The 10 Most Expensive Weapons in the World

[MyLittlePony 340]

4. F-22 Raptor

> Type: stealth fighter jet

> Total Cost: $79.2 billion

> R&D: $40.5 billion

> Procurement Cost: $37.9 billion

> Total Units: 188

> Price per Unit: $211.6 million

The Lockheed Martin/Boeing F-22 Raptor is arguably the most advanced fighter jet in the world. It is also the most expensive, costing $211 million per jet. Just 10 of these aircraft combined are worth more than the GDP of Greenland. The DOD currently has 188 on its budget. The Raptor, which first came into operation in 2005, is an extremely fast stealth fighter and is designed to identify, track and take out targets before it is ever actually seen. The fighter is equipped with two AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles, six medium-range air-to-air missiles, a 20 mm gatling gun, two 1,000 pound bombs and eight 250 pound bombs.

####### sucker had made a huge mistake to kill the F-22 the best stealth plane in the world.

[slim 1,530]

Like what? Social Security and Medicaid? The programs that Americans have paid for should just be yanked away from them? Better to keep the MIC afloat than to make good on the generational contracts Americans have paid into?

They should be phased out.

More on defense, are you crazy!!!! $700 billion a year is $13.42 billion a week, $1.92 billion a day, $79.9 million an hour...

Yep. More on defense. If we cut the other programs the federal government is not supposed to be involved in we'd have plenty for defense.

I seriously doubt the F-35 Thunderpig will be anywhere near as well liked as the 'Hog.

The A-10 will probably be a part of the military for many, many years to come.

At any rate, the 5000 poud payload could be delivered very accurately. How many B-17s would it tkae to put 5000 pounds of explosives ON a target...ON the target? A single seat makes it even more effective.

Google "B-52" and you'll see why we still use 50 year old airframes to bomb people back to the stone age.

The zoomies don't like the A-10 for two reasons:

I was a zoomie for several years. We loved the A-10. Still do.

4. F-22 Raptor

####### sucker had made a huge mistake to kill the F-22 the best stealth plane in the world.

No way this thing should be cut. It'd give us air superiority for the next 50 years.

[Laser1 63]

I just don't agree with this A-10 worship. Yes it has been doing well, but it is not a stealth aircraft by any stretch of the imagination. So it is easy to see, target, and shoot down.

Edited January 12, 2012 by Laser1

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

I just don't agree with this A-10 worship. Yes it has been doing well, but it is not a stealth aircraft by any stretch of the imagination. So it is easy to see, target, and shoot down.

Not so easy to shoot down, which makes the pilot a believer.

The A-10 has integrally machined skin panels. Because the stringers are integral with the skin there are no joint or seal problems. These panels, fabricated using computer controlled machining, reduce the time and hence the cost of production. Combat experience has shown that this type of panel is more resistant to damage. The skin is not load-bearing, so damaged skin sections can be easily replaced in the field, with makeshift materials if necessary.[30]

The A-10 is exceptionally tough. Its strong airframe can survive direct hits from armor-piercing and high-explosive projectiles up to 23 mm. The aircraft has triple redundancy in its flight systems, with mechanical systems to back up double-redundant hydraulic systems. This permits pilots to fly and land when hydraulic power or part of a wing is lost. Flight without hydraulic power uses the manual reversion flight control system; this engages automatically for pitch and yaw control, and under pilot control (manual reversion switch) for roll control. In manual reversion mode, the A-10 is sufficiently controllable under favorable conditions to return to base and land, though control forces are much higher than normal. The aircraft is designed to fly with one engine, one tail, one elevator, and half of one wing missing.[37]

Its self-sealing fuel tanks are protected by fire-retardant foam.[38] The A-10's main landing gear is designed so that the wheels semi-protrude from their nacelles when the gear is retracted so as to make gear-up belly landings easier to control and less damaging to the aircraft's underside. Additionally, the landing gear are all hinged toward the rear of the aircraft, so if hydraulic power is lost the pilot can drop the gear and a combination of gravity and wind resistance will open and lock the gear in place.[32]

