probably going to be a drone of some kind), Air Warden or Super Tucano.
@funwithmagnus8570 the air force refusing to let the army have fixed wings is part of why the army has those choppers (or rather, put guns on the choppers). And the A-10 was basically one big spite project as a result of the army pursuing dedicated gunships.
I don’t think people understand the complexity of the United States stealth and electronic warfare capabilities. To many people forgot about the strike on the Houthi’s earlier in the year, when Planes like the EA-18 Growler and the Hawkeye were used by the US Navy to provide a radar cover screen for Fourth Gen fighters like F-18s, and for airforce planes like F-15s and F-16s, and B-1 Lancers (And for UK planes as well), while a small group of stealth fighters lead the way, strategically targeting anti-air locations before the massive follow on attack bombed the crap out of targets. With the addition of dedicated electronic warfare planes like the EA-18, Fourth Gen fighters have a substantial advantage than people give them credit for.
It sounds an awful lot like the Air Force and other branches of the armed services are having to contend and work around the potential ramifications of an American public who, after decades of never having fought a significant military power and whose latest endeavors overseas are overshadowed largely by their geopolitical significance rather than their cost to the health and safety of our servicemen and their equipment, don't quite seem to understand that in a neer peer conflict, casualties are basically guaranteed to happen, whether that's loss of equipment or personnel. It's as if we're expected to fight every war like we did the Gulf War, where overwhelming tactical and technological superiority led to a military outcome so lopsided in our favor that we are now forced to view every potential future conflict from an absolutist' perspective of there can be no failure because of how successful NATO, and specifically the U.S., were during those operations. I am not implying that western or more specifically American arms are inherently inferior or "worse", I wholeheartedly believe in quite the opposite, as evidenced by said operations in the middle east and observations made by users in conflicta such as Ukraine and the war between Israel and Hamas. But I am saying that we as nation need to be more attuned to the fact that in war, sometimes you're just not going to make it out unscathed, something that John Q. Public isn't very willing to admit exists, even as the men and women who serve to keep him in his comfort zone are more than expected to suffer through.
You're not necessarily wrong, the Ukraine War is also showing that ammunition expenditure is also going to be way more than what we are ready for (we meaning NATO, not just the US). But the thing is that the US military, and the airforce in particular, deals with the issue of failure being inevitable by trying to massively increase their advantages as much as possible, in every way possible, and over-prepare if possible. It seems stupidly simple to say, but "shoot for the stars, land on the moon." By aiming higher you're hopefully reducing the amount of failures you'll have than if you aimed lower. Really, it's more an issue that the public doesn't understand, rather than the military.
Also don't forget that half of the country if such a war were to break out, would FIGHT America on behalf of the enemy. Decades and decades of indoctrination within public schools and higher academia that the US is the embodiment of evil and needs to be defeated will do that you know?
@@wc2195 Lol !🤣 USA is scared of China and exited a lot of critical treaties to defend itself, including the INF treaty. Even the B-21 bomber is being developed to have at least some chance of penetrating Chinese anti-denial airspace over SCS.
I thoroughly enjoy your videos. As a Navy Veteran I like to always be in the know for what is the current tech and capabilities that we can have access to. Very good show sir!
@@InsanityReborn medical care is better in the US than just about anywhere in the world. The government functions as our forefathers intended, because they didn’t trust centralized authority.
I just want to say I have watched this channel since its inception and you guys do a great job covering these issues comprehensively. Thank you so much!
The f15ex might not exactly be stealthy in the general sense of the term, however the Electronic warfare systems likely do just as good if not a better job when it comes to preventing a weapons grade lock in order to down said aircraft. So even if you can see it from far away that doesn't mean you will be able to do anything about it
I always looked at The F-15EX as the Mustang GT of the fighter aircraft world…loud, fast, powerful and cheap enough to be annoyingly everywhere (for adversaries)
@martinjrgensen8234 yeah that part was discussed in the video however. I just wanted to mention the EWS because Simon seemed to kinda lean into the fact that it wasn't stealthy and that made it "less capable" in some way but IMO stealth will eventually become obsolete especially in a great power war with a peer or near peer and that the EWS will be far more important
Dogfights in tunnels, carrying 70+ missiles and bombs, missiles that only fire within a mile range, no overG or maintenance, and crazy ass lasers and airburst missiles. I'm all about it.
On top of that by supporting Ukraine, the USA is getting a great look at how to fight a conventional conflict on land and in the air. While doing none of the dying and not using any of its top stuff.
@@Giveme1goodreasonI don’t understand why they don’t give Ukraine more latest tech, could change the war and cripple and American enemy without any loss of American lives -
@@mamba101America’s latest tech as outlined in this video is designed to operate in combined arms warfare from aircraft to tanks, artillery and infantry. For example the M1 Abram’s less than stellar performance in Ukraine is due to lack of combined arms air cover and infantry support.
@@ajaykumarsingh702You talking about the balloon that the u.s. knew about days ahead of time and ALLOWED it to come in? Lmao nice try. Stay in school kid😂😂😂🤡.
Stealth Fighter Jets may be able to avoid radar lock, but other Fighter Jets also carry heat seekers and the last time I checked there is no heat neutral jet engine. So it is not like regular Fighter jets have 0 chance, and if the stealth fighter decided to open the weapons bays they can likely be shot down by Radar missiles too, and actually seen on radar. So quantity can still beat quality.
It is a brilliant piece that maps out the breadth of the systems, procurement, and sustainment topic in an approachable format. Keep up the excellent work. Here is a suggestion of another extreme in the tapestry of US defense that will not be so reliant on the Air Force “bubble” but is going through a redesign. Using this video's format - delve - again - into the US Marines 2030 and how one takes hold of small island chains or other system objectives. Your systems approach to procurement, logistics, and sustainment within AI and 4th Gen Manufacturing - with the realities of budget constraints - is smart! The Norm Augustine's growth in ever-increasing cost has hit the ceiling - “Augustine’s Laws” - it's time to get smart. Again - keep up the excellent work.
I know a little bit about this and all that I have to add is that yes stealth vehicles have serious drawbacks that people rarely talk about. Should go without saying because there's nearly always a trade-off with major design features.
The future is close range pure IR imaging and IR stealth engagements and dogfights using multiple smaller IR missiles. Far future fighters will only use passive detection for most of their operations meaning BVR engagements between 5th, 6th and possibly 7th gen fighters will be extremely rare simply due to detection limits. 6th gen BVR will most probably be accompanied by very high altitude reconnaissance aircraft and space based IR detection and targeting assets that will be used for air dominance. The future of stealth combat is passive detection.
Fun fact, The USA Airforce is #1, Navy is #2, and the Marines are #4 on the list of biggest COMBAT Air forces in the world. And given the SU57's performance and China's WISH fighter, FAFO.
