maus92 wrote:ricnunes wrote:maus92 wrote:The center fuel tank can be jettisoned, whether or not an IRST is installed. But that tank is never jettisoned except in an emergency.
And guess what?? Just like any other external fuel tank! Or do you believe that any external fuel tank is jettisoned "lightly"?
ANY and EVERY external fuel tank is ONLY jettisoned in emergency situations (It doesn't matter if it has IRSTs attached or not)! External fuel tanks - even the ones that only carry fuel - still costs money (and are relatively expensive) and as such they are always available in limited numbers.
So, the point still remains:
Are you going to jettison an expensive and above all, "sensitive" piece of equipment (IRST) even in an emergency situation just because it is attached to an external fuel tank?
Even if the answer is a yes - That's PLAIN STUPID nonetheless!
maus92 wrote:The tank can also be swapped with / to other Super Hornets as deployments dictate, as it was with the TCS on the F-14As.
And?? Does this make this arrangement less stupid?
I guess cost effectiveness is stupid to fanboys.
Precisely and probably for the first time I actually agree with you!
There are (SH) fanboys out there (such as YOU) who thinks that the Super Hornet is much less expensive than the F-35 despite being proven over and over again that the Super Hornet is just as expensive as a F-35 while the F-35 is far more effective. Yes for some reason these some fanboys (such as YOU) are so fanatic that don't understand the concept of "cost effectiveness" - The F-35 being far more effective but costing almost the same what does it makes it? The answer is: "more cost effective" - It seems that the "cost effectiveness" concept is completely ALIEN to some fanboys (such as YOU).
Moreover, those same fanboys (such as YOU) seem to believe that hanging an IRST in the tip of an external fuel tank is a effective way (not only cost effective but effective as a whole) compared to embedding it internally on the aircraft's airframe...
So it seems that it's you who does not doesn't understand the "stupid" concept of "cost effectiveness" neither the concept of "effectiveness in general".
P.S. - It's funny that YOU come here accusing others of being fanboys - You don't have mirrors at home, right??
Look, I said this to you in the past and I'll repeat it not: I used (and I still am) a Super Hornet fan - But trying to compare the Super Hornet to the F-35 in terms of cost effectiveness and effectiveness as a whole is just plain pathetic!!
I learned my lessons in the past when I believed that the Super Hornet had a fighting against for example the F-22. But I learned how wrong I was - You should do the same!
And so, why on Earth are you here if you're not willing to learn?? I guess that this alone not only makes you a (Super Hornet) fanboy but a troll as well