Icare9
Once again the ‘quantity vs quality’ argument raises its head. If ever it were to find a spiritual home this thread would be it.
I know I’m wasting my time but I’ll highlight a couple of points.
You’re correct that missile technology is a key factor nowadays. If (big if) you can guarantee a ‘bigger stick’ than the opposition then you are kind of correct that the delivery platform doesn’t matter so much.
The launch conditions of your missile are quite important though. The higher and faster you are at launch, the better the range of your missile.
Launching a missile from a Gnat (I’m sorry to say this but I would never be able to take that suggestion seriously, maybe because of the Hot Shots movie) would severely limit your missile range.
Secondly you mentioned having the agility to out-manoeuvre the opposition. Exactly what opposition do you imagine you could outperform in a Gnat? Even one with an engine bigger than the aeroplane itself?!
Finally you must consider what you want to do with your ‘Super Gnat’. If it is for UK defence and the missile is all you need then build a SAM system. If you want that platform to cross a border into somewhere with SAMs and fighters of it’s own then good luck finding the volunteers to go to war in Topper Harley’s finest.
Instead of wistfully remembering the days when we had thousands of aircraft and thinking how that would be great nowadays you must consider what you want to do with them.
As much as you may love Spitfires/Meteors/Hunters/Gnats they would be utterly useless in a modern conflict or defence of the UK in virtually any sensible scenario.
It’s not that those aircraft weren’t great in their day but, as we upgraded and embraced newer technologies, so did everyone else.
If we really thought the Russians were going to send an airborne armada of Mig 15s our way then maybe we would need more aircraft. I still wouldn’t want that to be Gnats though. Or Hunters. Or...
BV
I just thought that maybe I should answer the question before I go.
If you want to know which aircraft I would like to see fly again purely for sentimental reasons then it shouldn’t surprise you to know it’d be the Jaguar.
If you want to know which aircraft I would bring back for operational reasons then I’d say none of them. They have all been superseded. That’s called progress.
Last edited by Bob Viking; 11th Nov 2020 at 03:31.