Lol the problem with America they don't give you accurate information to make an informed decision. And it's foolish to think that Russia is haphazard because guess who's been winning against the US and NATO. Guess who is afraid of China? The US it's foolish to underestimate your enemies. A F16 just got shot out the sky by Russia and one by Hezbollah. The F35 is 29% air worthy according to Congress and the secretary to the military. Our 5th generation are obsolete because they sacrificed speed for stealth. Russia and China planes are faster and carry more missiles and more guns on the planes. The only defense was stealth but guess what they can be shot the fuck down now and if they come to a dog fight they will be fucked. And a hyper sonic missile will take them down because they sacrificed speed for stealth stupid.
The F35 is the quarterback not the F22. The F22 doesn't even have IRST and has only around ~200 Non-cooperative target recognition parameters (NCTR), versus the ~600 NCTR parameters of the F35. An F16 pilot said as much too.
Incorrect. China is stronger. They have far better and advanced technology in terms of electronic warfare, radars and the missile arsenal. The best US jets are F-15x and F-35c which pales in comparison to J-16d and J-20c.
A big problem isn't just having planes and pilots but the ground crew to fix,fuel, and rearm them, but the military has shit on enlisted for a while, and no one wants to join.
This video was made in an alternate universe where neither European nor east asian countries have any fighter jets to help in the defense of their own countries lol
What's lol? No one besides Russia, China, N. Korea and Iran have seriously bad intentions for the US. Only 2 are even somewhat serious competitors. The US could EASILY annihilate any European nation if it wanted to. All of them are vastly inferior, spend orders of magnitude less money and have drastically smaller numbers of everything. Even united (which would never happen) all of Europe could not beat the US. The US military is far better at everything a military needs to be and do. But, of course, these are all rather friendly countries so it doesn't matter.
Make no mistake, stealth capability is the entry fee in any near-peer conflict. The only thing more expensive than losing aircraft is losing quality pilots. Once aircraft go completely autonomous, then we can start asking if stealth is important again
The first Eagle (F-15B) was delivered in November 1974. In January 1976, the first Eagle destined for a combat squadron was delivered. The single-seat F-15C and two-seat F-15D models entered the Air Force inventory beginning in 1979.
Basically this new system is making American airfare to be a 4x game which is amazing itself in which making commands more easy and effective plus there are some 4x games in which they can use as a base to real life.
I am impressed with the progress in flight and fight simulators in allowing very realistic simulations of war. The inclusion of AI is integral to the effort. These simulators allow many participants, all aircraft including most allied craft.
In Desert Storm we put 540,000 troops, millions of tons of military equipment, fuel, ammo, medical supplies, food water etc on the opposite side of the world, supported those forces in the field and, when the time came, won decisively on the battlefield against the 4th largest army in the world. No other nation can possibly do anything remotely close to that. The Medina and Hamurabi divisions of Saddam Husseins Elite Republican Guard were the best trained, best equipped, and most feared divisions of the middle east. They had vast battlefield experience as they had fought and defeated Iran. They lasted 39 minutes against us. Poot's, you don't want none a dis.
This is exactly why the US is a super power. You have proven it, it has nothing to do with your nukes. Russia is not a super power, well proven in Ukraine. But we still have China that possible could, atleast on paper, growing rapidly. You dont make a bunch of carriers to defend your own shore, it is a very specific tool, to project mainly air power abroad.
The f15 has been and will continue to be the dominant air superiority fighter platform. It’s estimated to be effective in its role well into its 90’s. (Source mustard I believe sorry I know I read it somewhere) in it’s c&d form it can handle 10 migs. The Ex is designed to be a bomber that can drop its load and immediately start fights. It was 100 years ahead of its time in 1976 and is still quite potent
Excellent video. Minor correction - the F-15 Eagle 2 max speed is around 1650 mph, not 2,800. That would be closer to Mach 4. Regardless, blindingly fast. Thanks for the compilation of good information!
@@s.a4034lot of things went wrong in Afghanistan plus it’s not the only place lot other place had the same outcome too. From corruption to insurgents using fear based Tactics and strategies made to combat superior technology,training, equipment and numbers. Nothing brings more donations and recruits when the enemy uses drones strike indiscriminately. Arresting locals on often times false charges and not giving them a trial. There’s a reason why the local supports these groups. Losing family and soldiers waving weapons speaking a language that the local don’t understand also lot of cover ups done by the military and pentagon also every presidents. Every time they crush the groups a new and better ones pops up almost immediately.
@@patrickiamonfire965 yeah we withdrew but the devastation we inflicted made everybody piss their pants, we dropped about 15 k tons of bombs and killed 100k taliban all without reorientign our military. even if nation pulls of a victory somehow against America it wk be phyri
I am 80, and took Air Force ROTC in College in the 1960's as the Vietnam War developed, a vastly different world from today, growing up and living in the 1st Cold War, and leaving around the end of the war. If I had stayed in 20 years, until1989, just before the time of the Gulf War, maybe in hindsight. I was in SAC, which did end around 1992, when that first Cold War ended. I saw the FB-111's replace the the departed B-52's still in active operation. When I was a Squadron Section Commander after several yeas, then as a Captain, we had Stand UP meetings to discuss matters among the Commanders. Today, 50 years later I am a 100% Disabled Veteran. 😊
I LOVE SEEING MY FAVORITE GAME SPONSORING ONE OF MY FAVORITE CHANNELS (SIMON, YOU HAVE TOO MANY CHANNELS, THATS WHY THIS IS JUST ONE OF MY FAVORITES)!!!!!
Back in 2011 iran was able to detect, target and bring down out rq170 stealth drone. Also, not one scalp or storm shadow missile has been able to reach the kerch bridge. All 3 of those would have a lower RCS than an actual jet. I think stealth might be over rated.
I’m just gonna say this and leave it here. We spend 2-3% of our GDP on our military. War time in WW2 we spent 40% of our GDP. We’ll be fine, I can assure you.
I generally agree, but the devil's advocate is an important role to fill. Such an increase in spending would take a lot of time to make a difference. Even if the people at procurement, sustainment, and the defense industry figured out how they wanted to spend all that extra money in just 1 day, it would take years for all that additional funding to be really noticed.
And that was a time when the American public were united and wanted to see that spending. You absolutely are NOT going to be able to get that kind of funding when half of the country directly opposes it.
Back in 2019, right before Covid, i was thinking about the numerous possibilities and advantages of having a synchronized drone swarm around a manned fighter/bomber jet. Sacrificial drones, radar jamming, suicide, target acquistion, pilot survival aiding, etc... now i wonder about the same thing, just with an unmanned fighter/bomber.
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You may want reconfigure your mic it peaked for a fair bit during the sponsored section.
Just imagine how utterly insane America will become when it realises or thinks that it is completely militarily dominant. Unbeatable.
It doesn't bear thinking about.
