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Early Access: The Fighter Mafia and the F-15 / F-16
🕑 Added 2022-04-25 20:07:19 +0000 UTCHow did a small group of pilots and civilians try to influence the design, development and procurement of two famous USAF fighters? I am very happy to talk about this with Dr. Michael Hankins, Historian and Curator at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. We discuss the Fighter Mafia, its opinions, ideals, as well as it's impact and legacy on the F-15, F-16 and USAF/DoD.
Looking forward to all your comments, and thank you for supporting!
Chris
Comments
Frank C
"Yeah, Splash that sucker", oops wrong movie. Good to see and hear that John Boyd got recognition on fighter development, plus the OODA loop. Nice interview with Dr Hankins and the book review. Seems there needed to be a good balance of technology and pilot / fighter requirements. Sometimes technology just needs to be allowed to advance. Lots of factors involved, maintenance, sparing, etc. Enjoyed the video Chris.
Sean Tyson
Chris, I think I have finally accepted that it is impossible for you to make a bad video. It's just another fact of life that I will have to learn to live with. Seriously, this discussion was surprisingly compelling, given its somewhat arcane topic. The idea that a group of fighter pilots and like-minded individuals in the DOD and defense industry would want to essentially go back to a simpler concept of aerial combat is so typical of the military culture. It's conservative, difficult to change, and doesn't take well to new ideas. However (haven't read the book yet, so I could be wrong), my take on this group is that they were, if not Luddites, at least unrealistic about the value and capabilities of modern technology. Especially modern technology at which the US Congress and DOD have thrown insane amounts of money. The debate sounds so familiar to the fight between Gen. Billy Mitchell and the Navy leadership, the influence naval fighter pilots have had on carrier design, and overall the influence of pilots on unmanned aircraft development. I can't imagine where we would be if we deployed aircraft without radar. Aside from being shot down at range by systems that did have radar, their ability to operate in all weather mode would be severely curtailed at a minimum. Anyway, great, thought-provoking discussion, and I look forward to reading his book.
