Military project cancellations - dissapointments

The aircraft involved were bombers. Not exactly an aircraft that gets into "air combat". They are simply to big and slow to get away from persuit fighters. That is why they try to avoid detection in the first place.

 

A little research...list of cancelled defense related programs from the last
decade.

These are costs already incurred prior to cancellation of the program.

Future Combat Systems (FCS) $18.1B
Comanche helicopter $7.9B
nPOESS satellite $5.8B
VH-71 Presidential Helicopter $3.7B
Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle (EFV) $3.3B
Transformational SATCOM (TSAT) $3.2B
Crusader $2.2B
Advanced SEAL Delivery System (ASDS) $0.6 B
Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter $0.5 B
Aerial Common Sensor $0.4 B
CG(X) next Generation Cruiser $0.2B
CSAR-X $0.2B

Totalling around $46B

I don't consider this an entire waste of funds, as knowledge was gained
in the development stages of the programs. As an example in the case
of the Comanche scout helicopter, I'm sure stealth technology regarding
rotary wing aircraft was transferred to other research programs.

 

Which they wouldn't do, seeing as they weren't stealthy.

 

Tel you what, place a YB-49 next to a B-52 and shoot a radar at them.

Then tell me which is the most stealthy.

The last hope for Northrop came when the Air Force expressed interest in developing a reconnaissance version of the YB-49. Though the small radar cross-section of the flying wing had been noticed during flight tests, it was the design's long range and high cruising altitude that most attracted the Air Force's interest.
http://www.aerospaceweb.org/aircraft/bomber/yb49/

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Habakkuk

Single handedly the coolest military project ever.. Really

 

I'm disappointed in the XM8, F-22, and F-35.

The XM8 should have been more than just a G36 in a cooler-looking plastic shell.

The F-22 and F-35 should have been designed to be affordable enough to replace our entire geriatric fleet of 4th-generation fighters.

I'm disappointed that we're still dicking around with anti-ICBM programs.

What do you mean? They WERE fully developed... as the B-2 Spirit.

 

It may be less of a problem in the future:

Anti-matter is very tedious and expensive to make. Harvesting it from orbit? A lot less so. We may still see anti-matter weapons eventually.

 

Man, the Comanche was so (*)(*)(*)(*) cool. It was all kinds of awesome. Its sucks that they cancelled it.

I dont know of any other nation that has even attempted to make a stealth helicopter. It wasn't just the stealth that made it cool either...it was extremely maneuverable as well.

 

Well i think if flying nap of the earth with a little help from allied radar spoofing could get a huge chinook into pakistan covertly then that makes me even more glad they canceled it

 

More Ospreys on the way...

Program gets $1.4B more to build Ospreys in Texas
January 2, 2013 — The Navy has added $1.4 billion to a Bell-Boeing contract to build 22 V-22 Ospreys in Texas.

 

Highly advanced bomber ? really? an aircraft that barely flew and never developed beyond the prototype stage. The important question is whether the serious doubts of the TSR-2's ability to adequately perform all of the multitude of roles that were claimed have never been proven
The flight test data that was collected before the aircraft's cancellation indicate that its performance had fallen well short of these performance goals .The other is that some of the roles that the design was so severely compromised to meet would be obsolete by the time the aircraft would eventually enter service in 1970's
TSR.2 is a nice design but it was certainly not a wonder plane as sometimes made out to be. Actually, the main reason why it was cancelled was a secret paper issued by Air Staff Target in 1961 which revealed that it would have a lifetime of 10 years only before its operational effectiveness will start to depreciate and its obvious that TSR2 engineers have failed to find a solution to this vital problem,leaving the British government no other chance than cancelling it 10 years is simply not enough for such an expensive and costly plane Source:
Facebook .. TSR2-Britains lost bomber ... A sensational revellation that was kept secret for decades ..


https://www.facebook.com/tsr2book/p...4165887622603/961338660571984/?type=3&theater

 

The TSR-2 was never an impressive aircraft, even on paper. It only had a payload capacity of 10,000 pounds, basically half the capacity of the aircraft that replaced it, the Panavia Tornado. And the Tornado is still in active service in many countries. I doubt the TSR-2 would still have been in service even if it had been adopted. Even the first choice for replacement (F-111) has been retired by everybody.

In many ways it reminds me of the XB-70, another cancelled bomber that was scrapped when it was realized that it would come nowhere near to delivering what was expected.

 

At least the XB-70 exceeded Mach 3 at 78.000 feet in 1965 which was an extraordinary performance.. But it would have been vulnerable to Soviet air defence in 1970's.
TSR2 on the other hand proved nothing and remained compassion bable today it still powers British aviation forums !

 

The XB-70 had a combat range almost 25% shorter then the B-52, somthing of critical importance when doing penetration missions into the Soviet Union. So the speed does not matter if they do not have the range to hit critical targets. And the XB-70 would have been just as vulnerable. But remember, it was also designed and intended to be deployed in the 1960's.

And in reality, the XB-70 would not have had much better luck penetrating then the B-52. Being supersonic, it could have been detected much sooner, and would have had to fly higher and faster. And remember, at this time the main air defense missile was the ABM-1 "Galosh", which had a 3 megaton nuclear warhead. It was not majorly different then the US Nike Zeus system. And one thing about a air defense nuke, is that they did not have to be very accurate.

Trust me, the XB-70 would have had a very hard time penetrating Soviet defenses. That is why when the program was finally cancelled for good, the B-1 was developed. It had the best of both worlds. It could go supersonic if needed, but with it's variable lift wing design, it could also go "low and slow", and attempt to evade any RADAR and detection systems.

Many times, the cancelling of one system can result in an even better system afterwards.

 

Good post mate.. Mach 3 doesn't mean perfect penetration if you are detected and being shot at with SAM reaching Mach 4.. Most effective penetrations takes place at low altitudes and around Mach 1 ..Would take B-1 any day..