I expect that the skies will be full of new pilots who suddenly find that the planes in Battlefield are actually quite easy to fly if you have the right hardware.
This is most disturbing to me, as I was that guy last year, now I expect to get shot down a lot more.
i don't know if any of you know much about Long Term US Military Doctrine but there is an element called the technological Imperative
Basically it goes like this
The US Military must have Technological Superiority over all enemies and allies (in case they become enemies)
US Military Technology must only be sold to allies, and only when the US has the capability to destroy any such Technology in a conflict situation
This is one of the things that has led to the development of so many fighter planes, even after the Cold War, during which Arms Racing with the USSR was a major factor.
So when the F-14 was developed it cost so much to get it online that it had to be sold to other countries to pay for it,
this led to the F-15 being developed in order to be able to shoot the F-14 down.
However the F-15 cost even more to develop so loads of them had to be sold to pay the bills.
These sales led, in turn, to the development of the F-16 & F-18 respectively.
The cycle repeated and has now led to the development of the F-22 Raptor, which is the most expensive fighter aircraft ever produced. so guess what, the US now needs to sell some of them to pay the gas and electricity charges and the mortgage. Unfortunately they can't because
-It is so advanced that it is gonna be almost impossible to build a manned aircraft to shoot it down
-The european nations now have the EuroFighter - a plane that CANNOT fly without the computers onboard, take them away and it will drop like a stone; a plane that also had to have its manouvreability limited, as it would kill the pilot if it were not restricted; a plane that went £10bn over budget and which by the time it was introduced in 2003 was already obselete http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurofighter_Typhoon
-No one needs a plane this advanced because there is no one to shoot against except the Russians, and who wants to go to war with them?
To quote an analyst from Jane's: In the end, good as the air displays were this afternoon a nifty display isn't enough to make these two planes worthwhile. About the only way either could really pay its way would be in a fight against the other.
Anyway the point of this is that i now need to up the stakes and regain my technological edge in the skies
To whit: I am prepared to sell my Logitech Extreme 3D Pro Joystick to an 'Ally' for as much as I can get on the export market
But I will use the money to buy one of these:
http://www.saitek.com/uk/prod/cyx.htm
One of these
http://www.saitek.com/uk/prod/x52.htm
Or maybe, God forbid, one of these!!
http://www.saitek.com/uk/prod/yoke.htm
Then you will all be in big trouble, and I will be single (don't think She would put up with that
)
Try a drop of the hard stuff....