I'm 99.99% sure it's called the AIM 174B not 260? That gets 200 miles+? I could be wrong.
@@jasperlawrence5361
@jasperlawrence5361 Jasper, we just might be there now. I like your comment but I don't think we'll be out of control. In all seriousness, the only way I think we get out of control is if a fascist regime, like Diaper Donny's, gets elected. Project 2025 becomes the ideology of the government and who knows if there will be a General Mark Milley to stop them!!
ALL BS HYPE.. IF THERE SO GREAT THEN WHY CAN'T THEY JUST DO AS THEY WANT WITHOUT NEEDED SO MUCH HELP.. NO PROOF BUT BS HYPE.
Simon: “Missile hard points on a C-5 Galaxy..”
Defense contractors: “Write that down! Write that down!”
I mean... The AC-130 is just a cargo plane with teeth, right? The Galaxy's got a loooot of room for guns, lol
Saw this comment, forgot what a C-5 looked like, sees C-5 in video, dies laughing.
Look up the rapid dragon system 😂
look up the Rapid Dragon Program. it's basically that but with the C-17 and C-130. they already thought of that.
You have GOT to know they have thought of this.
USA: alright, we need to be able to beat the team below us in ranking just in case. Who are we fighting?
Some intern: that’d still be us
USA: perfect
Logistics is the real "super weapon" of the US military.
Capitalism and a fully captured regulatory body. If we didn't have to prop up capitalism and glass the middle east (after destabilizing it for half a century, South America too) we wouldn't have need for such a gluttonous military.
As a US Army logistics officer your comment gets me hard
ALL BS HYPE.. IF THERE SO GREAT THEN WHY CAN'T THEY JUST DO AS THEY WANT WITHOUT NEEDED SO MUCH HELP.. NO PROOF BUT BS HYPE.
@@Facts-Over-Feelings 90% of countries have trouble to organize a proper monday yet alone fighting and winning a war in a middle east + other big scale exploitations in the meantime
Propaganda is russia's super weapon lol
I worked Air Force acquisition for 35 years. Your video is better than any defense contractor's marketing department.
I’m sure he was properly compensated by the right people considering we are already leaps and bounds ahead of any other country.
Best statement I've ever heard, America is 50 war tribes in a trenchcoat with a defence budget big enough to fight God.
😂😂😂HELLYEAH BROTHER!!!
The underrated factor many forget about. The pilots. American pilots never stop training. Not a moment not ready. Also the ability of many different type of craft to communicate woth each other is underrated too.
Shortly before Pearl harbor, a civilian organization called the Civil Air Patrol was signed into existence by the Congress, allowing civilians to participate in the national defense and especially with shoreline reconnaissance.
During the events of WWII, the Civil Air Patrol proved to be critical to the defense of the sprawling US shoreline, locating and even bombing several U-boats. Their efforts would go on to lead directly to the capture of the first enigma machine, a major turning point for the allies.
The organization is still around today, having transitioned to a primarily youth organization in the 50's (I think, not 100% on that one but you gotta pay your writers to do something, right?). Their primary functions now include land based search and rescue across the Continental US, and some work in Canada and Mexico as well. They assist and often lead disaster relief efforts, including during 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina. They are America's unsung heros, truly.
During the grounding of all flights in US airspace after the attacks of 9/11, CAP was the only non-military organization allowed to fly, and nearly every photo of 9/11 from the air was taken by a CAP pilot.
It is an incredible organization and would be a great fit for most of your channels, but especially Today I Found Out. No one knows about them but everyone has been impacted by their efforts. Feel free to PM if you have questions, I was part of the organization for nearly 10 years and was quite high in the organization. It's a military-esque organization similar to ROTC, but actually MORE affiliated with the military, and has been credited with saving civilian aviation during WWII, when many nations were banning it, we encouraged it and integrated it.
When the government wouldn't give them permission to drop bombs, a pilot dropped flour sacks on the white house, showing that not only could they be accurate, but also exposing a HUGE gap in aerial coverage and protection for the capital.
I would LOVE to see you do a report on this
This is a super cool story, thanks for sharing!
When I was younger I was in a youth group ran by the Marine Corps League called the Young Marines. We used to March in parades and I do believe the Civil Air Patrol did as well. I never knew too much about them. Thanks for sharing!
The civil air patrol helped a British destroyer capture an enigma machine? You sure about that bud?
@@hoolihanohoolihan1011yeah, I was about to call BS on that too!
@@hoolihanohoolihan1011 He didn't say that. He said their efforts help lead to that result. He wasn't taking credit.
A C-5 "missile truck" carrying 45 Rapid Dragon missiles is everyone (else's) idea of a bad day.
Conceivably those missiles could themselves be drone carriers, carrying a bunch of something akin to the Switchblade drone. Makes a bad day even worse...
The cost of that is many countries idea of a GDP
How many "normal" sized missiles would you wager they could fit?
I'd say maybe 150-160? 🤔
@@mikeharvey9184- And those drones could carry swallow-sized drones, and those drones could carry bee-sized assasin drones that land, take blood samples, confirm human target via rapid genome sequencing, and explode. 😊
Well, maybe in the 2060s.
@@cacogenicist😂😂😂 you a fool
To put this in hoi4 terms, the US is switching its air doctrine path.
Bokoen couldn't have said it better.
I've got 25 years in 52X USAF. I'm use to land , sea , Air 2000 doctrine . That's old now like me .what big blue has now and it's tactics is beyond imagination. I can say this nobody will see us coming or know we are there. FLY FIGHT WIN
which path though, Operational Integrity?
It’s switching from naval bombers and tactical bombers to cas2
more like the US got sick of losing planes in Vietnam and decided to just ~research all
4:54 "although its purportedly fifth generation su57 fighter jet is nowhere to be found over the skies of Ukraine", my god, it's that good!
Yes, the SU-57. A 5th gen stealth aircraft with a similar radar cross section to an F-16 with Have Glass V
So stealthy no one has ever seen it in combat!
That Ukranian drone saw it on the apron, right before it exploded on it, lol.
@@BeefSupremeAviationDont forget the SU-57 Also has more bolts showing than the f-16
😂🤣😅
Fun fact: Tucson, Arizona of the United States of America has the largest airforce than any other country combined. They just happen to be in storage.
Not storage, airplane graveyard. Where did you get this false info from? Faux News?
I live there! Wanna grab a chimichanga?
@@yskitv5118 In Russia, chimichanga grab YOU
the problems in this video wouldn't exist if the US was part of a massive defensive alliance. maybe something between Europe in the north Atlantic? then the US could rely on strategic allies that OF COURSE would provide forces for their shortfalls. it's not like they wouldn't keep their military up to speed and let the US carry the burden! right....
NATO already gives both sides what they want. Europe doesn't want to pay for a military. The US doesn't want Europe to have operational independence. This is why the Washington establishment is actually against them reaching the 2% goals.
