On Tue, 01 Aug 2006 17:34:46 GMT, Jose
wrote:

Actually the "huge fraction" is at the lowest percentage of GDP that
it has been since WW II.

How much money does that actually turn out to be?

How much money doesn't matter. The GDP is the basis and the percentage
spent on defense has been in decline for decades. The number in $$ is
huge, but the GDP is even more mind-boggling. It really is irrelevant
to the discussion, unless magenta herrings are your desired lunch.

You also need a "little space" in the airframe...

In other words, it will take some work on the military's part. But we
had to find "a little space" too, after they invented class Bravo and
the Mode C veil. That's one of the things that money buys you. But you
don't need any interface with the autopilot; you just need blips on a
display showing what's out there. There shouldn't be much other than
what you expect, but the one time there is, you'll know it well in advance.

You might note that military aircraft are already squawking Modes 1,
2, 3, 4 and C.

So, how do "blips on a display" provided by TCAS differ from the
already existing blips on the radar display? Given that tactical jets
start out with a pretty expensive, pretty capable, pretty
discriminating sensor system and that next-gen aircraft not only will
be displaying their own sensors but also data fusion of info from
other cooperating aircraft such as tactical partners, AWACS, JSTARs,
etc and satellites for a three dimensional fully spherical
environment, exactly what is TCAS going to offer that isn't already
there in a better and more detailed presentation?

TCAS is a solution to a particular problem.

Yes, and something similar can be created to assist the military in
avoiding us civilians - the ones you risk your lives to protect in the
first place.

Jose

Nah, I'd rather just go out hunting for civilians to run into
willy-nilly. I'll smash a couple of Cessnas before lunch, then bail
out by the golf course before taking the rest of the day off.

Are you intentionally dense or is it an accident of birth?


Ed Rasimus
Fighter Pilot (USAF-Ret)
"When Thunder Rolled"
www.thunderchief.org
www.thundertales.blogspot.com