Posted on 03/06/2006 4:51:13 PM PST by MARKUSPRIME
March 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The 94th Fighter Squadron, famous for its historic "Hat in the Ring" insignia and legendary aviator Eddy Rickenbacker, began receiving F-22 Raptors from Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT - News) today. The two 5th Generation stealthy, air dominance fighters are assigned to the second operational squadron in the U.S. Air Force.
ADVERTISEMENT The two Raptors will join F-22s flying today as part of the 1st Fighter Wing's 27th Fighter Squadron at Langley Air Force Base, Va. Lockheed Martin has completed final assembly on 71 of the 107 fighters now on contract, and 63 have been delivered.
"This is another great milestone in the history of the F-22 Program," said Larry Lawson, Lockheed Martin Executive Vice President and F-22 Program General Manager. "The F-22 will dominate airspace anywhere around the globe, around the clock, and survive in contested airspace better than any other aircraft in the world.
If my info is correct, the new-generatiomn F-15 (G?) is a 1/2 step away from the F-22 (when you throw in the avionics).
And it looks like a noble swan.
Their advantage is stealth, which is fine right until a new advance in sensor technology allows an enemy to target them.
Like the surprises that our F-117's encountered over Serbia
We already are faced with that, and it is not a problem. Our older aircraft are not going anywhere soon. The nice thing about our enemies is that they tend to park their aircraft close together. A JDAM or two makes a nice pile of scrap metal.
I tell FReepers all the time, when it comes to warfare, the U.S. does not fight fair.
"Then the President calls China and asks if they really want to dance."
You're assuming we will still have a courageous and assertive president when this happens.
If Hillary asks the president of China to dance, it will be literal, and she will be whispering the location of US military assets in his ear while they waltz across the dance floor.
If the ChiComs are smart, they will wait for a weak wimp of a president before making a move.
"Like the surprises that our F-117's encountered over Serbia"
Exactly. We should never underestimate an enemy. A lot of the time, there are unpleasant surprises in war, and things dont go exactly according to plan.
The F-117A downed over Serbia was actually shot down by an obsolete SA-3 Goa, an old missile not believed to be capable of tracking down and killing a "stealth" fighter like the Nighthawk.
We have submarines that WE THINK the Chinese can't find.
The Purple and Enigma codes are utterly unbreakable, too.
"If Hillary was President, what difference would 900 Raptors make?"
None, I guess, unless the military commanders disobeyed her orders to surrender at the first sight of a Chinese infantryman.
Mmmm, good point!
I'd add:
B-2
XB-70 (my personal favorite)
F-117 (granted, maybe only an electrical engineer can find this a thing of beauty....)
Oh, heck, they're ALL beautiful, who am I kidding?
Not an F-15/14 fan, eh?
I think they are the most beautiful craft ever turned out.
and maybe even Mr. Bipartisan guy, in exchange for a few million Yuan and a reputation as a peacemaker to assist his presidential campaign 
First you have to think that China wants Taiwan that bad. Maybe they do, but it would be stupid, and China while they are alot of things, is not stupid.
They would lose aircraft and soldiers at close to the rate at which we (and Taiwan, and Japan, and So Korea...etc.) can expend ammunition.
And... they'd lose their entire source of revenue which is their newfound dependence on capitalism to support their country. They can't afford to tick off the rest of the world anymore.
It'll never happen.
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