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To: ErnstStavroBlofeld

The last Air Force secretary and Air Force Chief of Staff were fired on the same day, a historic first.

Putting all of one’s eggs into one basket is strategically questionable.

Pair down the program, stretch it out, phase out JSTARS and keep AWACS. You’re going to need it against China one day.


3 posted on 01/31/2011 9:19:11 PM PST by Tea Party Reveler
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To: Tea Party Reveler
I don't know if getting rid of JSTARS would be a good idea, until you can find an aircraft that can cover such a large area such as JSTARS, there will always be a need for intelligence on ground movement, even with China. Furthermore, taking any part of the iron triad (AWACS, JSTARS, RJ) would be detrimental to U.S. ISR capabilities (a very potent capability that not many countries can duplicate, even China and Russia).
On the other hand many countries are very capable of producing/training fighters (aircraft/fighter pilots). Throwing money into something that we do not have an obvious advantage over is not wise. Investing in just fighter aircraft that can be equipped with ISR pods is very short sighted strategic planning (it would be like looking through a soda straw on those aircraft) ISR ops is the unique capability that the U.S. does and does better than any country at this point in time, cutting these would equate to shooting ourselves in the foot.
67 posted on 03/29/2011 9:21:16 PM PDT by toca_01
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