>>1186275>building an airliner capable of Mach 2 at 60,000 feet carrying 120 passengers not considered a feat of engineeringI think you just love America so much, you can't give credit, where credit is due.
>You do know the USA is still fucking around with all this right?The US isn't officially using the SR-71 anymore since the operational costs are way too high, and NASA didn't have the money to keep it going after the USAF officially retired it. The U-2 is still in service though.
>Maybe when Europe gets to the point where it can manufacture, or even engineer, a fifth generation fighter we can have this conversationLet me get this straight to you right now, the Russians (arguably Europe) have the Sukhoi Su-57, which is a fifth generation fighter. The Turkish are building the TAI TFX in a consortium between the Turkish Aerospace Industries and BAE Systems.
Let's also not forget that the F-35 is being built by a consortium of Lockheed Martin, Northrup Grumman and BAE Systems.
Let's also mention that the "Fifth Generation" fighter is defined by Lockheed Martin as a jet fighter with stealth capabilities. The Eurofighter Typhoon isn't a stealth fighter because it's an air superiority fighter. It is, far more advanced than any fourth generation fighter, yet since the definition requires stealth, the Typhoon can't be called a fifth generation fighter, because Lockheed somehow determined the marketing for such a jet.
The reality is that the Aerospace industry is not one sided, and that many countries and many engineers can build stuff to high spec. It's only the US that has the huge budget from the Military Industrial Complex to fund crazy projects. Other projects, especially in Europe come from collaboration and cost effectiveness, something which allows many European states to keep up to speed with their allies in terms of their engineering achievements and quality of equipment. The Saab JAS 39 Grippen is an example of an aircraft which is advanced in its own way.
