Intro / What the hell, I thought this was a tech. blog?

   Yes, the header would seem to imply this blog will be about things pertaining primarily to technology, science, etc.  Yet so far all there is is a bunch of posts with military videos in them.  Guilty as charged.  My first interest is military technology however it all interests me.  I'm an information junkie.  However I'm also very busy and, while I've wanted to do a blog for a long time, I need to get in the habit of working on this EVERY DAY.  That means at least for the next few weeks (maybe less) posts are going to be short and sweet and focusing on my primary interest.  As I've gotten some of these out of my system, and got in the habit of posting, the intent is to branch out and incorporate technology and science in general as well as politics.  Subjects will generally be more broad in nature rather than focusing on a specific item.  For example, I honestly don't give a damn who's producing the best smartphone today.  That kind of stuff is so transitory that one wonders why anybody would even care beyond the basics (unless you're working in the business of course). 
   This blog is mainly for my own entertainment, and a place to well, not vent, but I'm not going to lose sleep over the occasional swear word.  And while I've certainly got opinions, I'll generally try to temper them here.  (No need to send the paddy wagon to cart me off in a straight-jacket! :-) )  That said, feel free to let me know what you'd like to see more of or less of and we'll see where this thing goes.

Regards,
Scott Ferrin

Back when we did stuff.

DDG-1000 Zumwalt Class Destroyer

     What can one say about the US Navy's new class of destroyer?  So many thoughts. "Groundbreaking", "disappointment", "the way forward", "typical government stupidity run wild".  They all apply. 
     The Zumwalt class has a long and torturous history and now, just as it's coming to fruition, the class is being cut to just three units and even the 3rd won't be up to the standards of the first two.  Undoubtedly I'll expand upon this in a future post but for now here are some pretty nice videos of the first.

 

The F-15 Eagle. Still going strong after 40 years.

     Just a few of the higher quality video clips of the F-15 that stand out for me.

Here's one from the Russian airshow MAKS 2011.  Note the skin departing the aircraft at 3:34.  It came from the inside surface of the starboard vertical stabilizer and can be seen at 5:20.  This is one clip I've seen where they really seem to cut loose (though still not to the degree the aircraft is capable of for airshow safety reasons). 

And a few others. . .

 

 

The F-15K Slam Eagle.  One of the few F110 powered Eagles.

 

 

 

And last, but not least, Top Gear's Jeremy Clarkson's ride in an F-15E.

 

Space X

     For me, one of the most interesting things is the way we end up using technology for things we'd never imagined.  In this example, what started as a toy ends up giving us a view of flight testing we've never had before.  Couple this with the ground-breaking work Space X is doing and it adds up to two very interesting videos.

5th Generation fighters.

     While there is some controversy around what constitutes a "5th Generation Fighter" (that is a story in itself) the general consensus is that the F-22A, F-35, T-50 (PAKFA), and J-20 appear to fit the bill.  (IMO the jury is still out on the J-31.)  For now, here are the contenders.  While there is a bit of national pride and corporate propaganda at play here, it must be admitted these are some pretty sweet aircraft all things considered.

First up, the American F-22:

Next, the American F-35:

  

 

 

Next, the Russian T-50:

 

 

 

 

Last up, the Chinese J-20: 

 

 

 

 

 



PAC-3 does a pretty good job against planes too.

     There has been a lot of print about how good PAC-3 is doing against missiles in MDA testing.  What hasn't really received much coverage however is how deadly it is against aircraft.  A plane gets hit by it and the pilot probably isn't getting out of the aircraft.  In neither unfortunate blue-on-blue incident did the pilot make it out and the following two videos pretty much show why.

PAC-3 against a QF-4 Phantom from 2000:

PAC-3 MSE against a Lance TBM and QF-4 Phantom from 2013: