Always Forty-Seven

(Always Forty-Seven)

The history of aviation from the Wright Brothers to today has been one of technology advancement. Generations of aircraft have been developed over the decades. For example, when the military utility of the airplane was recognized in the First World War, so-called Generation 1 airplanes like the Sopwith Camal took to the skies. In the Second World War. Generation 2 airplanes like the P-51 Mustang took to the skies. For Korea and Generation 3 meaning jets like the F-86 Sabre or the F-4 Phantom in Vietnam.


After Vietnam and the lessons learned from that War, technology began to have a greater influence in combat plane design and several excellent like the F-15 Eagle or the F-14 Tomcat, Generation 4 airframes. When stealth technology became practical, Generation 5 fighters like the F-22 Raptor or the F-35 Lighting II achieved operational capability.


But technology doesn't stand still, and innovation is an ongoing process. The other day, President Trump and Defense Secretary Hegseth unveiled, partially, the new F-47 or the Next Generation Air Dominance fighter. One can guess how the plane got its designation of F-47 and as Trump had put it, "no other country" on earth will be able to match this capability. The President also announced that Boeing would build the plane.


In some respects, the choice of Boeing is curious. It has been having problems with its mainstay the delivery of airliners and it had been its Starliner capsule failure that stranded Astronauts Williams and Wilco at the ISS for the past nine months. Could do the job with the F-47 ? Probably. That being said, however, the F-47 could prove a boondoggle. To be effective in aerial combat, a good fighter will need the proper combination of speed, maneuverability, weapons' configuration and the ability to deliver ordinance on target. Perhaps most important is what the cost could be.


Too many bells and whistles, however, can dilute any operational capacity. The airplane will 447maintain the latest incarnation of low observable "stealth" technology. The avionics suite would be among the most advanced one could place on a platform. The F-47 has potential to be a lethal platform but the only way to confirm any of this potential would still be in combat with hostile machines.


In his glowing endorsement of the F-47, where its silhouette was barely visible, President Trump made the comment that this NGAD fighter would such a state of the art that no other air force would dare challenge. Assuming the F-47 joins the flight line and is deployed to squadrons, In some international crisis in some future date, and the F-47, a Generation 6 platform, is deployed along with Generation 5 Raptors and Lightning II's. They will be facing enemies of their own, who will be having their own ideas on air dominance.

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