Comments by "Stu Bur" (@stupidburp) on "Can Russia and China Detect the F-35 Stealth Aircraft?" video.

  1. F35 do very well in beyond visual range combat and this is the more likely scenario. They perform adequately well in within visual range combat but using them in such a role would be using the wrong tool for the job.
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  2. Civilian S band weather radar also theoretically has a chance to detect stealth aircraft although they would typically not be set up in a way to do so.
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  3. Some civilian air control radars do have antennas that operate in bands that could theoretically track stealth aircraft at some distance. However, the way they are set up is to specifically seek transponders rather than detect aircraft that are using avoidance measures. Their supporting hardware and software is not set up for stealth aircraft detection. They might occasionally detect one flying overhead in a stealthy configuration. This has happened on at least a few occasions. But they do not have proper setups to find them and they are not even looking for them.
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  4. Stealth aircraft have black hole generators that absorb all radio waves and light. If they fly close to an enemy radar they suck up the whole thing along with the operators.
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  5. Current military UAVs are not cheap either. Unmanned aircraft compared to manned aircraft with similar capabilities can cost a little less in some case but sometimes cost more. So they are not exactly disposable. A loss is still a huge financial and operational loss. It does at least save a pilot from potentially getting shot down which is great. Saving the UAV is still important and this is best done with remote piloting which has certain limitations. Leaving the entire mission up to an AI would be risky in many ways even if you spent the time and funds necessary to develop a great combat AI.
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  6. Reapers and F-35 are not comparable because the capabilities and roles are so different. You could perhaps compare a Reaper to a Super Tucano. 17 million is more than the about 14 million for a Super Tucano. Super Tucano has better weapons options and mission flexibility. Reaper has better mission range and service ceiling. Both are still piloted aircraft though - the Reaper is just piloted remotely.
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  7. Yes, there have been problems with oxygen systems on many different aircraft recently.
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  8. The F-35 is a good aircraft for suppression of enemy air defenses. That should be its primary role. Even though some ground radar can detect it at strike distances it should still often be able to complete the mission. After air defenses are degraded then bombers can move in to perform the majority of strike missions.
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