Posted on 01/21/2021 9:50:00 AM PST by Onthebrink
In August 2020 the United States Air Force was set to receive its 250th Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II, and with that milestone, the fifth-generation multirole stealth warplane became the third-largest fighter fleet in the service’s fleet. That number also accounted for nearly half of the total F-35s of all variants delivered worldwide to that point.
The Air Force’s program of record is to purchase and acquire a total of 1,763 F-35As – and 48 of the advanced aircraft have been requested in each of the last three budgets, while Congress has also increased the purchase in recent funding cycles.
(Excerpt) Read more at 19fortyfive.com ...
haha sure....
It may not really matter much if the military is cut to the bone. In all truth, Russia just wants to be left alone and to keep our NGOs, bankers and perverted culture out. China has no need for a war with us since they control our universities, largest businesses and a majority of our politicians including most senators, governors, and the White House. Hell they own Forbes magazine.
All that’s needed is a small force to build tents and feed illegals as they arrive and to employ Georgetown and JFK school lof government MBA Generals with laptops to prattle on and on about COIN and how we need to be in Afghanistan for 7 decades because we were in Germany that long after WWII. Oh, and a giant National Guard to protect antifa and BLM and to menace anyone who loves traditional America.
We can make do with a small one with those realities.
Actually I think very shortly you are going to find out that what the majority of the people believe is true. Biden is an illegal and illegitimate president. He even looked like he believed it at the illegal illegitimate inauguration. If you really want to see someone who’s worried take another look at the inauguration on mute and watch Obama. They are terrified they are all going to be caught in their crime. And they are and it will be very soon.
I agree.
Backbone? Its not even fully operational! F-16, F-15 are backbones
Stop wasting bandwidth with these phony military pieces - PLEASE
The Secret Speech of General Chi Haotian
https://jrnyquist.blog/2019/09/11/the-secret-speech-of-general-chi-haotian/
No F-35 story is complete without a ping out to Pukin Dog, who claimed he was a pilot with sources inside the military who assured FR that the military would never put the F-35 in service.
Not sure if he was a skillful Boeing plant, or just a big talker, but it looks like he opused in 2007. Doesn’t seem like it was that long ago.
The top four (my prediction):
- Next-generation ICBM. Our current land-based strategic missiles (Minuteman III) are at the end of their service lives. Biden will cancel the new ICBM and devolve into a strategic dyad, built around SLBMs and a bomber fleet (mostly B-52s) that are a decade older than Minuteman. Russian and Chinese defense spending focused on countering our land-based ICBMs can be rolled into increased ASW and air defense programs, to make our remaining assets more vulnerable and less effective
- B-21 Bomber. Replacement for the B-2; set to make its first flight in 2022, enter operational service in the middle of the decade. Remember George H.W. Bush’s “peace dividend?” He reduced the B-2 buy to only 20 airframes. Biden will pull a similar move with the B-21 Raider. Air Force says we need at least 100; we will only get a fraction of that—if we’re lucky.
- Columbia-class SSBN: Expect fewer boats to replace the aging Ohio class ballistic missile subs.
- Ford-class carriers. Navy wants 10, to replace most of the Nimitz class. Biden will easily cut that number in half.
In fairness, what Biden COULD do to improve defense readiness:
- Cancel the Navy Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) program, once and for all. The “Little Crappy Ships” have never come close to reaching their potential; can’t survive without heavily armed escort, and their interchangeable “mission modules” are years behind schedule. Take the money saved and put it into something useful—like the new FFG program...
- Build more attack subs. This is one area where we still have an advantage, albeit an eroding one. Virginia-class is world’s best, and they are critical in fighting future conflicts.
- Fix the carrier air wing. It’s become too small and too range limited for the kind of peer fight we will face in the future.
- Invest heavily in digital design and engineering. It’s the best bet to reduce time and costs in developing new systems. It’s the process that has kept the Air Force T-7 trainer on time/on budget and will likely yield a family of aircraft performing a wide range of missions, including light attack, naval trainer and aggressor (in addition to its Air Force pilot training role). The same combo has also produced a classified sixth-generation fighter that is now flying.
Sadly, the cuts will happen, but the needed changes won’t. The coming hollow force will be akin to what we saw under Carter—and far worse that what we experienced with Obama.
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