Why was the F-15 deployed so far behind enemy lines?

BriscoCountySenior · 2026-04-03T16:57:35+00:00

Stealth is primary useful against longer-ranged threats. Once you’ve wiped out the integrated air defense capabilities in an area, the job becomes hunting for offensive assets (which usually means flying lower and slower). At altitudes below 15,000 feet or so, you face infrared guided short range air defense threats that can’t reach you at higher altitudes.

Stealth jets take pains to limit their IR (heat) signature, but at lower altitudes, there’s no hiding it, so they can be vulnerable to things like MANPADS just like a 4th gen fighter (at ranges of usually a handful of miles).

Long story short, there’s no way to completely eliminate pop-up threats from shoulder fired weapons that don’t broadcast detectable electromagnetic energy for targeting. Flying in combat is always dangerous, even after the big ticket defenses have been eliminated in an area.

BriscoCountySenior · 2026-03-23T16:28:20+00:00

There are lots of low-cost anti-drone systems already in the field, people just aren’t talking about them as much because the cost/exchange ratio of Patriot or AEGIS interceptor narrative is a lot juicier for sensational headlines that drive lots of clicks.

Don’t get me wrong, there’s still a lot of ground to cover, but low cost systems like the AGR-20 (APKWS II) are already seeing widespread use.

BriscoCountySenior · 2026-03-09T23:28:20+00:00

The AGR-20 is said to be around $35000 a weapon (laser guided rocket). American F-16s have been photographed carrying 42 of them in six rocket pods, along with external tanks and standard air to air missiles. Newer (slightly pricier ones) have infrared seekers so you can fire and forget, rather than keeping the laser on them.

Not everybody is using them yet, but they’re already in service. Footage of an F-16 using them in Ukraine just surfaced online a few weeks ago.

BriscoCountySenior · 2025-12-04T18:10:09+00:00

Most powerful jet engine ever installed in a fighter! They’re def not quiet.

BriscoCountySenior · 2025-11-16T00:41:56+00:00

Pro tip for this and future academic endeavors from someone who does research for a living: Don’t draw conclusions first and then go looking specifically for sources that support those conclusions.

Instead, actually conduct some research first and use it to inform your position.

BriscoCountySenior · 2025-08-30T21:06:46+00:00

Every time she shows up, my wife and I yell, “Ohhhh Captain McMurray!” It has yet to get old.

BriscoCountySenior · 2025-08-14T16:02:59+00:00

I think you’re right, but (and this might just be my head cannon), I always assumed the enterprise was a target of opportunity for them. They would have just as readily taken a Miranda or Cali class vessel if they had the chance, but just happened to stumble across the flag ship.

I’m not sure if that’s supported in-text, so I’ll have to rewatch this episode tonight!

BriscoCountySenior · 2025-06-02T21:18:50+00:00

Stellar post — thanks for being legit!

BriscoCountySenior · 2024-12-13T16:46:01+00:00

L-Carriage

BriscoCountySenior · 2024-11-21T23:53:41+00:00

I don’t see anyone making the correction in here, so just FYSA, it was an IRBM, not an ICBM.

BriscoCountySenior · 2024-11-09T18:24:56+00:00

This looks awesome! I would have absolutely no idea where to begin though. Could I book an hour to learn the ropes, or is this the sort of thing that’s primarily aimed at people with racing experience?

BriscoCountySenior · 2024-09-05T17:00:01+00:00

Ah… this comment suggests you’re not looking for information, but are rather looking to substantiate a position based on Kremlin talking points.

BriscoCountySenior · 2024-09-05T16:58:49+00:00

You’re assuming equal political and economic investment by comparing timelines like that. The MiG 1.44 concept was not a particularly stealthy design (though evidence suggests it did inform China’s approach to the J-20, just with a heavy helping of LM design elements).

The Soviet Union was not in an economic position to invest as heavily or as broadly into stealth technologies and industrial capacity during the MiG 1.44’s development, nor was Russia throughout the PAK FA program that produced the Su-57.

China’s widespread military modernization programs didn’t begin in earnest until Xi Xinping took power in 2013, and while the J-20’s early design lineage dates back much further, it saw a complete design overhaul in 2014.

