Yeah and since then missiles have improved shitloads. Vietnam was almost 50 years ago now. Things change, radar has improved and they can id targets out of visual range now.
Yes theres a use for cannons, the use is a last resort when things have gone pear shaped. And even then the pilots would have a hard time hitting much. The future is shown in the f-22, it carrys a vulcan but only with 480 rounds. which is enough for about 5 seconds of sustained fire. If youve been reduced to even thinking of using a cannon these days youve seriously screwed up.
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still has the leather hat and pipe get-up on because quite frankly it looks becoming of a gentleman
Everything you've said, my old little tinkerbell is exactly what the pencil pushers back at the drawing boards said back in those heady 1960's.
Thing's haven't really changed. Sure, the F-22 carries a fairly minimal ammo load for it's cannon but it still gives up a MASSIVE amount of space and weight for the actual multiple barreled-high tech death machine that fires these rounds in the first place.
If it were really unnecessary, surely they'd free the space up for a set of golf clubs and an esky, no?
As for "smart" missiles and all that shite. Missiles fly towards their targets at a shiteload of speed. Mach 4+ if i'm led to believe. That doesn't really give them much of a turning circle and they tend to head straight towards whatever their RADAR or heat-seeking sensors will tell them which is fine if for the fact that RADAR can be easily confused with ticker-tape, tin-foil or funky radarjamming and Heat-Seekers get easily distracted by high-intensity flares, schoolboy uniforms, Gibson SG guitars and flat-caps.
Fair enough, at the moment NATO/USAF/RAF/RAAF are fighting the most ridiculously one-sided air-superiority battle since those annoying kids got that massive golden eagle in the '80's cartoon series "Cities of Gold" and used it to bombard the Spanish Conquistadors, but if they were to come up against the Chinese, for instance. They'd be fucked!
Most Western countries hold fast to the "Quality not Quantity" rule which is why you'd spend a bazillion dollars on one aircraft and it's payload of Gucci air-air missiles. However, folk like the Chinese hold fast to Joe Stalin's (allegedly) counter that quantity has a quality all of it's own. Basically. You put 10 F-22's in the air with maybe 4 medium range missiles apiece and a further 4 short range missiles (all up 80 missiles) against 80 Chinese fighters, You'll come up with maybe 20 or so who are still flying after the missile barrage and who are willing to take it toe-to-toe!
Meh. F*** it. If this new-fangled Chinese J-20 Stealth Fighter/F-22-rip-off acts like it's supposed to and is put in the equation then your missiles are f***ing useless anyway! The F-22 is a demon for avoiding radar and heat-seeking lock and it won't be long before people start catching up.
Also an air to air missile costs anywhere up to $1,000,000 bucks and can only be used once and a plane can only carry about half a dozen of them whereas cannon shells cost about the same as stubbies of Melbourne Bitter (and strangely taste the same) and fighter jets can carry hundreds of the fuckers. It makes sense to me...
Anyway, chocks away old bean and smoke me a kipper, skipper, I'll be back before breakfast!
[video=youtube;EWjjBdPB3ts]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWjjBdPB3ts&feature=fvst[/video]