You misquoted sandbox, the f35 is the is the quarterback in the sky not the raptor. A very expensive raptor refit to allow the raptor to be better at data sharing is being considered now
I consider the F22 as the Chuck Norris ninja assassin of the sky.
lol
If we’re sticking to football terms, Raptor is like a nasty tight end that likes to injure tackle.
In some ways yes however the f22 still has a stealth edge. The first part of any kill chain is being seen meaning even then the f22 may have a role as an attack recon aircraft.
@@SpidermanandJeny The F-35 was never supposed to replace the F-22. I challenge you to support your claim with evidence; cite your sources please.
@@CausticLemons7 no it wasn’t, but it’s lack of upgradeability is slowly making it obsolete. Like a vintage muscle car, they really should invest in it and put more than some lipstick on her.
Some fake boobs at least and a tummy tuck at least.
To be honest tho, I don’t think there will be a raptor replacement in the near future…if ever.
Even NGAD probably won’t 🤷
#love the raptor
The B-21 has 1 primary center bomb bay, and 2 side missile/JDAM capable bays. Since the Raider is UAV capable, it can have a modular reconnaissance pod and extra fuel installed in the primary bomb bay, and side missile bays filled with missiles. Being a flying wing, it can act as an ultra high altitude platform above 80,000ft to drop missiles into a highly contested airspace. This supplements the F-22 with not only more missiles, but data networking and reconnaissance that would otherwise be slated for the RQ-180 or even the F-15EX platforms while still maintaining full stealth profile.
An American C5 galaxy once dumped a Minute man ICBM out of the cargo bay on a parachute, then the motor ignited and off the missile went. No other country on the planet has accomplished that. That's the ultimate missle truck aircraft.
Yep. It was deemed such an OP capability that the military decided not to pursue it so as not to scare the USSR into developing their own version.
@@Thatdamnsmith America (at least up through the 80's) did not arm to fight. it armed to deter and keep the peace...
@@Posting-Maharashtra not sure if this is to agree or disagree with my comment but I agree with your statement… though I still think America arms to deter as best it can with the budget constraints it has.
@@Posting-Maharashtra In the Cold War, America armed to out-arm the USSR and make them go broke lol
Minor quibble: At 13:15, Mach 2.5+ would be around 1,700 mph at altitude rather than 2,800 mph. (The SR-71 flew over Mach 3.0 and was just over 2,000 mph at altitude). But, as usual, this is a great video.
Now imagine all the things he got wrong that you don't know to correct him on
@@hoolihanohoolihan1011 The problem isn't him. He's just presenting the script written for him by Gen Z minions.
It's another case of mixing miles and kilometers.
Mach 2.5 = 2,981 Kilometers per Hour
His statement was _around 2800 kilometers per hour_
Km/hr instead of M/hr sounds likely.
Gets even more entertaining when people mix up miles per hour with nautical miles per hour. 😆
@NinjaRunningWild I don't know about this channel, but I know some of his other channels he has a few millennial writers, even some that are older then Simon.
When they call the F-15EX a munitions truck, it’s an understatement. The Bone (our max payload bomber) carries 75,000 lbs of bombs. The EX can carry just under 30,000 lbs and fly at Mach 2.5+. It’s absolutely amazing!
The F-15EX is the American Spirit epitomized. Loud, Proud, packing more heat than a small nation, and technically ita a rocket. It has wings as a courtesy to physics.
Well, it can't actually do both at the same time.
@@gort8203 Yeah I’m sure that’s the naked speed, but you can’t beat an undefeated fighter that packs 30k
@@gort8203 considering we never get the actual top speed of United States equipment. The listed top speed might be under a full payload.
@@RussetPotato exactly. Russia and China lie and say their stuff is better than it is. The US publicly releases info and tests our equipment with a hand tied behind its back, like the f22 with drop tanks so enemies can actually find it in friendly war games
last time I was this early, birds had air supremacy
OGs were here in the pterosaur times
Birds 🐦 aren't real.
Ever seen a bird strike on a plane? They are least an asymmetric air threat creating a contested threat environment.
Don't fool yourself. They still do
@@goodforthesoulgaming8373 have you ever seen a fighter jet win agaist a flock of birds ?
You have seen a flock of birds down a fighter jet
On the toilet at about 5 am. Not stealth but it was still dark outside.
What are the odds of me reading this at 5am while on the toilet 😂
Sometimes it's safer to use old tech like beepers and walkie-talkie s so you can't be tracked
Love it when HLC talks about rockets. He refers to them as telephone poles coming out of nowhere and sending you back to God. Even he thinks it's scary. That means a lot!
HLC, Ryan Macbeth, Cappy are all absolutely awesome. As an Australian the only guy we have like that is hyperhiestericalhistory he covers a lot of Australia’s capabilities, from land sea and air, as well historical videos… his average video is 2hrs long.
@@Giveme1goodreason Ummm, if you want something other than dumbed down propaganda, you have one of the actual best: Perun. And yeah, those first 2 and to a smaller degree the 3rd are nothing but propaganda. If you don't believe me, ask yourself: Why are you not hearing from HLC or Macbeth the fact that the NGAD is now officially on hold? Why don't they talk about the fact that the TR-3 upgrade for F-35 has been, "truncated," and the next set of upgrades after that going to be, "re-imagined." For those last two it translates to: couldn't actually update the software and the last one means no new engines. That's just 2 things. It is endless drivel on those channels with no attachment to reality.
@@LackofFaithifybecause that’s not what their content is about lol
perun is very technical and his entire niche is telling you how it is and why it is . His entire niche is telling you the best available information without speculating much
Ryan mcbeth is a intel guy and misinformation expert
Cappy is a grunt talking geopolitics in a dumb down version so the average joe understands
And HLC is the comedic relief while giving some what interesting information- by far the least impactful
You got a weird take on the information you consume
@@LackofFaithifyYup, Perun is the best if you actually want something that is highly researched and not focused on speculation
@@Jack_Redviewhypotheticalhistory Is also very good, similar to perun
23:46
before everyone says "but the kinzhal the kinzhal!"
The Kinzhal is a ballistic missile which technically does travel at hypersonic speeds, but it is not a maneuverable weapon, and doesn't really count in the modern definition of "hypersonic missile"
By the definition with which the Kinzhal is defined as a 'hypersonic' weapon, the world has had hypersonic weapons since the V2 rocket of the 1940s.
sweet vid , just the right amount of in depth while also moving from topic to topic with good pacing.
You should probably of mentioned Rapid Dragon when talking about putting missiles on cargo planes, it's literally what that project is, well sort of, it drops them out the back in parachuted pallets that shoot multiple missiles while descending. still cool though.
For some reason imagining an engineer railing a line of coke and then shouting "aaaaahhh give cargo planes missiles!!!!"
