PapaDragon wrote:x_54_u43 wrote:...And yeah, delusional to think a this is disposable platform.
It has no pilot inside and one of it's duties is to take one for Su-57 if needed
It's disposable
It's not cheap but it's definitely disposable, nobody will mourn it's loss
Just because a unmanned vehicle has no crew to lose doesn't mean they can be considered disposable or small issue if lost, I can assure you that more than a few analysts and planners in the Pentagon would have rather lost a crewed fighter to Iran rather than one of their four Global Hawks configured for a specific role, that loss could lead to even more lives lost.
Obviously S-70 is not anywhere close to strategic role that Global Hawk plays, but it is not a disposable asset in any sense, it is a long range heavy strike UCAV, any loss would be absolutely avoided to near the same degree as Su-57, though of course it is a significantly more replaceable asset than a Su-57.
Real disposable is Kronstadt's Molniya, and Grom could also considered to be "attritable" in that sense as well.