War Models
William Laven... F14 Tomcat (2005, Carbon-based pigment print produced on Hahnemuhle paper. Edition of 5). From War Models. "...War Models is a series by Bay Area photographer William Laven. Here he presents large scale photographs of unassembled model airplane kits of aircraft flown in the current Iraqi war. These black and white prints touch on the American fascination with symbols of power. Forty aircraft types have been flown in Operation Iraqi Freedom. This includes 30 types of airplanes - fighters, troop transporters, aerial tankers, and reconnaissance planes - eight types of helicopters and two kinds of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), one armed with missiles, the other with cameras. Of the forty aircraft flown, model kits are made of twenty one."
posted by Andrew at 7:30 PM
1 Comments:
You should know that all those different Jets are used because of the defences the mission pilot will be facing.
A mission goes down like this. Recon, intel and imaging intel of the areas are done. Drones are sent in and film the area. If Mobil sams are in the area, a certian jet will be used because it can evade the radar best and also be able ot deliver the bomb or strike payload.
None of all the Jets can do all the same mission. Some are made for dog fighting and are not so good for delivering a bamb payload. Others are strickly for bombing and need fighter escort. Sometimes a few fighter/bombers (a jet suited to dogfight well and yet can deliver a large payload) will escort some bombers and then divert ot bomb their own target.
If however tanks and ZSU's (mobile AAA guns)are in the area, they will send in an A-10 Warthog team or choppers with Tow-2 missles.
If it is felt ground troops need an escort or cover, sometimes they will send several types of ground armor support and/or a survelance plane with multiple guns on it to circle above and rain down supressing fire.
So you see America does not have all these different military air and ground support assets because they like alot of power or are interested in it for cave man reasons. It is because having a divers portfolio is a safer investment than a limited portfolio for less opertunity to deliver safely your pilot and the payload to the target and return the pilot and crew safley.
In WWII it was an old sea scout plane with a torpedo that brought an end to the Bismark (Largest Battle Ship on the planet in that war). The Bismarks guns were not able to pan left and right slow enough to hit the slow moving plane. Diversity in a military means a divers choice on how to handle any given situation.
The reason America became so rich and powerful was not because of military power but it is our diversity of people who are welcomed to our country. It is our diversity that makes us what we are. This is why we love mocels too... diversity. Dont just look at the military models but look at all of the models available. Many of the military models are loved because they remind someone of there times when they served, not because of the firepower.
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