😂@@cynthiaherbst3909
You should look up the missiles that fire out the back of an AC130. It's even more scary.
@@cdro1257that’s Rapid Dragon
I see this as some guy going "What if we could just shoot the missiles right from the rack?"
Currently there are about 650 F-35s built with the full run expected to be around 2500. Production rate is 150 a year.
And yet we can't build more F-22 because they're too expensive? Put the advanced avionics in an updated F-22 and I don't know if the F-35 would even be needed.
There are over 1000 built if you include those shipped to allies.
@@SpidermanandJenyF-22 was built for a different war in a different time period there is no carrier or short landing and take off versions, it isn't a strike aircraft nor was it built to carry air to ground weapons like F-35, not to mention newer air to ground and air to air weapons, it doesn't have the same data link capabilities nor the situational awareness built in like F-35, it's doesn't have open architecture like F-35 meaning that upgrades are costly and limited in scope, and most of all the F-22 had its production line closed in 2011 so no more can be built. F-22 cant replace F-35 even with the avionics upgrade it still doesn't have the situational awareness of the F-35 and it even loses some if it's stealth capabilities because it would have to use its external pylons for newer weapons and conformal fuel tanks for range.
@@SpidermanandJeny Considering that the F22 was never allowed to be sold to any other country but the US, a small order number was a given.
1:15 - Mid roll ad
2:35 - Chapter 1 - A shifting landscape
12:25 - Chapter 2 - New problems, new solutions
21:40 - Chapter 3 - The tech
30:20 - Chapter 4 - But can it work ?
why they don't do timestamps is beyond me
15:54 so the Eagle II is a modern day A-6 Intruder with extreme defenses and an amazing war record
Pretty much, aye :)
This got me fired up as an Air Force vet I’m ngl
“Back hand into a different century” 😂😂☠️☠️. Great review.
In my opinion this is one of your best videos you ever put out. Not to discredit anything else. I just thoroughly enjoyed this one personally.
You do know that the US has many allies and won't be fighting alone.
True. But they always say that...and then we fight nearly alone...and then they say they didn't need us in the first place. Five years down the road, they're calling us back, rinse and repeat. I'm glad we can the security forces people need, but the constant barrage of anti-US complaining WHILE we provide that security gets a little old.
Europe can help offset US weapons development, with an offer they can't refuse. But they couldn't even be arsed to pay 2% for their OWN defense, until the war came to their doorstep. Trump gave them a bow shot, to jumpstart them (threaten to shakedown if they didn't comply), before that.
USA and its so-called allies are outnumbered by China alone.
1.4 billion force of China.
The collective West is dwarfed by the magnitude of it.
The entire West doesn't stand a chance against China in a ground war.
Not to mention the ultimate industrial prowess of China.
They have more missiles than there are bullets in the collective West.
Depends if USA is isolationist.
@gbcb8853 if they are isolationist then they wouldn't be defending any of the countries in question
If the enemy figures out how to counter long rang standoff then you miss a few shots, if they figure out how to counter stealth, then you are sending tens of planes into a situation where they think they are hidden and you could lose lots of planes. Not saying stealth isn't good but diversifying the strategy and not hanging everything on stealth would be a good idea.
I'm having a hard time being overly concerned about this. The simple reason is this, It is not unusual for programs to go dark for security reasons. The $300 per hammer creative accounting ploys we have seen utilized in the past to hide these programs is still an ongoing strategy. In the age of growing drone significance, there is zero chance that they are going to cut back on a drone related technology. I realize that this video would not be as interesting if there wasn't a little tension and angst included, but it doesn't make any sense. Drones are the quintessential American style of warfare for the exact reasons that were mentioned. Who cares if your military is made up of women or out of shape men. Send in the drones. You got ambushed? Send in more drones!
Reminder that they announced the B-21 Raider's existence and entry into service out of nowhere last year. Who knows how long that had been flying around before hand?
God, I love the Sky Warden! It’s like the USAF equivalent of the British Home Guard during WWII.
For those who don’t know, the Home Guard (or Dad’s Army) was a volunteer militia of British men who were either too old, too young, or physically disqualified from serving in the British military. So they were organized into a last line of defense for the Honefront with nothing but a cup of tea and their own insanity to equip themselves for war with Germany. Imagine elderly men driving around in cars with cast iron pans bolted to them. Imagine 70-year-old men running around with pre-WW1 bolt-actions in shorts. If you can imagine something happening in a Wallace and Gromit cartoon, they tried it.
And that is the Sky Warden. By all rights, it shouldn’t be anywhere in the USAF arsenal. But it is, and I love it.
While that's all true. In WW2, most of the "old men" were probably WW1 veterans. Britain conscripted heavily, most the male population served in the war. These people all had military training and experience.
1. That Wallace and Gromit quip was legendary.
B. Home Guard were probably the most motivated soldiers out there with the least to loose and lots to gain, and Germany is lucky to have they didnt have to find out.
4. The second Amendment means in the US, they also come with military grade stuff for equipment and i appreciate that.
These were the same kind of conversations that were being had during Desert Shield. "Iraq's army is using equivalent top of the line Soviet equipment and they are battle hardened. We are going to take serious casualties!" Look how that turned out. Im also confident that the technology gap has increased since then.
“If you wait long enough you can use the same talking points over and over again.” - Some career politician
At some point, the old adage is true - Quantity has a quality all its own.
Radar scanning technology gets advanced for both our jets and the enemy missile defense systems at basically the same time. Also jamming and anti-jamming electronic warfare. There are even jam-proof drones that use 6 miles of fiber optic thread instead of giving and receiving signals.
Iraq was a second rate power with little domestic arms manufacturing. China is a nuclear armed country of over a billion people with the largest manufacturing base on the planet. If we go toe to toe, both sides would take extreme losses, the US included.
But Iraq was a small fry and the US had no "other obligations at the time". When you have as many SEAD/DEAD platforms and pilots as the enemy has GBAD systems, visually aimed AAA included, you can just start chipping away at your own leisure. It's not like the Iraqi army was going to hit Washington if the whole thing went too slow.
My point is: It's not the same kind of conversation. There are fears, legitimate or nor, that China, Russia, Iran and North Korea might stir up actually serious shit at the same time. In that case the US would have to put considerable resources into defense as well as offense, as well as constantly prioritizing which direction to allocate which resources to.
Air force is for strategic strikes mostly. Air support and logistics are mostly an in house operation for the other branches. It's why we're the combined arms king.
Not hardly. You need to get out more.
@@gort8203 i never once flew in a usaf chopper my dude.....
@@funwithmagnus8570
The supplies that the helicopters deliver are brought to the base by Air Force fixed wings though. No matter what branch is operating the base
Except they refuse to allow the Army to run it's own fixed wing dedicated close air support essentially because they don't want to give up that part of their budget to the Army.
