Re: “…after all Boeing still believe that avoiding CFIT shouldn't be limited by FCS whereas Airbus firmly believe that the aircraft should never be allowed to pull more than 2.5G regardless of the severity of the situation. Surely military aircraft should follow the Boeing lead?”
The history of the Boeing - Airbus difference is probably hidden in the marketing strategies of each manufacturer, but the design philosophies are much more evenly balanced. Airbus would argue that even with a late EGPWS warning you would not require more than the limiting FCS input to recover the aircraft; I doubt that Boeing would contradict that view, but in other circumstances there could be an advantage.
See the ALPA discussion
‘pilot authority and aircraft protections’
Perhaps there should be more focus on the human. Does the design philosophy affect the way in which the aircraft is flown?
Would Boeing pilots take more risks because they think that they have more control capability?
Are Airbus pilots more watchful as they believe that they may not have sufficient control capability?
I suggest that both points of view are true and also false; the issue is with human perception. Few line pilots really understand the design philosophies and the associated aerodynamic variables; instead they focus on specific situations that are central to the perceived hazard.
Boeing pilots could be mistaken about the ‘excess’ control capability available, as in many circumstances there is none. Conversely Airbus pilots falsely believe that they can fly the aircraft to its limit without thought of the consequences – Habshiem accident.
The hazard with either design is in human judgement; pilots believing that they can achieve a manoeuvre whereas they cannot. Is this the phenomenon that we have seen in recent military incidents? Or are they like many civil accidents, just errors of judgement, human fallibility? If the latter, then a carefree FCS will do little more to help, but technologies that monitor the overall aircraft capability and detect crew error might improve safety, EGPWS is a good example.
For me Airbus has the edge, not for their FCS philosophy, but for their better understanding of the capabilities and limitations of today’s pilots in the current aviation system; we all require much more protection from ourselves than ever before.