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Military-tech geek-out ensues (again)
Okay, I was right on first instinct. Anderson's F-117A is apparently equipped with air-to-air missiles.
...Mmmokay. This is me engaging my Suspension of Disbelief Engine. This is gonna take some effort and will probably give me one hell of a headache, but here goes.
Let's say in the 24-verse that (sigh) Nighthawks have been retrofitted to be air-to-air capable. Okay. Let's also assume that they've been retrofitted with more advanced anti-radar technology -- be it in the radar-absorbing material coating the aircraft and/or reduced electromagnetic emissions -- than they currently possess. Look, it's either that or we have to assume that the USAF has been infiltrated by half-conscious sleep-deprived grad students for this current plot to get off the ground (which was a pretty tenuous stretch to begin with -- how in the hell does your cellphone work inside the cockpit of an F-117A, anyway?). At least they have the foresight to be launching the attack at night -- I recall an author asking a Nighthawk pilot what he'd do if he was spotted by an aircraft, and I believe his response was nothing more eloquent than "Die."
Dude. My disbelief engine is stalling. I'm trying hard, real hard here. Normally I've got a pretty good tolerance for letting these things slide, but...this is my weakness. Maybe they should've used an F-22 Raptor instead of a Nighthawk -- I don't imagine the Raptor has as minimal a radar profile as the Nighthawk, but it's got to be an improvement over any other air-to-air capable aircraft. Maybe they just didn't have stock footage of an F-22. Maybe the writers just got lazy while coming up for CTU analyst clash scenarios (zzz). But they found my pet peeve and oh, it gets me mad.
...Mmmokay. This is me engaging my Suspension of Disbelief Engine. This is gonna take some effort and will probably give me one hell of a headache, but here goes.
Let's say in the 24-verse that (sigh) Nighthawks have been retrofitted to be air-to-air capable. Okay. Let's also assume that they've been retrofitted with more advanced anti-radar technology -- be it in the radar-absorbing material coating the aircraft and/or reduced electromagnetic emissions -- than they currently possess. Look, it's either that or we have to assume that the USAF has been infiltrated by half-conscious sleep-deprived grad students for this current plot to get off the ground (which was a pretty tenuous stretch to begin with -- how in the hell does your cellphone work inside the cockpit of an F-117A, anyway?). At least they have the foresight to be launching the attack at night -- I recall an author asking a Nighthawk pilot what he'd do if he was spotted by an aircraft, and I believe his response was nothing more eloquent than "Die."
Dude. My disbelief engine is stalling. I'm trying hard, real hard here. Normally I've got a pretty good tolerance for letting these things slide, but...this is my weakness. Maybe they should've used an F-22 Raptor instead of a Nighthawk -- I don't imagine the Raptor has as minimal a radar profile as the Nighthawk, but it's got to be an improvement over any other air-to-air capable aircraft. Maybe they just didn't have stock footage of an F-22. Maybe the writers just got lazy while coming up for CTU analyst clash scenarios (zzz). But they found my pet peeve and oh, it gets me mad.