The cockpit and parts of the flight-control system are protected by 1,200 lb (540 kg) of titanium armor, referred to as a "bathtub".[39][40] The armor has been tested to withstand strikes from 23 mm cannon fire and some strikes from 57 mm rounds.[34][39] It is made up of titanium plates with thicknesses from 0.5 to 1.5 inches (13 to 38 mm) determined by a study of likely trajectories and deflection angles. This protection comes at a cost, with the armor making up almost 6% of the aircraft's empty weight. To protect the pilot from the fragmentation likely to be created from impact of a shell, any interior surface of the tub that is directly exposed to the pilot is covered by a multi-layer nylon spall shield.[38][41] In addition, the front windscreen and canopy are resistant to small arms fire.[42]

Proof of the durability of the A-10 was shown when Captain Kim Campbell, flying a ground support mission over Baghdad during the 2003 invasion of Iraq on 7 April, suffered extensive flak damage to her A-10. Enemy fire damaged one of the A-10's engines and crippled its hydraulic system, which required the aircraft's stabilizer and flight controls to be operated via the back-up mechanical system, this being known as 'manual reversion mode'. Despite this damage, Campbell managed to fly the aircraft for nearly an hour and landed safely.[43][44]

Edited January 12, 2012 by ☼

[Ban Hammer 13,509]

I just don't agree with this A-10 worship. Yes it has been doing well, but it is not a stealth aircraft by any stretch of the imagination. So it is easy to see, target, and shoot down.

it was never intended to be stealthy.

fly it low, and it will surprise anyone - especially if there's some hills it can weave through.

[Leatherneck 693]

I just don't agree with this A-10 worship. Yes it has been doing well, but it is not a stealth aircraft by any stretch of the imagination. So it is easy to see, target, and shoot down.

If you were a soldier or ground-pounding Marine with a column of enemy tanks and troops in your area of patrol and they were advancing in your direction, you'd thank

the stars at the sound of a couple of Hogs appearing to do what they do best...

[slim 1,530]

I just don't agree with this A-10 worship. Yes it has been doing well, but it is not a stealth aircraft by any stretch of the imagination. So it is easy to see, target, and shoot down.

By all those Taliban AAA sites?

Why don't you do a quick google search on the number of A-10s shot down. Ever.

If you think it's so horrible....

If you were a soldier or ground-pounding Marine with a column of enemy tanks and troops in your area of patrol and they were advancing in your direction, you'd thank the stars at the sound of a couple of Hogs appearing to do what they do best...

.... ask any of these dudes how much the A-10 sucks.

[Ban Hammer 13,509]

.... ask any of these dudes how much the A-10 sucks.

it sure sucks if you're on the ground, it's flying right at you, and the nose starts winking at you.

[slim 1,530]

it sure sucks if you're on the ground, it's flying right at you, and the nose starts winking at you.

Burrrrrrrp.

[Leatherneck 693]

By all those Taliban AAA sites?

Why don't you do a quick google search on the number of A-10s shot down. Ever.

If you think it's so horrible....

.... ask any of these dudes how much the A-10 sucks.

Only someone with no clue how effective the Hog is would udder such, yeah the enemy on the business end of the Hog really thinks it sucks.

Ok, it is not a sexy aircraft and it sounds fucky, especially when it dives in for close air support...but it is music to the ears of of friendly forces.

[slim 1,530]

Only someone with no clue how effective the Hog is would udder such, yeah the enemy on the business end of the Hog really thinks it sucks.

Ok, it is not a sexy aircraft and it sounds fucky, especially when it dives in for close air support...but it is music to the ears of of friendly forces.

Like the B-52 I can see this one's service life being extended indefinitely. It's just too good.

[Laser1 63]

By all those Taliban AAA sites?

Why don't you do a quick google search on the number of A-10s shot down. Ever.

If you think it's so horrible....

.... ask any of these dudes how much the A-10 sucks.

From what I've found, five have been shot down, all by Iraqi surface-to-air missiles.

It does have its uses, but fighting in battlefields filled with radar guided SAMs is not one of them.

Edited January 12, 2012 by Laser1

[Ban Hammer 13,509]

From what I've found, five have been shot down, all by surface-to-air missiles.

It does have its uses, but fighting in battlefields filled with radar guided SAMs is not one of them.

they were flying too high.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

From what I've found, five have been shot down, all by Iraqi surface-to-air missiles.

It does have its uses, but fighting in battlefields filled with radar guided SAMs is not one of them.

That is why you fly Wild Weasel Missions.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

You don't just rely on one type of aircraft. The modern battlefield is integrated.