Current US Military

[Smitty-48]

We got drones for strikes. CIA drones, army drones, marine drones, errrbody got drones.

all of which actually require Air Supremacy to be established first before you can use them

For which we have SAM batteries.

air defense is defense over your own forces, it doesn't extend out over enemy airspace to allow a drone to operate in there

[Smitty-48]

there are different types of drones mind you

you can launch loitering sub munitions into enemy airspace, like artillery which circles, finds its target, then strikes

but to have a Reaper sit up there and be persistent, you need Air Supremacy, otherwise it is easily shot down

[SuburbanFarmer]

there are different types of drones mind you

you can launch loitering sub munitions into enemy airspace, like artillery which circles, finds its target, then strikes

but to have a Reaper sit up there and be persistent, you need Air Supremacy, otherwise it is easily shot down

I can send a dozen reapers against your Sam sites for the cost of a jet+pilot. No need for a jockey at all.

[Smitty-48]

there are different types of drones mind you

you can launch loitering sub munitions into enemy airspace, like artillery which circles, finds its target, then strikes

but to have a Reaper sit up there and be persistent, you need Air Supremacy, otherwise it is easily shot down

I can send a dozen reapers against your Sam sites for the cost of a jet+pilot. No need for a jockey at all.

the Reaper is propeller plane, it's a sitting duck, you can't send it against any air defenses, it's gonna get shot down easily

the Reaper is a COIN platform, good for fighting insurgents, useless against anything above that

[SuburbanFarmer]

there are different types of drones mind you

you can launch loitering sub munitions into enemy airspace, like artillery which circles, finds its target, then strikes

but to have a Reaper sit up there and be persistent, you need Air Supremacy, otherwise it is easily shot down

I can send a dozen reapers against your Sam sites for the cost of a jet+pilot. No need for a jockey at all.

the Reaper is propeller plane, it's a sitting duck, you can't send it against any air defenses, it's gonna get shot down easily

the Reaper is a COIN platform, good for fighting insurgents, useless against anything above that

Not being an expert, I’d imagine that the missile itself does 90% of the work. I can sneak my prop plane anywhere I like.
I don’t need a billion-dollar masterpiece to deliver it, and I don’t think I’m avoiding SAM fire by going 600mph instead of 300mph.

[Smitty-48]

I can send a dozen reapers against your Sam sites for the cost of a jet+pilot. No need for a jockey at all.

the Reaper is propeller plane, it's a sitting duck, you can't send it against any air defenses, it's gonna get shot down easily

the Reaper is a COIN platform, good for fighting insurgents, useless against anything above that

Not being an expert, I’d imagine that the missile itself does 90% of the work. I can sneak my prop plane anywhere I like.
I don’t need a billion-dollar masterpiece to deliver it, and I don’t think I’m avoiding SAM fire by going 600mph instead of 300mph.

no

the Reaper is a sitting duck, it's only good for imperial policing against goat farmers

[SuburbanFarmer]

the Reaper is propeller plane, it's a sitting duck, you can't send it against any air defenses, it's gonna get shot down easily

the Reaper is a COIN platform, good for fighting insurgents, useless against anything above that

Not being an expert, I’d imagine that the missile itself does 90% of the work. I can sneak my prop plane anywhere I like.
I don’t need a billion-dollar masterpiece to deliver it, and I don’t think I’m avoiding SAM fire by going 600mph instead of 300mph.

no

the Reaper is a sitting duck, it's only good for imperial policing against goat farmers

Serious question - what can I do with a jet that I can’t do with a reaper? Same weapon, doing the same thing, better stealth.

[Smitty-48]

Not being an expert, I’d imagine that the missile itself does 90% of the work. I can sneak my prop plane anywhere I like.
I don’t need a billion-dollar masterpiece to deliver it, and I don’t think I’m avoiding SAM fire by going 600mph instead of 300mph.

no

the Reaper is a sitting duck, it's only good for imperial policing against goat farmers

Serious question - what can I do with a jet that I can’t do with a reaper? Same weapon, doing the same thing, better stealth.

ca'mom, bro, get serious

every first grader in America knows the answer to that question by now

[DBTrek]

The air superiority is the after-effect of being able to down everything.

no

there's Air Denial, then Air Parity, then Air Superiority, then Air Supremacy

Air Superiority doesn't down everything, it just means you have the initiative to go offensive

F-22 adds another niche, Air Dominance, which is to operate offensively without gaining Air Superiority, by leveraging Stealth

Sounds like a buncha wikipedia nerd shit to me, but ok.

Whatever the case, if you can't fly in the airspace, and I can fly whatever I want, I'd call it air superiority.
And anyone wishing to disagree with the terminology would be beaned by a rock hurled from a hot air balloon, and won't be able to do dick about it.

[SuburbanFarmer]

no

the Reaper is a sitting duck, it's only good for imperial policing against goat farmers

Serious question - what can I do with a jet that I can’t do with a reaper? Same weapon, doing the same thing, better stealth.

ca'mom, bro, get serious

every first grader in America knows the answer to that question by now

Don’t you point at Top Gun. No longer relevant.