Commanche RIP
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 573
Likes: 0
From: uk
Not too many voters in UK are fans of Bush and Blair for obvious reasons. However I can see that Bush will do himself good by cancelling such a money wasting project.
Oh, oh, I can already feel the knives in my back but those in the Commanche project have done themselves no favours and have greased their own palms to boot.
So why gripe?
If the Commanche program was so wonderful and so technically advanced then why has it taken so long to perfect.
The most likely reason is that it has certainly become a dinosaur by default.
Wrong technology at the wrong time.
The Osprey will follow too be sure. Why? Because the military work on the KISS system.
Oh, oh, I can already feel the knives in my back but those in the Commanche project have done themselves no favours and have greased their own palms to boot.
So why gripe?
If the Commanche program was so wonderful and so technically advanced then why has it taken so long to perfect.
The most likely reason is that it has certainly become a dinosaur by default.
Wrong technology at the wrong time.
The Osprey will follow too be sure. Why? Because the military work on the KISS system.
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 325
Likes: 0
From: Australia
Hey Nick.....
Don't rise to the sharp jabs......
It was an impressive program on the Discovery Channel regarding the Commanche.......
And what ever you do, never ring me after midnight again....especially after a nice bottle of Red!!!!
It was an impressive program on the Discovery Channel regarding the Commanche.......
And what ever you do, never ring me after midnight again....especially after a nice bottle of Red!!!!
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 166
Likes: 0
From: N2832W8100
Looking at the news tonight and watching the Apaches snooping around Fallujah, wonder if this would be an ideal role for the commanche?
A quieter less agressive and imposing looking twin engined machine more suited to reconnasaince day and night seems to be what is needed in that situation, not an expert, just an armchair general.
A quieter less agressive and imposing looking twin engined machine more suited to reconnasaince day and night seems to be what is needed in that situation, not an expert, just an armchair general.
Joined: Jun 1999
Posts: 146
Likes: 0
From: Norwich, CT USA
Its not the first time nor will it be the last time a weapons program has been canceled. The Army is not going to be fighting on the plains of Hess, or the Fulda Gap. Nor is it going to go to the Gates of Moscow, like the Germans once tried. No the US Army is going to be engaged in battle with piss ants. So the Army's helicopter needs will be dictated by what the threat is and how best to meet that threat. Right now, the Army and Marines are going back to real pistols like the 1911 A 2 Colt 45 ACP with an light rail. The 9mm is not cutting mustard. Back in 1985 the Army adopted the 9mm, a Nato thing. It took a couple of wars to find out that what we had before is what we want now in a pistol. That mistake is being corrected. Its the same for the Commanche The light MD defender is doing well in this new war, so maybe and Updated version might be in the works. The Army is in a lighter and Faster is better mode. The RH-66 while a fine machine, is not suited to the kind of War we now find ourselves engaged.
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 9
Likes: 0
From: Earth
On a lighter note....
Don't suppose were likely to see Sikorsky and Boeing doing what Eurotunnel are???
Ebay item - Eurotunnel TBM (Tunnel Boring Machine)
Any Commanches appearing soon???
I'd bid!
S.
Don't suppose were likely to see Sikorsky and Boeing doing what Eurotunnel are???
Ebay item - Eurotunnel TBM (Tunnel Boring Machine)
Any Commanches appearing soon???
I'd bid!
S.
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 288
Likes: 0
From: USA
The Sultan wrote:
"Nick and the boys at Sikorsky must really be realing at the statement that the aircraft was obsolete"
The Comanche is not now, nor has it ever been 'obsolete'. It has always been an integrated system of cutting edge technologies. These technologies have not been cancelled. The Boeing and Sikorsky engineers who worked on Comanche will continue to work on many of these technologies and system designs and adapt them to other airframes both new and existing.
The easy engineering problems in aviation have been mastered. Our engineers will require both money and time to solve the more complex problems that remain. There will be another observation helicopter for the Army as soon as the new requirements are defined. Many of the Comanche technologies will be used in this new design.
The V-22 is also cutting edge technology and the Navy and Marines believe it is important to their mission. The V-22 would not be my first design choice for an observation aircraft although there is war planner somewhere who probably believes that it will excel in that role after it is fitted with a radar, a turreted gun and rocket-missle systems, integreted-fully night capable piloting, navigation and weapon systems, and of course new bubble windows to improve visibility.
"Nick and the boys at Sikorsky must really be realing at the statement that the aircraft was obsolete"
The Comanche is not now, nor has it ever been 'obsolete'. It has always been an integrated system of cutting edge technologies. These technologies have not been cancelled. The Boeing and Sikorsky engineers who worked on Comanche will continue to work on many of these technologies and system designs and adapt them to other airframes both new and existing.
The easy engineering problems in aviation have been mastered. Our engineers will require both money and time to solve the more complex problems that remain. There will be another observation helicopter for the Army as soon as the new requirements are defined. Many of the Comanche technologies will be used in this new design.
The V-22 is also cutting edge technology and the Navy and Marines believe it is important to their mission. The V-22 would not be my first design choice for an observation aircraft although there is war planner somewhere who probably believes that it will excel in that role after it is fitted with a radar, a turreted gun and rocket-missle systems, integreted-fully night capable piloting, navigation and weapon systems, and of course new bubble windows to improve visibility.