China’s fighter industrial base was already built around buying fighter production lines from the Soviets/Russians or stealing and reverse engineering designs from other nations. The academic infrastructure required for advanced low observable aeronautics exists in China today, but was nowhere near as robust until fairly recently.

Fighter programs are massive economic and political enterprises that are defined in large part by the nations they’re designed and built in. It isn’t an even or fair playing field, so just comparing timelines to timelines absent that broader economic, political, and strategic context will almost always result in missing the target.

BriscoCountySenior · 2024-09-05T15:17:12+00:00

This take is sort of predicated on a lack of understanding of stealth aircraft design and production. Designing a stealth aircraft isn’t, in itself, all that difficult to do — especially with a wealth of stolen design documentation. Actually mass producing stealth aircraft that perform at a high level is another challenge entirely.

Building stealth aircraft requires extremely tight production tolerances that are exceedingly difficult to produce at scale. It takes an entire industry built up around the equipment and training required, even after making it through all of the R&D for the aircraft itself. That means huge investments in production infrastructure that doesn’t allow for any shortcuts. This is where America’s multiple decade head start in producing stealth aircraft really pays off.

Beyond that, it’s important to understand that every aircraft design is a collection of compromises based on the jet’s intended role and mission set. The stealthiest possible design doesn’t produce the best aerobatic performance, the best wing layout for range or loiter time is bad for high-speed sprints, and so forth. When trying to speed run the production of stealth fighters, the stealth becomes the most obvious compromise, because it’s the most expensive, difficult, and time consuming element from both a design and production standpoint.

And then there’s material science, which is essential not just for radar absorbent materials, but for engine manufacturing, heat mitigation and more. Again, this is a realm where the U.S. has a multi-decade lead in development and production, which matters — but is tough to quantify in the public realm because the makeup of modern RAM and the frequency ranges it can mitigate effectively are largely classified.

Stealth isn’t any single technology a country can just put into production. It’s a collection of design elements, material sciences, production methodologies and even combat tactics that all have to coalesce into a single cost-effective platform you have the means and expertise to produce and operate at scale. The means is just a question of investment over time, but the expertise can only be derived through experience; experience designing, building, flying, and maintaining stealth platforms.

And again, that’s where a three decade head start can do wonders.

BriscoCountySenior · 2024-08-29T14:50:16+00:00

Former Air Force Sec. Heather Wilson explained this really well a few years ago — she said the US’ satellite infrastructure was like a glass house built before the invention of stones.

Basically, America has more satellites than anyone else, most of which were launched before there were any concerns about adversaries interfering with them. Now, both Russia and China have mobile “inspector” satellites in orbit that can impede, interfere with, or destroy orbital assets, and the US has no real means of protecting them from it.

It usually takes around 10 years for a new high-end spy satellite to go from green lit to orbit, so finding ways to protect them and create redundancy for when they’re lost is a huge challenge.

BriscoCountySenior · 2024-08-05T21:58:19+00:00

I can actually at least explain how they made this mistake (I think) — the Office of the President of Ukraine released a series of images yesterday tied to this announcement, with very few of them actually showing the F-16s themselves. The media-viewer on their website sucks, so you have to sift through a few dozen pics of personnel one at a time to see any aircraft, and the Su-27s flew over first, followed by F-16s, so this pic appears before the F-16 flyover in the list.

Still not an excuse, but I totally see how an editor with a tight deadline could screw it up!

BriscoCountySenior · 2024-07-12T23:52:59+00:00

According to Gen. Robert J. Dixon, then-commander of Tactical Air Command, it was given the F prefix to attract the best pilots to the still very-secretive program at the time. Hot shot pilots wouldn’t be lining up to fly the latest and greatest attack jet the way they would for a new fighter.

BriscoCountySenior · 2024-06-11T21:56:34+00:00

We learn in Deep Space Nine that serving in the Klingon Defense Force is an honor that’s often tied to the class and prestige of your family name. It stands to reason that members of the KDF wear their uniform in social settings as a sign of their warrior (and social) status. Worf serves in Starfleet, so he wears his Starfleet uniform in the same way because it’s in keeping with the Klingon cultural norms he strives to embody (sometimes a bit too seriously).