Like just let them run fixed wing subsonic bomb trucks which can operate from primitive forward conditions like the A-10 (and it's eventual heavy DCAS replacement, probably going to be a drone of some kind), Air Warden or Super Tucano.
@funwithmagnus8570 the air force refusing to let the army have fixed wings is part of why the army has those choppers (or rather, put guns on the choppers).
And the A-10 was basically one big spite project as a result of the army pursuing dedicated gunships.
The F-35 is the “quarterback” the 22 is notoriously bad at playing with others
In Wales we would call the 22 a "goal-hanger".... there for the glory not for the team.
I don’t think people understand the complexity of the United States stealth and electronic warfare capabilities. To many people forgot about the strike on the Houthi’s earlier in the year, when Planes like the EA-18 Growler and the Hawkeye were used by the US Navy to provide a radar cover screen for Fourth Gen fighters like F-18s, and for airforce planes like F-15s and F-16s, and B-1 Lancers (And for UK planes as well), while a small group of stealth fighters lead the way, strategically targeting anti-air locations before the massive follow on attack bombed the crap out of targets. With the addition of dedicated electronic warfare planes like the EA-18, Fourth Gen fighters have a substantial advantage than people give them credit for.
It sounds an awful lot like the Air Force and other branches of the armed services are having to contend and work around the potential ramifications of an American public who, after decades of never having fought a significant military power and whose latest endeavors overseas are overshadowed largely by their geopolitical significance rather than their cost to the health and safety of our servicemen and their equipment, don't quite seem to understand that in a neer peer conflict, casualties are basically guaranteed to happen, whether that's loss of equipment or personnel. It's as if we're expected to fight every war like we did the Gulf War, where overwhelming tactical and technological superiority led to a military outcome so lopsided in our favor that we are now forced to view every potential future conflict from an absolutist' perspective of there can be no failure because of how successful NATO, and specifically the U.S., were during those operations.
I am not implying that western or more specifically American arms are inherently inferior or "worse", I wholeheartedly believe in quite the opposite, as evidenced by said operations in the middle east and observations made by users in conflicta such as Ukraine and the war between Israel and Hamas. But I am saying that we as nation need to be more attuned to the fact that in war, sometimes you're just not going to make it out unscathed, something that John Q. Public isn't very willing to admit exists, even as the men and women who serve to keep him in his comfort zone are more than expected to suffer through.
You're not necessarily wrong, the Ukraine War is also showing that ammunition expenditure is also going to be way more than what we are ready for (we meaning NATO, not just the US). But the thing is that the US military, and the airforce in particular, deals with the issue of failure being inevitable by trying to massively increase their advantages as much as possible, in every way possible, and over-prepare if possible.
It seems stupidly simple to say, but "shoot for the stars, land on the moon." By aiming higher you're hopefully reducing the amount of failures you'll have than if you aimed lower.
Really, it's more an issue that the public doesn't understand, rather than the military.
Also don't forget that half of the country if such a war were to break out, would FIGHT America on behalf of the enemy. Decades and decades of indoctrination within public schools and higher academia that the US is the embodiment of evil and needs to be defeated will do that you know?
Ppl don't realize the usa have 4 of the top 10 largest and best trained Air forces on earth . It's also said the US has 7 x the global naval power
China has the largest navy on the planet.
And it grows with each passing day.
200 times the capacity the USA has.
@@ajaykumarsingh702Power and size are two very different things.
@@ajaykumarsingh702😂😂😂cope some more over American dominance.
@@wc2195
Lol !🤣
USA is scared of China and exited a lot of critical treaties to defend itself, including the INF treaty.
Even the B-21 bomber is being developed to have at least some chance of penetrating Chinese anti-denial airspace over SCS.
US: Someone start some shit somewhere so we can get some experience in.
Them: No one has weapons like you do..
US: oh..Well here you go.
Every day, we get closer to Ace Combat, and every day, i regret not pursuing becoming a fighter pilot
I thoroughly enjoy your videos. As a Navy Veteran I like to always be in the know for what is the current tech and capabilities that we can have access to. Very good show sir!
We might be bad at a lot of things in the US… but military isn’t one of them. 😂
What is the US bad at doing?
@@chillxxx241 not murdering people
@@chillxxx241 Government. Medical care.
@@InsanityReborn medical care is better in the US than just about anywhere in the world. The government functions as our forefathers intended, because they didn’t trust centralized authority.
currently, you're just very big and well funded, not the same as being very good.
I just want to say I have watched this channel since its inception and you guys do a great job covering these issues comprehensively. Thank you so much!
The f15ex might not exactly be stealthy in the general sense of the term, however the Electronic warfare systems likely do just as good if not a better job when it comes to preventing a weapons grade lock in order to down said aircraft. So even if you can see it from far away that doesn't mean you will be able to do anything about it
I always looked at The F-15EX as the Mustang GT of the fighter aircraft world…loud, fast, powerful and cheap enough to be annoyingly everywhere (for adversaries)
It also has a super powerful radar and bvr capable missiles. Missiles that can be guided in by F-35s operating as mini awacs and drone platforms
@martinjrgensen8234 yeah that part was discussed in the video however. I just wanted to mention the EWS because Simon seemed to kinda lean into the fact that it wasn't stealthy and that made it "less capable" in some way but IMO stealth will eventually become obsolete especially in a great power war with a peer or near peer and that the EWS will be far more important
A lot of this reminds me of the Longbow System they use on the Apache, using it to coordinate attacks with multiple aircraft.
28:40 Damn everyday its getting closer to becoming more like Ace combat
Dogfights in tunnels, carrying 70+ missiles and bombs, missiles that only fire within a mile range, no overG or maintenance, and crazy ass lasers and airburst missiles. I'm all about it.
‘China’s stealth bomber is still nowhere to be found”. Strikes me that’s the point! 😁
If Ukraine is getting drones to Moscow you can bet America will be all in Russian air space
Remember Chinese balloons all over the USA ? 😂😂😂
Now imagine what the Chinese airforce will do to the USA in the full scale war.
On top of that by supporting Ukraine, the USA is getting a great look at how to fight a conventional conflict on land and in the air. While doing none of the dying and not using any of its top stuff.
@@Giveme1goodreasonI don’t understand why they don’t give Ukraine more latest tech, could change the war and cripple and American enemy without any loss of American lives -
@@mamba101America’s latest tech as outlined in this video is designed to operate in combined arms warfare from aircraft to tanks, artillery and infantry. For example the M1 Abram’s less than stellar performance in Ukraine is due to lack of combined arms air cover and infantry support.
@@ajaykumarsingh702You talking about the balloon that the u.s. knew about days ahead of time and ALLOWED it to come in? Lmao nice try. Stay in school kid😂😂😂🤡.
Stealth Fighter Jets may be able to avoid radar lock, but other Fighter Jets also carry heat seekers and the last time I checked there is no heat neutral jet engine.
