Posted on 09/15/2010 1:15:46 PM PDT by nuconvert
OXON HILL, Md. -- The U.S. Air Force’s former top intelligence officer warned a roomful of generals this week that the U.S. has lost its air power advantages and is dangerously ill-prepared to stop the gap-closing efforts of China and Russia.
Lt. Gen. David Deptula, a former F-15 pilot, challenged Defense Secretary Robert Gates’ fundamental belief that U.S. air power vastly overmatches any foreign military.
“For the first time, our claim to air supremacy is in jeopardy,” Deptula told the Air Force Association’s national convention on Monday.
At the same forum last year, Gates defended ordering a halt to the production of the Air Force’s vaunted F-22, saying that by the time China produces a fighter comparable to the F-22, the U.S. will have more than 1,000 F-22s and F-35s.
The Air Force Association has openly opposed Gates’ stance and this year Deptula came armed with a 15-minute bombastic video titled “Threats to 2010 Air Supremacy.” His presentation attempted to reopen more than just the F-22 fight, warning that from surface-to-air defenses to air-to-air fighters, the U.S. was letting others catch up. These future threats, he said, are now current.
(Excerpt) Read more at military.com ...
With administrations like this one trying to tax evil corporations to death no wonder.
What a crying shame, and I hope it doesn’t turn out.
China understands the results of a military that is not up to par or valued. Russia understands the need for a modern military, especially after WWI and WWII. Both suffered because of an inadequately trained and armed military. China was colonized while Russia barely succeeded in fending off the Nazis.
Another sign of the Turd worlding of America!
Gates has been the worst SECDEF in my lifetime, and that includes “Yo-Yo McNamera”.
sarc/
This should make the Democrats happy. Another agenda success.
I saw Astronuat Scott Carpenter last night. He’s here in Oregon campaigning with Art Robinson. He said he’s almost moved to tears when he reads the paper these days. The ‘can do’ country we’ve always been is gone. And the world is still a very dangerous place...
Libtards hate the Military, they want to defund it, put gays in it to kill morale and to demonize personnel as criminals, including the assinine ROE in the Middle East.
Mission Accomplished for the Left.
Obama clearly believes that “economic security” through wealth redistribution trumps “national security.”
He’s not going to let inconvenient facts such as the dismal unemployment rate or highest-ever increase in poverty under his administration dissuade him from this destructive world view.
Uh, oh, at some point technological superiority cannot overcome superior numbers.
Are we now at that point.
If this is true, the only hope for now is that our pilots are the best in the world. I believe they are.
Assuming the will exists, in a hypothetical scenario, the US tosses up x number of F22’s, F35’s and the Chinese counter with x times 10 the number of a technologically inferior aircraft......At what point does a “swarm” strategy overwhelm....And no doubt, they are not standing still in innovation.
If we do not develop some national will, we will end up on the ash heap of history. The gains which we bought in blood will be pi$$ed away by our “leaders”.
The people in authority should take appropriate action.
He was the principal attack planner for the Desert Storm coalition air campaign in 1991.
They call him the top intel guy because he has been the USAF/A2 at the Pentagon for the past few years. Still, he’s pure fighter pilot.
“And no doubt, they are not standing still in innovation.”
That’s the real cause for concern.
As soon as the superior aircraft runs out of munitions and has to leave the area.
Consider how swarms of relatively inexpensive next-generation UAVs change the game.
The F-22 is not completely invisible to radar, nor to all kinds of radar/lidar, it just can detect opponents (and fire on them) from much further away than the opponents can detect the F-22. But what if the other side sends up swarms of UAVs with powerful sensor packages? More than the F-22s have missiles to shoot down? Eventually, the F-22 runs out of missiles, while the UAVs close into range.
They are, but having the best pilots in bad planes that are not as good as the opposition won’t work for too long.
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