[Freeciv-Dev] Re: Bombers/Fighters no longer obsolete (PR#1628)

[Per I Mathisen <per@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Fri, 28 Jun 2002, Raahul Kumar wrote:
> True. But then what is the point of upgrading to stealth bombers? A stealth
> bomber must have more attackpower than a bomber. Think of it in terms of 
> AA/SAM
> fire. The stealth bomber can take the time to pick out the exact
> target(Canadian Soldiers), drop the bomb exactly on target and go home to
> explain how it was all a mistake. Now take the normal bomber. They will be
> fired at, won't have the time to line up the target, and will almost certainly
> not be able to drop on target. The Canadians live to fight another day.

Well, what if the plane was a good old B52? The Canadians wouldn't have AA
capable of reaching it, and its massive payload (unmatched by any stealth
plane) would ensure news of the atrocity reached no-one...

> > (All modern bombers have more or less stealth capabilities using radar
> > absorbing materials. But I believe what is meant here by "stealth bomber"
> > are planes especially built to evade detection by radar.)
> >
> > I am not aware of any existing stealth air superiority fighters. They
> > don't really make that much sense.
>
> All new fighters are stealth apparently, in that they have radar absorbing
> coverings etc. JSF, the Eurofighter etc etc.

So you don't agree with my distinction between some-stealth-added and
built-for-stealth? Compare the B2 and a B52, or the F117 and the JSF. You
notice how the former are built in a very special way to deflect radar,
while the latter are built in a conventional way but uses some tricks to
achieve a bit of the same effect. However, radar absorbing materials alone
is _nowhere_ as stealthy as a specially built stealth airplane, and modern
radars will track the latter without much problem.

Also, the JSF isn't an air superiority fighter. It is a fighter-bomber.

> > As I said above, I don't see any reason for having Stealth Fighter as a
> > unit. The big change came with jet engines, not stealth tech.
>
> I agree. So you want to introduce Jet Engines/Propeller etc?

The problem is the short amount of time (historically) between early
aircraft and jet engines (and also rockets)... maybe we should just skip
ahead to the next revolution in military avionics: Unmanned fighters?

Yours,
Per

"If the Nuremberg laws were applied today, then every
Post-War American president would have to be hanged."
 - Noam Chomsky