So it is not like regular Fighter jets have 0 chance, and if the stealth fighter decided to open the weapons bays they can likely be shot down by Radar missiles too, and actually seen on radar.
So quantity can still beat quality.
It's a smart idea and an old one. "Don't put all your eggs in one basket"
The U.S.:
Don’t put all of your eggs in one basket
Have the most eggs
Have the most baskets
Have the highest quality eggs known to mankind
@@iwantyourcookiesnow The Easter bunny calls us 🇺🇸🫡
It is a brilliant piece that maps out the breadth of the systems, procurement, and sustainment topic in an approachable format. Keep up the excellent work. Here is a suggestion of another extreme in the tapestry of US defense that will not be so reliant on the Air Force “bubble” but is going through a redesign. Using this video's format - delve - again - into the US Marines 2030 and how one takes hold of small island chains or other system objectives. Your systems approach to procurement, logistics, and sustainment within AI and 4th Gen Manufacturing - with the realities of budget constraints - is smart! The Norm Augustine's growth in ever-increasing cost has hit the ceiling - “Augustine’s Laws” - it's time to get smart. Again - keep up the excellent work.
Good overview. But 110 miles on range of AIM-260 might be a large underestimate..
Absolutely so. China and Russia overstate their capabilities; the US understates them substantially then delivers surprise buttsex in unexpected ways.
Along with Andrew Gentile from The Why Files... Simon, you help make up the top tier of UA-cam narrators. Keep it up; bravo!
25:00 can't do that Russia only has 10 of those planes not a dozen 😂
Sure……they have 10…… uh huh…… highly doubtful they have that many
I know a little bit about this and all that I have to add is that yes stealth vehicles have serious drawbacks that people rarely talk about. Should go without saying because there's nearly always a trade-off with major design features.
Since im here early, Buff and Franklin for 2024! Let the kid eat!
Trash day or no trash day?
Its trash day for the USAF
The future is close range pure IR imaging and IR stealth engagements and dogfights using multiple smaller IR missiles. Far future fighters will only use passive detection for most of their operations meaning BVR engagements between 5th, 6th and possibly 7th gen fighters will be extremely rare simply due to detection limits. 6th gen BVR will most probably be accompanied by very high altitude reconnaissance aircraft and space based IR detection and targeting assets that will be used for air dominance. The future of stealth combat is passive detection.
Only during bad weather/night. Stealth aircraft still aren’t invisible.
It's like surgery, the 35 is the blinding bright lights, the 15 is the cold steel. A good stop-gap while NGAD is refined
Fun fact, The USA Airforce is #1, Navy is #2, and the Marines are #4 on the list of biggest COMBAT Air forces in the world. And given the SU57's performance and China's WISH fighter, FAFO.
😅
Lol the problem with America they don't give you accurate information to make an informed decision. And it's foolish to think that Russia is haphazard because guess who's been winning against the US and NATO. Guess who is afraid of China? The US it's foolish to underestimate your enemies. A F16 just got shot out the sky by Russia and one by Hezbollah. The F35 is 29% air worthy according to Congress and the secretary to the military. Our 5th generation are obsolete because they sacrificed speed for stealth. Russia and China planes are faster and carry more missiles and more guns on the planes. The only defense was stealth but guess what they can be shot the fuck down now and if they come to a dog fight they will be fucked. And a hyper sonic missile will take them down because they sacrificed speed for stealth stupid.
Fafo ?
@@gikhristkhuugzairs5755 F Around and Find Out
@@gikhristkhuugzairs5755 FAFO means "F--- Around and Find Out"
18:19 thank you for reminding me, I always forget that actor's name
"US navys P-8 aircraft" proceeds to show a New Zealand P-8 😂
who built it?
The F35 is the quarterback not the F22. The F22 doesn't even have IRST and has only around ~200 Non-cooperative target recognition parameters (NCTR), versus the ~600 NCTR parameters of the F35. An F16 pilot said as much too.
27:23 Simon needs to look up the Raging Dragon system to see how cargo aircraft sre becoming offensive missile trucks.
Simon has done 2 seperate videos on both raging and rapid dragons
@@Lngbrdninjamastabut what about the grabbing dragon?
Interesting video. I do like how you read out the scripts Simon emphasising the key words in sentences for maximum impact. 👌
America is unmatched in both Air Power and EH PAWR.
Incorrect.
China is stronger.
They have far better and advanced technology in terms of electronic warfare, radars and the missile arsenal.
The best US jets are F-15x and F-35c which pales in comparison to J-16d and J-20c.
@@ajaykumarsingh702😂😂😂😂 cope with whatever lies help you sleep at night🤡.
A big problem isn't just having planes and pilots but the ground crew to fix,fuel, and rearm them, but the military has shit on enlisted for a while, and no one wants to join.
This video was made in an alternate universe where neither European nor east asian countries have any fighter jets to help in the defense of their own countries lol
That's harsh reality, especially about Europe. Aircraft numbers, supply positions in armaments and fuel, readiness and training are all time low.
What's lol? No one besides Russia, China, N. Korea and Iran have seriously bad intentions for the US. Only 2 are even somewhat serious competitors. The US could EASILY annihilate any European nation if it wanted to. All of them are vastly inferior, spend orders of magnitude less money and have drastically smaller numbers of everything. Even united (which would never happen) all of Europe could not beat the US. The US military is far better at everything a military needs to be and do. But, of course, these are all rather friendly countries so it doesn't matter.
incredible episode, informational and clearly well researched. Thanks
Look at me...
LOOK AT ME...
I am the air supremacy now.
Damn straight
Good luck getting of the crack ..
@@MartinSparks-ef9gr you don’t know the meme or what are you on about
@@lucakrokrowinkel9576 What meme?
@@MartinSparks-ef9gr The crack clearly enables me to spell.
Awesome video, keep up the good work
Top notch analysis, writing and presentation. Very interesting indeed, thank you for that
Make no mistake, stealth capability is the entry fee in any near-peer conflict. The only thing more expensive than losing aircraft is losing quality pilots. Once aircraft go completely autonomous, then we can start asking if stealth is important again
I think yall vastly underestimate our ability to brute force anything we want 🤷♂️🤷♂️🤣🤣
The first Eagle (F-15B) was delivered in November 1974. In January 1976, the first Eagle destined for a combat squadron was delivered. The single-seat F-15C and two-seat F-15D models entered the Air Force inventory beginning in 1979.
Good to see Alex getting the cred the deserves.
Excellent content as always. Thanks Simon and team.
Basically this new system is making American airfare to be a 4x game which is amazing itself in which making commands more easy and effective plus there are some 4x games in which they can use as a base to real life.
I am impressed with the progress in flight and fight simulators in allowing very realistic simulations of war. The inclusion of AI is integral to the effort. These simulators allow many participants, all aircraft including most allied craft.
