Another F-16 crashed Friday near Phoenix. It doesn't look like the pilot has survived. I say another because these aircraft have been going down more frequently than they should.As decision makers think about our next generation of manned aircraft, I would like to point out that the single seat, single engine aircraft is a risky venture at best. The reason we purchase these aircraft is because they are considerably less expensive. However, they also carry a much smaller payload (less missiles/bombs/gas), they have inherent safety risks (lose an engine lose the plane, pilot G locks and you lose the plane and the pilot), and the mission they are capable of executing is not as complex. This is due to the limit of processing power of one human brain as compared with two.
What does the future look like for us? The F-35 JSF is being purchased (single seat, single engine). It is designed to replace the F-16 as a dual role fighter (air to air and air to ground capable). It has all the inherent problems of a single seat, single engine fighter. (see video below).
The other fifth generation fighter is the famed F22. It is replacing the F15C as an air superiority fighter. This fighter has the stability of two engines but the limit of one seat.
In contrast to us, the Russians have developed and sold the Su-30 variants to all of our competitors. Here is one in action:
This aircraft is a two seat, two engine, dual role aircraft. I'm not saying that it is superior to our new fighters, but I find it interesting that our competitors see wisdom in developing the two seat, two engine aircraft and we have not. Why?
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The rapid response techniques and the weapons technology of the US military have advanced tremendously since the 1970s. For instance, the US Navy has responded to the WoT by starting the conversion of older ICBM nuclear subs (Trident class) to be equipped with a smaller number of shorter range, more accurate (and more powerful) SSBN missiles and reconfiguring the resultant available space to transport and support Navy special operations (SEAL) forces.
The USAF was the first branch to respond to the need for a high-tech, high-impact force (in 1988) with a dual-role fighter/bomber that required two trained officers due to the complexity of the mach 2+ aircraft plus the technical array of weapons capabilities. It does not seem as though the single-seat F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (or the F-22 Raptor) properly addresses the USAF well-known human limitations associated with these ultra-high performance aircraft.
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