© Lockheed Martin
Posted on 04/16/2010 6:39:29 AM PDT by sukhoi-30mki
© Lockheed Martin
Somewhere, the Pukin Dog is thinking “I told you so.”
Heres to you, Pukin.
Comes with free matching Barry space shuttle replacement.
Backup plan: Cancel the F35 program, restart the F-22 program. Shift remaining funds from the Lightning to the Raptor, allow our allies to buy ‘export’ versions of the F-22. As for the Navy’s need, update and buy Super Hornets and/or drones.
Maybe the F-22 can be adapted for carrier ops but at considerable costs however we could pursue that in a separate order.
Ideal? No but it’s a hell of a lot better than what we have now.
And the Marines get out of the V/STOL business?
We actually need both fighters and we need to sell F-35's to keep the assembly lines running.
I am for restarting F22, but F22 can not be adapted for carrier ops and the Marines still need STOVL.
The backup plan needs to be a govt wake-up that you get what you pay for and if you want to get the best it costs more. Stop spending money on welfare and bailouts, and put people to work building the things our military needs to do its job.
The govt is the best example of blame shifting you could ever ask for.
Why not pursue the V/STOL program separate like they have with the Harrier? Let’s face it, even if they can get a V/STOL version of the F-35 working it’s going to cost so much that not many will be procured Personally I think the Marines should get a newer version of the A-10 Thunderbolt that is purpose built for ground-support. It’s arguable as to how effective the F-35 in a ground-support role but it is a single engine fighter and the V/STOL abilities will come at a cost, (reduce ordinance/fuel/range.)
Again, not ideal but the route we’re going down now will mean at best a handful of F-22’s, a handful of F-35’s and a bunch of older Gen IV fighters facing Gen V fighters from Russia (Iran, Venezuela, NK, etc.) You don’t have to be a AF strategist to see the coming disaster we’re heading to.
We WILL have some sort of conflict with China over Taiwan in the next 25 years as well as countless Iraq/Iraq/Afghanistan adversaries. All of our military doctrine is based upon air supremacy, take that away and we’re in big, BIG trouble!!!
ping
I agree with you but it’s not going to happen until at least 2012. Even then *if* we can convince the voting public to give up entitlement programs to build weapons the money simply won’t be there. Face it everyone, we’re going down the road the the U.S.S.R went down in the 70’s and early eighties. We cannot continue to sustain the massive spending and eventually we’ll have to cut EVERYTHING including defense programs just to pay our debt. The only way I see the voting public accepting a shift from entitlement programs into weapons is another war on the level of WWII.
If it were up to me I’d replace every Gen IV fighter we have with F-35’s and F-22’s but it’s simply not possible. A AF friend of mine who was a F-22 skeptic convinced me that we need as many of these things as we can build. The F-35 can’t do anything that a F-22 can do better except the V/STOL. Event that isn’t a done-deal for the F-35 so again I ask at what cost do we pursue one single role?
Correction; AN AF friend.....I need more coffee.
An A-10 has a cirtical runway length of 4,500 feet (2500PA and 25C temp) loaded.
Not a real STOL kinds A/C.
Ahh thanks for that, I understand the V/STOL is a critical item but I’m concerned that the justification will make matters worse. From what I understand, the Harrier isn’t really a capable air-air system which the F-35 V/STOL will improve on but wouldn’t be better to pursue that as an independent platform?
F22 is not carrier aviation adaptable
The Marine Corp has a very unique set of needs and requirements for its aviation arm. Harrier, while having some limited air-to-air capability, was intended for the close-air-support (CAS) mission, not air-to-air. F35 alone gives the Marines the CAS capability with improved air-to-air, while retaining the STOVL capability needed for them to deploy on small deck ships like LHA’s, ships smaller than full deck CV’s and CVN’s.
STOVL is a done deal.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcC7Ps9cHsY&playnext_from=TL&videos=zdwBnuFiAJY
Sure it is. All it takes is time, money, and willpower. Sadly, we seem to be out of all three.
Cool but i read a story a coue day ago about problems with the F35 exhaust. Seems in V/STOL config, the exhaust it too hot for decks, it was posted in FR I think.
Sounds like a much better plan than the one they have now.
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