ANG Director's F-22 appeal to Congress

F-16.net ^ | July 9, 2009 | by Bjørnar Bolsøy)

[Jet Jaguar]

The Air National Guard is becoming a force to be reckoned with in the battle over whether to terminate or keep building the 5th generation F-22 fighter.

In a June 19 letter to Senator Saxby Chambliss (R-GA), Air National Guard Director Lt. Gen. Harry Wyatt advocates the purchase of F-22 fighters to secure the Guard's homeland defense mission in the future. According to Wyatt the ANG is facing a serious risk of becoming unable to fulfill the Nations highest strategic priority: defending the Homeland.

Wyatts concern is well founded. Within about eight years 80 percent of the ANG's F-16 inventory, which carries out the bulk of the Nations Air Sovereignty Alert (ASA) operations, will reach the end of their planned operational life span.

In his April testimony to the House Armed Services’ readiness committee, Wyatts noted that if Air Guard units received 5th generation fighters, such as the F-22 and F-35 sooner, the readiness issues could be avoided. "Every day without a solution, this situation becomes more and more urgent," Wyatt told the committee.

The Air Guard operates 16 of the 18 ASA sites located across the United States to protect its airspace. While the average age of Guard' aircraft is over 25 years, the KC-135 aerial refueling tanker aircraft are the oldest at 49 years. The KC-135s also support the ASA mission through aerial refueling. In total, excluding tanker support, more than 3,000 Airmen are responsible for the Air Sovereignty Alert mission.

In the June letter to Senator Chambliss, Wyatt remains optimistic in the US's ability to recapitalize the ANG, but notes "I am not aware of any plan that commits to doing so". "As such, we are in need of an immediate solution in order to ensure that America's most cost effective force can continue to perform its most important mission".

Wyatt continues, advocating the capabilities of Lockheed Martins F-22 fighter: "While a variety of solutions abound, I believe the current and future asymmetric threats to our nation, particularly from seaborne cruise missiles, requires a fighter platform with the requisite speed and detection to address them." "The F-22's unique capability in this arena enables it to handle a full spectrum of threats that the ANG's current legacy systems are not capable of addressing", Wyatt said emphasizing its 5th generation capacity.

“I am fond of saying that America's most important job should be handled by Americas best fighter".

The Armed Services panel’s report accompanying its recent defense authorization bill quotes Wyatts letter as a justification for the committee’s recommendation to keep the F-22 production line open. The report suggests that the looming shortfall of F-15 and F-16 fighter jets to execute the Air Guard's ASA alerts is a primary reason for authorizing the additional F-22s.

Wyatts letter concludes: "Many say this will mean making though choices, but I believe we can maintain our vitality by making smart choices; leveraging the cost effective and daily use of the ANG is the answer. Basing F-22s (and eventually F-35s) at strategic locations while simultaneously making them available to rotationally support worldwide contingency operations is the most responsible approach to satisfying all of our Nation's needs".

[DoughtyOne]

Finally!  Someone is talking sense on the F-22.  Bravo Air National Guard Director Lt. Gen. Harry Wyatt


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[pissant]

F-22 BUMP. What a great bird.

[jazusamo]

Completely agree, ANG should have F-22’s.

[Secret Agent Man]

I mean we’re killing off this fighter before we hardly have any of them.

Of course this is the goal of the O-hole administration. His main goal is to usher in world government.

You cannot have world government if we’re a superpower.

You cannot be a spuerpower if you are de-industrialized.

[LasVegasMac]

O-hole

I like that!

[GBA]

There is no good reason for Gates and obama to kill the F-22 and a great many reasons to build as many or more than originally planned.

If they want us to believe that killing the F-22 program is somehow about the cost of an F-22 in our now difficult economy, we should consider the number of people at all levels, directly and indirectly involved in building an F-22. Killing the program spreads a lot of misery around to a lot of tax paying, voting Americans and their families while making the country weaker now and well into the future.

Consider that we fly our fighters for decades and other than the F-22, all of our current aircraft have equal or better aircraft being flown by our potential adversaries. As tax payers, it's our money...how much is the life of a pilot or the success of a mission worth to you?

It's obviously not about the money...so, what is it really about for our domestic enemies in charge?

[Oldexpat]

India plans to buy just as many front line fighters as we have now planned F22’s. India?
The easiest place to spend stimulus money is on currently produced aircraft. We can always use more first line fighters and c-17’s. We could sell or lease a lot of c-17’s. We need to start building the boeing tankers..who wants our Air Force flying Airbus’s that loose their tail feathers.

[parsifal]

With all the stuff we waste money on, what a shame to get miserly on defense.

parsy, who hopes the knuckleheads wake up

[magellan]

Sorry, but there is no requirement for stealth for an interceptor.

Current F-15Cs with the AESA radars are capable of performing the interceptor role as well as the F-22. The one feature the F-22 has which benefits the interceptor role is supercruise.

But that is not reason enough to have the best air superiority fighter sitting at home on the alert pad, or intercepting drug runners in Cessnas, when a major war erupts.

I’m not against the Guard having F-22s, but they should be pure air superiority fighters, capable of deploying to support the air superiority role.

[Bryan24]

“Sorry, but there is no requirement for stealth for an interceptor.”

The number one factor in air combat is who finds his enemy first. If you don’t know another plane is withing gun range, you are as good as dead.

FYI, the F-15 went into service before the F-16.

[magellan]

"The number one factor in air combat is who finds his enemy first. If you don’t know another plane is withing gun range, you are as good as dead."

What you are describing is not what an air defense interceptor does. You are describing air to air combat.

Air defense interceptors exist to intercept and destroy attack aircraft, primarily bombers, but today their primary role is to intercept unidentified aircraft like potential drug smugglers.

Unless Al Qaeda has SU-27 escort of its next hijacked 767, I stand by my claim.

It would be malfeasance to put F-22s into Guard air defense units while leaving front-line air superiority to the F-15. Any F-22s in the Guard must be in the air superiority role, not the air defense role.

[rmlew]

If we are talking air defense and patrols, the F-22 is a bad idea. Buying 100 F-16 Block 60s makes more sense.