Sources? If MOST airlines said that, there surely is some trace about that.
Of course, your (completely unsubstantiated) belief that russians crash more often makes Boeing and Airbus VERY happy.. :diablo:

It was an article I read 15 years ago and it struck me as interesting so I remembered it. It was at the PSU library in Aviation Week.

Safety records are more than just crashes that make the news.

And this statement is basically exactly what it comes down to on this forum. Perceptions. There is a media-created/supported perception that anything Russian made, Chinese made or generally non-European/non-US made is somehow sub-standard. This perception gets soaked in over time and some forum members simply cannot shake it.

What are the respective civil aviation safety records based on flight hours per design? Are the Russian/Soviet designs more apt to be down for maintenance or suffer a crash than their western counterparts?

Such rockets are being considered, according to T&A (Technologies et Armement).

Laser guided rockets.:rolleyes:

IIRC, one of the US defense contractors has developed a laser guidance system for the 70mm rocket. I don’t know whether it’s a paper project or into testing yet, but I think DID had something about it a while back.

GarryB has also provided the same opinion as me about the mod ability of the Kh-55 / Kh-65. It’s logical. Your logic clearly isn’t working in this case.

So what if the missile can be “mod’ed”? Big deal. That’s a major rebuild of the weapon and perhaps the launch aircraft as well, and not something that’s going to be done within a couple days of hostilities erupting.

This isn’t like cutting down an 8″ gun and making it into a bunker buster, this is a reconstruction of a precision piece of equipment, not something Boris and Natasha can do in the field with a can opener, some duct tape, and a delivery from Missile Parts R Us.

The US Army also tested their M193 223 ammo (that tends to fragment) and a few other types in Alaska at very low temperatures. Their findings showed that when it actually fired (ie the cold hardened the primers of the 223 ammo and reduced primer reliability) accuracy was only slightly effected but penetration was very poor against snow and ice. Heavier clothing also reduced lethality of the round quite significantly. The plastic used in the stocks also became quite brittle and could be shattered in normal grunt use.
The AK-47 apparantly performed well with much better performance against enemy wearing heavier clothes and sheltering behind blocks of Ice.
The M14 also coped well and was also able to penetrate ice and well clad targets too. (in 7.62 x 51mm).

At the time they improved the plastics used (ie M16A2) to resin based material and changed to heavier SS109 223 ammo, but most of the advantage of the new 6.8mm round is the heavier 120 grain projectile is less effected by twigs and trees and snow and ice etc. The 7.62mm AK round is 122 grain.

Do you have a citation for the tests and a date when they were conducted?

There’s a number of issues at play, especially if this was done back in the 1960s, with the objectivity and actual fairness of the tests. Within the lethal range, the M-193 and later M-855 ball ammo both out perform the 123 gr M43 7.62×39 Ball and M-80 7.62×51 Ball with regards to wounding and lethality.

The 62gr M-855 Ball round will fragment just as the M-193 Ball will, again, within the lethal range of the round. The SS109 is the Belgian nomenclature for the bullet, not the loaded cartridge. The US nomenclature is M-855 and it uses the SS109 bullet. While to some this might be nitpicking, not all cartridges loaded with the SS109 bullet are loaded to the same pressures and velocities.

Finally, the 6.8SPC with the 115gr projectile has seen increased performance in field use as compared to the 14.5″ M-4A1 firing the M-855 Ball. When you compare it out of a 20″ barrel with M-855 out of a similar length barrel, the numbers aren’t as positive for the 6.8.

Don’t expect the 6.8 to be more than a specialty round for the special operations community; to convert the entire military small arms lockers from 5.56 to 6.8 would be cost prohibitive for the slight increase in ballistics. What you’re far more likely to see is something along the lines of the 75gr. Mk262 round be adopted for more than special operations use…or, if a new caliber is chosen, it will be required to utilize the same magazines and bolt faces as the existing 5.56 weapons.

What is often overlooked is how well the small and cheaper South Dakota Class performs. Really, its only shortcoming is a little speed……….That said, ship vs ship comparisons mean nothing in reality. Regardless, American fire control was so superior by mid-war that few opposing fleets would have stood much of a chance.

Here’s one…….If, the Yamato and her fleet of Cruisers and Destroyers could have sank Taffy Three and reached the Leyte Gulf Invasion Fleet of Transports. Could she have prevailed against the Pearl Harbor vintage Battleships and Cruisers of Admiral Oldendorf Bombardment Fleet? Remember, just the night before his fleet sunk several ships (i.e. battleships, cruisers, and destroyers) during a night action………

It’s quite probable that Yamato and the rest of the task force would have shot Adm. Odlendorf’s Bombardment Fleet to pieces. What really made Oldendorf’s engagement the night before so decisive is the stellar performance of the torpedo attacks by the screening destroyer flotillas and the incredible location where he sited his battleships because he had time to choose the time and place for the engagement.

If the Yamato task force had kept going, they would have been defeated, either by Oldendorf or Halsey’s forces when they turned around and were within range of airstrikes, but Oldendorf’s Bombardment Fleet would have been severely crippled and the beach head in question.

Indeed, the US has developed the 6.8 SPC but it looks like it will never replace the 5.56 in widespread service.

Peronally I would take an AR-15 custom built with the LWRC gas piston system with the stock grip and vertical foregrip of my choice with an S&B short-dot scope chambered in 6.8 SPC.

If you want a piston system, wait about six weeks and take a look at what Lewis Machine & Tool will have on the market. It’s designed to work with their carbine length MRP (Monolithic Rail Platform) one piece upper and railed forearm assembly.

While it will be in the same price range as the LWRC product, the upper and rails being all one piece is going to give it strength and robustness than no other upper will possess.