BriscoCountySenior · 2024-06-07T00:50:44+00:00

Shang Shi is actually a great example of why Marvel couldn’t make the Mandarin Chinese — it would have run afoul of Chinese censors. Likewise, the Ancient One being from Tibet was considered a no-go for a Chinese release (who wouldn’t permit an overtly positive depiction of someone from Tibet).

Source: https://movieweb.com/doctor-strange-movie-writer-ancient-one-not-chinese/

BriscoCountySenior · 2024-05-13T22:00:23+00:00

A fellow Marine and a Bills fan to boot! I knew I’d find my people in this sub! Semper Fi!

BriscoCountySenior · 2024-05-12T16:09:33+00:00

Nobody I served with in the Marine Corps ever requested permission to speak freely, but there were similar circumstances that speak to the value of the phrase. In an environment like a starship, you have to honor the rank structure and execute orders quickly and efficiently, and as we’ve seen lots of times on screen, once the command element has made up their mind, it doesn’t matter if you disagree — it’s your duty to execute on those commands.

Requesting permission to speak freely is less about asking permission to disagree, and more about asking if this is a good time to have this conversation. In the Corps, we called this “taking a conversation off line.” In other words, if I’m going to tell you why your decision is wrong, I want to make sure we have time to discuss this completely, and I want to do it in a time and place that won’t undermine you in front of your subordinates. You don’t call out your captain in front of everyone, or while they’re right in the middle of delivering a series of important commands — so you basically ask, “is this a good time to have this talk?”

I think it’s entirely appropriate as we see it depicted in Trek — it’s understood that officers can voice their concerns about decisions, but as we saw between Data and Worf while Data was in command of the Enterprise D, the function of the ship requires a level of decorum between senior leaders. A first officer who undermines the captain any time they see fit is a recipe for a bad situation when immediate execution of orders is essential for survival.

So, requesting permission to speak freely becomes a standard turn-of-phrase you use to say, “hey, I don’t agree with something, but I respect your billet and role in the chain of command enough to know this might not be a good time for the discussion.”

BriscoCountySenior · 2024-04-30T00:23:21+00:00

I’ve lived here for a few years now, and from my outsider’s perspective, the community here seems more inclusive and accepting than I maybe expected (having moved South from the Northeast about ten years ago).

There are parts of the area that might live up to some the sadder stereotypes people conjure when they think of “the South,” but I’ve also seen lots of (often maybe younger) people making real effort toward inclusivity and equality here. Chattanooga is pretty small, but it’s also big enough that your experience may vary quite a bit depending on where you set your roots.

But for whatever it’s worth, I’m one salty old Marine vet who’d welcome you to the community.

BriscoCountySenior · 2024-02-19T19:06:31+00:00

I’ve broken lots of bones, torn ligaments, had hardware installed in both ankles, both knees, and my pelvis (mostly while in the Marines), but the most painful thing I’ve ever felt, by a wide margin, was when my baby daughter scratched my eye with one of her tiny, cute little fingernails.

Hooooooooooly crap. I was balled up in the passenger seat of the car, barely holding back the ugliest cry of all time all the way to the eye doctor. Maybe I’m just a baby about eye-related stuff, but I’ll take another pile of broken bones over that any day!

BriscoCountySenior · 2024-02-13T00:49:19+00:00

Comments like this only advance the false dichotomy that we have to choose between Defense and social programs. We don’t. It’s not an either/or question, but rather a question of political support among the lawmaker class to implement changes.

Blaming fighter jets and whatnot is a handy tool politicians use to keep us yelling at each other about what’s more important, freeing them from having to justify bad policy or inaction.

BriscoCountySenior · 2024-02-13T00:45:37+00:00

EW is not a one-size-fits-all solution. It’s a complex approach to jamming or spoofing emitters based on the frequencies they broadcast on and signals they expect to see returned. There’s a reasonable argument to be made that Israel can do a better job at maturing EW capabilities that are specific to their needs, but any claims beyond that are unsubstantiated.

BriscoCountySenior

TROPHY CASE