Posted on 02/19/2007 8:40:37 AM PST by Excuse_My_Bellicosity
2/19/2007 - KADENA AIR BASE, Japan (AFNEWS) -- Ten F-22 Raptors arrived here Feb. 17 and 18 for the first overseas deployment of the Air Force's newest air supremacy aircraft.
The aircraft, assigned to the 27th Fighter Squadron at Langley Air Force Base, Va., started their deployment to Kadena almost 10 days previously with a stop at Hickam AFB, Hawaii. While en route, a software issue affecting the aircraft's navigation system was discovered Feb. 11 causing the aircraft to return to Hickam.
The issue was corrected and the aircraft continued on to Kadena. According the 27th FS commander, Lt. Col. Wade Tolliver, the unit is excited about the opportunity to work with the 18th Wing and other services while in the Pacific.
"Every time we fly this jet we learn something new, and to have to opportunity to fly it here in the Pacific with the F-15s (Eagles) and other aircraft is something we are looking forward to," said Colonel Tolliver.
The deployment is part of an air expeditionary force rotation. While the first deployment overseas as part of the AEF, it is not the first time the unit has sent its aircraft to other locations. Most recently the aircraft deployed to Alaska.
"This deployment is a great opportunity for the squadron. We are 8,000 miles away from our support system and home base," the colonel said. "Not only will we be learning about operating from an overseas operation, we will get the opportunity to educate the Air Force and our sister services on the capabilities the jet brings to the fight."
The colonel emphasized that the F-22 was not necessarily created to replace any one airframe in the Air Force.
"The F-22 brings an enormous capability to the Air Force," Colonel Tolliver said. "It is not about what aircraft it is replacing but about how to integrate this new aircraft into the fleet and what advantages it brings to the force."
Colonel Tolliver said the squadron will use this deployment to not only educate but to learn more innovative and advanced tactics to enhance the warfighting capability.
"This is history in the making," said Brig. Gen. Punch Moulton, the 18th WG commander. "This deployment definitely brings unmatched combat airpower to the Pacific highlighting the importance of the bilateral alliance of promoting peace and stability in the region."
The 27th FS deployed more than 250 Airmen to Kadena for the 90-120 day deployment, which is part of a regularly-scheduled U.S. Pacific Command rotational assignment of aircraft to the Pacific.
We should not only seriously ramp up the F-22...rather than terminating it arbitrarily at the end of this year because of a seriously erroneous conjecture that the F-35 will be able to "substitute" for it someday...BUT...we should also be restoring production of the prematurely-aborted production run of the B-2.
We should be doing both. If we are going to fly F-15s we whould be keeping them up-to-date. It is a maxim of defense economy. And it is the honorable thing for their pilots.
But in this program, it said that on two different occassions one Raptor had downed five f-15's in mock combat.... A couple of these planes could handle a whole squadron of anything the Chinese could put in the air. Made a believer outta me, tell you that.
Good. And you're judgement is correct. But we do need numbers as well. And the Administration is arbitrarily terminating F-22 production at the end of this year. The thinking evidently is that the F-35...a still-unproven...and vastly less capable plane in terms of the interception mission...is a cheaper alternative. "good enough" is their conjecture. When there is already a hot assembly line for the best solution.
It should also be pointed out that the twin-engine F-14, which was forcibly retired without a serious replacement last year, could only be replaced by a navalized twin-engine F-22. Not a single-engine F-35.
And this is all being driven by a fundamentally misplaced sense of priorities. Despite being at war...and its associated funding which doesn't contribute to the lasting defense infrastructure that gives us real protection...we are still seeing the same Defense Holiday mindset being practiced by the Adminstration which promised to fix this.
Plus, the underlying assumption that the F-35 (which takes a number of F-22-developed legacy technologies...without having the cost thereto added to its baseline cost) will stay at the promised budget caps is already an assumption that may prove to be a huge mistake.
Further, this constant stop-and-go, and premature aborting of production, indicates a profoundly weak managerial process. It represents indecision, and flux, waffling over picking the horse you are going to go with, uncertainty which is extremely unwise, unproductive, and wasteful industrial policy for defense procurement. Not very grown-up. And I don't attribute the immaturity to Rumsfeld. Far from it. I have a number of evidences that he was ordered to do these poor decisions by his boss. Bush should not be micro-managing these kinds of things...especially where he clearly has no idea what is the best way to go.
While a young Marine Corporal, I used to occassionaly sneak into the Officer's club at Kadena A.F.B.... I'll not reveal how those recon's were accomplished in case other young Marine Non-coms use the same technique. Nice Club.
The Air Force has a carefully crafted campaign to denigrate the F-15 and extol the F-22 - they're very good at PR and the sole goal of the Air Force is to get lots more F-22s.
Not that it isn't clearly a better aircraft but I have a strong suspicion that some of the excercises against countries with Russian equipment like India that have been "lost" by F-16s and F-15s were basically rigged so that would happen - makes both the USAF and the other country happy.
Nav system with problem around w/E 180 should have been found in house qual test ---- what else did they miss--not a warm feeling.
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