Paul J. Adam wrote:

But then, Boyd's acolytes seem to have considered that to be the goal.
Guided weapons and any other electronics were useless treason, good only
for funneling money from taxpayers to greedy contractors: the perfect
fighter had an engine, a gun, a pilot and as little else as possible.
(Wasn't a commercial Fuzzbuster assessed as being all the ECM a 'real
fighter' needed?)

I know there was more to Boyd himself than that although perhaps
his "acolytes" (as is often the case) may have promoted the ideas
of their inspiration beyond what their master might have approved
of (???).

At any rate, the above sounds very much like the Japanese ideas of
a great fighter during the pre-WWII and early war years.

Build a light agile fighter that shoots down anything that tries
to dogfight it and ranges out for a thousand miles. Don't needlessly
"burden" the system with radios, armor plating, self sealing fuel
tanks or additional system or pilot saving weight that might otherwise
enhance survivability through ruggedness.

Although it produced spectacularly successful results early on, it
wasn't a war winner.

Somewhere, as in most anything, there is a "correct" balance between
stripped down and pigged out.


SMH