The H20 nowhere to be found, sounds like they did it.
So informative and interesting. Thank you
With the amount of channels and videos coming at the pace they do... Are we sure this man ever sleeps?
U don't need sleep when u have a white Miami vice blazer with pockets full of coke..
In Desert Storm we put 540,000 troops, millions of tons of military equipment, fuel, ammo, medical supplies, food water etc on the opposite side of the world, supported those forces in the field and, when the time came, won decisively on the battlefield against the 4th largest army in the world. No other nation can possibly do anything remotely close to that.
The Medina and Hamurabi divisions of Saddam Husseins Elite Republican Guard were the best trained, best equipped, and most feared divisions of the middle east. They had vast battlefield experience as they had fought and defeated Iran. They lasted 39 minutes against us.
Poot's, you don't want none a dis.
This is exactly why the US is a super power. You have proven it, it has nothing to do with your nukes. Russia is not a super power, well proven in Ukraine. But we still have China that possible could, atleast on paper, growing rapidly. You dont make a bunch of carriers to defend your own shore, it is a very specific tool, to project mainly air power abroad.
The f15 has been and will continue to be the dominant air superiority fighter platform. It’s estimated to be effective in its role well into its 90’s. (Source mustard I believe sorry I know I read it somewhere) in it’s c&d form it can handle 10 migs. The Ex is designed to be a bomber that can drop its load and immediately start fights. It was 100 years ahead of its time in 1976 and is still quite potent
I can't tell if this is satire or genuine love for the F15
@@jmckittrick1 genuinely love the f15, it is the only fighter bomber that can go toe to toe with the f16 a designed fighter
@The_dude12 , awesome. I love the F15 too. It's the F22 of the cold war
Excellent video. Minor correction - the F-15 Eagle 2 max speed is around 1650 mph, not 2,800. That would be closer to Mach 4.
Regardless, blindingly fast. Thanks for the compilation of good information!
The amount of "American war capability" content I'm being fed by UA-cam has me more than a little concerned.
Well if you're American or a citizen of a friendly nation YOU definitely have nothing to worry about.
@@SpidermanandJeny ( ͠ಠ ͟ʖ ͡ಠ)
enemies of US has nothing to worry about too , people win or lose wars not shiny toys , i've thought you guys lern that in Afghanistan already ...
@@s.a4034lot of things went wrong in Afghanistan plus it’s not the only place lot other place had the same outcome too. From corruption to insurgents using fear based Tactics and strategies made to combat superior technology,training, equipment and numbers.
Nothing brings more donations and recruits when the enemy uses drones strike indiscriminately. Arresting locals on often times false charges and not giving them a trial. There’s a reason why the local supports these groups. Losing family and soldiers waving weapons speaking a language that the local don’t understand also lot of cover ups done by the military and pentagon also every presidents.
Every time they crush the groups a new and better ones pops up almost immediately.
@@patrickiamonfire965 yeah we withdrew but the devastation we inflicted made everybody piss their pants, we dropped about 15 k tons of bombs and killed 100k taliban all without reorientign our military. even if nation pulls of a victory somehow against America it wk be phyri
Manned aircraft should play minor role. Drones all kinds of drones controlled by mother ships is the finale answer.
haha, the finale answer. It's a little bit scary when you put it that way.
I am 80, and took Air Force ROTC in
College in the 1960's as the Vietnam
War developed, a vastly different
world from today, growing up and
living in the 1st Cold War, and leaving
around the end of the war. If I had
stayed in 20 years, until1989, just
before the time of the Gulf War, maybe
in hindsight. I was in SAC, which did
end around 1992, when that first Cold
War ended. I saw the FB-111's replace
the the departed B-52's still in active operation. When I was a Squadron
Section Commander after several
yeas, then as a Captain, we had Stand
UP meetings to discuss matters among the Commanders. Today, 50
years later I am a 100% Disabled Veteran. 😊
The algorithm loves Simon. I was purposely avoiding this video. It autoplayed in queue.
Real Superpower moment (Russia never was, china? Stop jk) when you are the 1, 2, 3, 4 most powerful air force!
1, 2, top-10, and top-10
@@johnashen 1,2,4,5 yh
"Russia never was", wow you're stupid
I LOVE SEEING MY FAVORITE GAME SPONSORING ONE OF MY FAVORITE CHANNELS (SIMON, YOU HAVE TOO MANY CHANNELS, THATS WHY THIS IS JUST ONE OF MY FAVORITES)!!!!!
14:06 HIGH BR PROP PLANE 🗣️🗣️🗣️🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
0:08 ... That's an A400M
…um…RAAAAAAAAAH WTF IS AIRBUS 🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈
Another excellent video my dad loves the videos about the Airforce.
Back in 2011 iran was able to detect, target and bring down out rq170 stealth drone. Also, not one scalp or storm shadow missile has been able to reach the kerch bridge. All 3 of those would have a lower RCS than an actual jet. I think stealth might be over rated.
Uh, they brought down that drone by Hijacking its signal, they didn't do it with fucking SAMs you welp.
Tell that to the F-22 that snuck up on those F-4s in 2013 and made them pee their pants.
@@PeterMuskrat6968 I never said they did but that's even more embarrassing imo. Lol.
@@brownboyben there's no real proof that actually happened and is probably misinformation so they can get more funding.
@@PeterMuskrat6968
If signals can be hijacked then what good are any stealth jets ?
It kills the whole point of being stealth.
Engineer at the Airforce: *plays ksp*
Airforce: we need more missiles on this fighter but how?
Engineer: .....this is my time.
I’m just gonna say this and leave it here. We spend 2-3% of our GDP on our military. War time in WW2 we spent 40% of our GDP. We’ll be fine, I can assure you.
I generally agree, but the devil's advocate is an important role to fill.
Such an increase in spending would take a lot of time to make a difference. Even if the people at procurement, sustainment, and the defense industry figured out how they wanted to spend all that extra money in just 1 day, it would take years for all that additional funding to be really noticed.
And that was a time when the American public were united and wanted to see that spending. You absolutely are NOT going to be able to get that kind of funding when half of the country directly opposes it.
Simon explaining a QB was not on my 2024 bingo card, but it was perfectly Simon.
1:15 the transition in tone of voice from war talk to war thunder talk is so telling. Monetizing war through your audience is a war in itself.
Video games EVIL??
I wouldn’t say it’s monetization of war but of war machines. Totally different. The real monetization of war is real war
What the hell are you talking about?
@@teopalafox war
Back in 2019, right before Covid, i was thinking about the numerous possibilities and advantages of having a synchronized drone swarm around a manned fighter/bomber jet. Sacrificial drones, radar jamming, suicide, target acquistion, pilot survival aiding, etc... now i wonder about the same thing, just with an unmanned fighter/bomber.