Why dont we bring back the SR-71?

[rudder]

It may already be flying again, I do not know. But what the crap is this?



The Iraqi official said the plane was downed at 12:42 p.m. local time "in revenge of the martyrs of Iraq and Palestine."

Seems even the taliban can even shoot these things down. Get that SR-71 back form the smithsonian now!

 

[Kaervak]

There's one in Columbus ohio at the Wright Patterson base. Cool place, I'm going to have to take a trip down there again.

 

[trmiv]

Bah! Who cares, let them claim their minor victories when they shoot down unmanned cheap spy planes. Makes them waste some ammo, and makes them think they have accomplished something, when really they haven't.

 

[hungrypete]

The taliban didnt shoot it down. and who cares if those get shot down, we're laughing while they run out of ammo, those planes aren't very expensive (in relation to other aircraft pricetags).

 

[vi edit]

Let 'em shoot down the drones. They are relatively cheap compared to a maned plane, and secondly, it shows us right where some SAM's might be located.

 

Those planes they are shooting down are remote controlled recon aircraft.
We fly them over enemy territory and spy on them using the built in camera's in the plane.
We first flew these over Afganastan to find all the S.A.M. sites.
(The Afgans tried to shoot them down with S.A.M.S.)

 

[Pliablemoose]

One of the problems with the Predator program, is that it's not geeks flying the things, it's old pilots that can't pass their physicals anymore...

Let's put some younger folks behind the joystick & see what they can really do...

 

[GTaudiophile]

We want the Taliban to shoot them down! Doing so, reveals what little air defense they have left. It's a simple phone call from the spy drone operator's desk to the B-52 pilots! KaBOOOMMM

 

[rootaxs]

Cheap? That baby costs approximately $26 million dollars a piece!

Then again, still cheaper than an F16 + Human life.

 

[franksta]

I have been led to believe that the SR-71 is still being used. Satellites have awesome imagery (sp?) but there may or maynot be a satellite above the area (my guess is that there is seeing as it's a "hot spot"). It's a very impressive airplane particularly seeing that it's more than 20 years old!

 

[rudder]

Those planes they are shooting down are remote controlled recon aircraft.

I realize that, and I really enjoyed the quote about the martyrs. It just seems these things are too damn easy to knock out. I just really miss the SR-71. Missiles would get fired at them as well, but the plane was to fast and too well equipped with ECM.

 

[Tripleshot]

Blackbird aka SR -71 is probably in the air now, contributing to our recon efforts around the globe. From the hight they fly at,and the speed in which they fly,they will not be shot down. None have so far,to my recolection. But why do that when our satellites can see the brand of cigarettes in the pocket of Bin Laden now?

 

[rootaxs]

<< see the brand of cigarettes in the pocket of Bin Laden now? >>



LOL! Seems "General Surgeon" isn't the only one he doesn't listen to

 

[Viper GTS]

Good Lord people, how many times do I have to say this?

These are UNMANNED planes that cost just a few million apiece.

They are not important, they cost you a dime.

Get over it.

Viper GTS

 

[Sneezer]

Although the SR-71 is an incredible plane, its time has passed. True that no other aircraft flys high enough or fast enough to pose a credible threat, and there are only a few SAMs that can actually reach that high. Compared to existing satellite technology, however, and the SR-71 begins to pale in comparison. It requires a relatively healthy contingent of support personnell and equipment for each mission, and it's high resolution cameras are not designed for real time target acquisition. US spy satellites have the ability to monitor a specific area for up to 90 minutes continuously, before it passes out of range. This is something the SR-71 simply cannot do. The Blackbird was designed to fly high, fast and unimpeded by enemy air defenses, take very good quality pictures, and return to base where they would be developed and then analyzed. In todays world, the time spent to actually begin to analyze the data captured by the Blackbird is a liability. Still a technological wonder of an aircraft, and I doubt there will ever be another one like it. Did you know that the Blackbird will leak fuel constantly while on the ground, and does not actually seal up until it reaches cruising speed, which heats up the skin of the wings and sealing the fuel tanks.

 

These do not cost 26 million dollars apiece.
Just over 1 million,well worth it I may add.

 

[Viper GTS]

$3.2 million according to here

This was the last one they shot down.

They are small, slow, and cheap.

DISPOSABLE

They're serving their exact purpose, & they're making Iraq look like a land full of idiots.

Woohoo! We shot down a remote-control plane!

Idiots.

Viper GTS

 

[Aenygma]

3.2mil to be more specific.. ( I think )


Why don't they just go to COX? lol

 

[Windogg]

Drones like the Predetor now have more advantages than the Blackbird. They have long loiter times, they are cheap to operate, can operate from unimproved patches of dirt. Their flexibity and sheer numbers allows more recon to be gathered in each sortie. I would like to see Habu back in the air for recon but they are expensive to operate. You need highly skilled pilots to fly the plane. They drink tons of expensive JP-8 fuel, require huge logistical support in the form of airborne tankers since they leak like seives until the skin heats up and expands. When flying, they have the turn radius of a small planet. The planes also need large modern airbases to operate from along with a contingant of spare parts and mechanics. Overall not as cost effective as drones.

Contrary to pouplar belief, SR-71 can be shot down. During the height of the cold war, the debut of the SA5 Gammon with a small nuclear warhead scared the hell out of the pilots and RSOs. Antagonize the Soviets enough and they might send one up to teach the US a lesson. Thankfully that never happened.

Windogg

 

[Zipp]

<< They're serving their exact purpose, & they're making Iraq look like a land full of idiots. >>




Those idiots should be next on the list after the Taliban are delt with.

 

[ElFenix]

1 thing the sr-71 has over satellites, and its a pretty big advantage, its not easily predicted when it will be overhead. with a satellite you just move all your grot and you're good to go.

darkstar is the sh!t, though.

 

[rootaxs]

Odd, CNN has it:

Wingspan: 48.7 feet
Speed: Up to 140 mph
Range: Up to 400 nautical miles
Ceiling: Up to 25,000 feet
System cost: $25 million (1999 dollars)

Posted on the link in the first message.

LOL... talk about consistency

 

[wnied]

Let's put some younger folks behind the joystick & see what they can really do...

WTF difference does the age of the pilot make? These are prop driven high fliers that are disposeable and whose only purpose is to spy on specific areas in enemy territory. They cost next to nothing to build, take hardly any manpower to control, and are made to be disposeable. They are EXACTLY the kind of tool we need in the commanding of todays armed forces. Let them pick them off out of the sky forever. Its infinitely better than killing even ONE of our preciously trained pilots.

~wnied~

 

[BP]

Every Gov't. in the world knows the time our spy satelites are overhead. That's where spyplanes have an advantage. They can be sent over at any time and if their radar defences are down they won't even know that they were being watched.


The drones are there to get the radar sites to light them up, they did. We pinpointed them and took them out with the strike aircraft.

 

[MrBond]

<< There's one in Columbus ohio at the Wright Patterson base. >>

Isn't Wright Patterson in Dayton?