Ask anything Thread (Air Force)
- Thread starter Jeff Head
- Start date
Actually, increasingly the line between spy planes and spy satellite constellations is getting blurred. And I'm not talking from the last 10 or 20 years ago. But literally just during last several years we're seeing massive number of satellites going up. Radar based sensors are getting launched by the dozens per year. Even commercial companies are launching SAR satellites and offering their products. We're at below 1 m of resolution for such SAR satellites. And US DoD signed contracts with such companies. IceEye for one.
The US has launched demo sats to test technology to do ground movement target indicator capability from space. Actual active duty GMTI satellite constellation may start being launched as early as this year. As there are secret NROL launches scheduled of a novel satellite class for which the DoD declined to say whether those are GMTI satellies.
So... when you have literally hundreds of satellites in orbit, when those satellite can retask their cameras and sensors and point them off nadir - then you can have literally uninterrupted 24/7 view of an area.
While we're not QUITE yet at the point where there are enough satellites to fully replace RQ-180, U-2 and other recon planes - we are getting very close to said point. We may be literally just a few years away from it.
Hello, I'm interested in how China has changed their training towards a more self-sufficient model with pilots (I hesitate to say "western") are there any books or articles on the topic?
Thanks.
Thanks.
A CASI report was published, the author of the report, Derek Solen, said that the PLAAF had three problems with its fighter pilot training program. First, the program was too long; second, it lacked an advanced training aircraft that matched the capabilities of its latest fighters; and third, the program did not prepare these pilots for combat. As such, the PLAAF had begun implementing a new training curriculum for its fighter pilots.
The PLAAF took steps to shorten its training program, cutting it from ten years to seven or eight.
The introduction of the Hongdu JL-10 (L-15) jet into service at the Shijiazhuang flight academy also allowed for the elimination of the intermediate flight training phase. This may have shortened the training program by a year.
Lastly, it added improvised air-to-air combat to the training curriculum and students can now launch live munitions for air-to-surface attack training.
From what has been described, it would be perfectly possible to deduce that the PLAAF's fighter training was very similar to the USAF's training in the early 1960s. So only now - as of 2021 - have they started to train like a modern air force. Even smaller Air Forces had better formations than that and without a fraction of the resources that the Chinese have, which was surprising.
Now, with the elimination of the intermediate flight training phase, the PLAAF is doing the same as the USAF. It is testing pilots to go straight from the T-6 Texan, switch to the simulator and go to the F-35. The person who said this is an F-35 pilot himself who has a YouTube channel: Hasard Lee
Furthermore, the report stated that the PLAAF continued to retain top graduates to serve as flight instructors for the academy, rather than taking these top pilots to operational PLAAF units.
I don't remember the report and I don't even have it saved, but after researching a little I found these two:
Awesome! thanks. Is there any information on Red/Blue Sword as well or any suggestions of where I should look for it.
Hello @Deino have you got time to check there data you have about H-6K bomber length ?
I won't know how to answer that, I've read very little about the Red Flag equivalent of the PLAAF.