Air Force yields in F-22 fighter dispute

Rueters ^ | 4/13/09 | Rueters

[SampleMan]

in its plan to end production of Lockheed Martin Corp's

Only an idiot journalist could write that.

[wny]

I think USS Bush just completed her sea trials...

[A.A. Cunningham]

Remember the STOVL version is the replacement for the USMC Harrier and the B model has heavy landing gear and tailhooks for carrier operations.

The B is the STOVL variant. The C is the CV - Navy variant.

[Blood of Tyrants]

And by many accounts, the F-35 is inferior to the F-22.

[Kickass Conservative]

Make that ALL accounts.

The F-35, though very capable, is basically a Stealth F-16.

When is the last time we had a single engine carrier based fighter? The ocean is not forgiving of engine failure.

We will all pay for this stupidity sooner or later.

[DaisyCutter]

The F-35 and F-22 are designed for two different missions. The F-22 is an air dominance fighter with some ground attack capabilities, much like the F-15. Its designed mission is to ensure total air superiority, allowing all of our other aircraft to conduct strikes with impunity.

The F-35 is designated to replace various fighter and attacker aircraft through all branches - including the F-16 and the F/A-18 Hornet. Its a multirole aircraft, and should fare well in air-to-air and surface attack missions, but as the saying goes, "jack of all trades, master of none." One of the supposed benefits to the F-35 is that it was a joint forces aircraft, saving on R&D costs by designing one fighter/attacker aircraft to replace several different models in multiple branches.

[A.A. Cunningham]

When is the last time we had a single engine carrier based fighter?

F-8, AV-8B - which is still in service, in addition to the A-4 and A-7.

[Dosa26]

"jack of all trades, master of none."

Now we will be stuck with a thousand or 800 3rd (?) generation carrier aircraft because the 22can't be navalized and we need a stopgap instead of whatever new tech that won't be funded.

[MissouriConservative]

Just another mirror of the Carter years. We have a foreign crisis where the CnC is a wuss. Now we have him canceling a valuable program (Zero the F22, Carter the B1)..I swear I’m reliving the Carter years all over again.

I can only hope that at the end of the four years, we have a repeat and get another Reaganesque leader who knows what they hell they are doing.

[CholeraJoe]

Thanks.

[Blood of Tyrants]

When is the last time we had a single engine carrier based fighter?

That would be the F-8 Crusader that of the Vietnam era planes. It was phased out in the late 70's.