Honestly I just look at it and think of it as just another fun show to watch. It isn't bad nor anything really special. You have to go in and suspend belief to actually enjoy it some. Worth paying the subscription for this alone? No, but if you already are subscribed and just want something Halo with a story then it's okay.
@Poidad: Honestly I felt in the last season of Discovery it started to find its place. It took far longer than it should have. Took 1-2 seasons for TNG and that in my opinion is the pinnacle of Star Trek. but I actually started to enjoy it rather than force my way through it just because it is Star Trek. I believe it's just because they set itself apart from the timelines we know so it can discover (Pun intended) something entirely new rather than forcing its way into what has already been established.
But yea Strange New Worlds is amazing. I really am getting the feeling of the older Star Treks mixed with modern day serial shows. It still has its slice of life to it, but follows a progression each and every episode.
Critic reviews are only there for a good laugh. Unless something gets review bombed for reasons not related to the movie's story, characters, etc then the user reviews are all that matter.
@tread33: Oh yea, I completely agree about what our budget is and then going for the most cost saving thing. Especially when it comes to a more limited type of aircraft used by the navy rather than something like the F-16 which is produced in far more numbers. I will definitely defer to those who are more knowledgeable as well, just sharing my opinion on it as I feel it is kind of like the F-22 program. Designed for the Cold War but no longer needed in the post-Cold War period. Was a bit overkill any at the time and even now still incredible. Even the Russians and the SU-57 T-14, etc isn't as much of a threat as it is made to be due to its overstated abilities and low production numbers. Still a scary thing though nor should we dismiss it.
Hell we fund competitions and end up doing nothing with what comes from them. I get the research that comes from even the competitions will excel further developments, but what we throw at them could be easily given to actually buying platforms that are superior without needing to increase the budget if handle properly. If our defense budget is so high at the very least put it toward buying more units rather than just not buy anything and waste the money that could be used elsewhere. We don't need to race to 6th gen fighters when most countries can hardly get a 5th gen fighter nor produce them in any large capacity like we can.
But you are definitely right. A full scale war amongst countries that are our peers like China or Russia we will need better. What we have works fine and will perform its duty, but we do leave weakness when we can go for better that doesn't have or at least mitigates that weakness. Those weaknesses left because we went for cost efficiency instead of superior performance may end up being costly for us if something does happen.
Don't get me wrong on my initial post. I wasn't saying we shouldn't evolve nor that the replacements were perfectly fine for a conflict such as what I mentioned above, more so that with the low threat at the time didn't necessitate it. Which is why I'm happy that the F-35 project kept going, the thing is incredible despite its early history being problematic (But wasn't as bad as what everyone though. The media just made it look like some unique problem). It really shows we can spend a lot to begin with for advanced technology and end up making it very cost efficient if not cheaper than even the technology that performs worse than it.
Please don't mention the Littorals. Those things make me face palm so hard lol
I appreciate your response and definitely learned from it. I like having a discussion rather than what often times come from replies like mine (Sometimes fanboyism or I come off differently than what I intended). I definitely am not a knowitall, just an IT guy who likes to learn stuff like this. I've thoroughly enjoyed this information.
As a fellow Trekkie I'll say the same to you. Live long and prosper.
Sounds promising. Rather enjoyed the original. Most of the entertainment was probably from the Tomcat being the feature of the film. Could have been 95% volleyball and would have rated it 5 stars because of the Tomcat lol
@tread33: The Tomcat is my favorite aircraft in existence, but it most certainly was not a mistake to retire it. Grumman was already looking at replacing it with Super Tomcat when Congress was considering renewing the contract with Grumman or replacing it with another aircraft. The primary purpose of the Tomcat was no longer needed with the APG-71 radar and AIM-54 Phoenixes for taking out bombers, the end of the Cold War pretty much nullified that need. The radar system was superior in terms of range to what the F/A-18 currently uses, but the Navy doesn't need an aircraft that can look well over 100NM with what we need now. The fleet itself has more powerful radar alongside aircraft such as the Hawkeye which does incorporate with the Super Hornet's datalink (Same with the Tomcat's datalink).
Getting off sensors as most could be upgraded all the same (Such as the old LANTIRN pods being replaced with SNIPER, addition of MFCDs which also were, etc) the other capabilities of the F/A-18 such as multirole is more than enough in the role of ground attacking. The Tomcat does have it beat when it comes to high speed engagements and in closing on targets, but the advantage in high speed BFM (Low speed the Super Hornet has it beat, but energy retainment is the name of the game though) is not so significant to warrant them staying in service nor is it enough to guarantee a win against the F/A-18. Tomcat had the Super Hornet beat, but again due to what was needed this isn't a major concern considering it was enough for its mission and mid air refueling was possible without threat.
When speaking of weapon systems the need for Phoenixes was no longer there so the loadouts would be adjusted to have the AIM-120D (Also significantly cheaper than the Phoenix as well as more effective against smaller aircraft) as a replacement for the Phoenix which are already used by the F/A-18. It may be able to carry more if they went that route (There was testing done on it though), but there is no need and in all likelihood overkill. Hell the Super Tomcat planned to ditch the Phoenixes as the AIM-120D was already encroaching upon the Phoenix's range.
On the economic side we have the F-14 being a very maintenance heavy aircraft coming in at a significantly higher cost unlike the F/A-18 which is the opposite in both regards.
Some systems the F-14 were missing such as the Fly-By-Wire system that the F/A-18 enjoys would require an overhaul to add in (Such as the Proposed Super Tomcat). This doesn't grant superior performance, but it prevents less mistakes, easier to fly, and overall less dangerous.
Essentially, the F-14 is very capable and has its advantages, but it isn't some invincible aircraft nor significantly better outside its own radar capabilities and range than the F/A-18. It was no longer needed, not as reliable, and far too expensive. Hell the F-35 is far cheaper than even what it would take to manufacture an F-14 today. However, if they went with the Super Tomcat you bet it would be superior, but there just aren't enough details on what price per unit may have been nor what it would cost to redesign an existing D variant.
Too many what ifs to judge if the Super Tomcat and later would have been worth it considering the developments coming from the F-35 may already be pushing up the time on when we may see the Super Hornet's replacement (Would probably be working with the Super Hornet for awhile though).
Lord this was a type and a half, but fun. Just a PITA to type during work. Probably left some mistakes in there, but oh well lol
Fake planes always have been used that "tricked" many countries before. Pretty much everything is taken as a threat until we know for sure what it is. Just look at the Qaher-313. There was definitely a fear that it was real until we saw actual footage and photographs that it was just a paper plane. But like everything you have to take it seriously, even if when you think about it Iran may only be able to produce something that would probably be on par with their aging F-14 fleet (If even that, and those are old A models without functioning Phoenixes. They may have some "upgrades" from countries like Russia, but I doubt they'd be even close to the D variant and that is something).
This shouldn't be of some surprise nor disparaging to Chinese intelligence. No, I'm not taking their side, this is just a clickbait article.
I don't understand why it is such a problem for people to wear the safety straps. Might take you 5 more seconds to slide them onto the remotes, but don't really see any other downside to it (Not to mention preventing this lol). But I guess as always it does provide a little chuckle to watch others not do so.
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