[Army Air Corps]

Ping.

[unkus]

I don’t really seeing anyone in high positions looking out for America much longer. It’s all too corrupt and up for the highest bidder. Sad to the extreme.

Marxist Oligarchy in the USA and New World Order is the name of the game.

[PGR88]

We’ll have 5 really good airplanes, but they will soon cost $5 billion each.

Like all Gov’t in the US, we will be defeated by our own costs and bureaucracy before an enemy does it.

[Little Pig]

Some would content that this issue is exactly why the Air Force has had that little orbiter up there for the past year or so. 15 or 20 of those with the appropriate munitions aboard could do wonders for reducing an enemy’s capability to field a capable airforce.

Additionally, there is validity in the view that piloted aircraft will have a limited role in future conflicts due to the capabilities of modern weapons. Dogfights are rarities, and will continue to become more rare with the advent of longer-range missiles with more autonomy, and the fielding of vehicle-mounted energy weapons that can destroy targets at ultra-long range. There are of course valid missions for pilots, and I would posit that intelligence gathering is one. Use drones for combat airspace control, as they can do things that aircraft with fragile humans aboard cannot. Leave missions like the Iran surveillance one to piloted aircraft, since humans can’t be jammed the way a GPS can.

[ETL]

"Little of this would matter if other nations were not building up their offensive and defensive air capabilities. Russia, for example, took delivery of four more Su-34 advanced fighter-bombers last week, part of a buy expected to reach around 120 planes. This follows on the continued development of Russia’s indigenous fifth-generation fighter, the PAK-50. Meanwhile, China continues designing its own stealth fighter, the J-20, and retires older J-7s and J-8s, while building advanced Su-30 fighters. Perhaps even more threatening is the ongoing deployment of sophisticated integrated air defense systems (IADS) by Russia and China"

From the campaign trail, February 2008...

Obama Pledges Cuts in Missile Defense, Space, and Nuclear Weapons Programs

February 29, 2008 :: News
MissileThreat.com

A video has surfaced of Presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama talking on his plans for strategic issues such as nuclear weapons and missile defense.

The full text from the video, as released, reads as follows:

Thanks so much for the Caucus4Priorities, for the great work you've been doing. As president, I will end misguided defense policies and stand with Caucus4Priorities in fighting special interests in Washington.

First, I'll stop spending $9 billion a month in Iraq. I'm the only major candidate who opposed this war from the beginning. And as president I will end it.['end it', not win it -etl]

Second, I will cut tens of billions of dollars in wasteful spending.

I will cut investments in unproven missile defense systems.

I will not weaponize space.

I will slow our development of future combat systems.

And I will institute an independent "Defense Priorities Board" to ensure that the Quadrennial Defense Review is not used to justify unnecessary spending.

Third, I will set a goal of a world without nuclear weapons. To seek that goal, I will not develop new nuclear weapons; I will seek a global ban on the production of fissile material; and I will negotiate with Russia to take our ICBMs off hair-trigger alert [they are NOT on "hair-trigger alert" now -etl], and to achieve deep cuts in our nuclear arsenals.

You know where I stand. I've fought for open, ethical and accountable government my entire public life. I don't switch positions or make promises that can't be kept. I don't posture on defense policy and I don't take money from federal lobbyists for powerful defense contractors. As president, my sole priority for defense spending will be protecting the American people. Thanks so much.

Article: Obama Pledges Cuts in Missile Defense, Space, and Nuclear Weapons Programs:
http://missilethreat.com/archives/id.7086/detail.asp

"MissileThreat.com is a project of The Claremont Institute devoted to understanding and promoting the requirements for the strategic defense of the United States."
_____________________________________________________

"I will not weaponize space"

"I will cut investments in unproven missile defense systems"
_____________________________________________________

2008 Pentagon Report (March 2008):
China's Growing Military Space Power
By Leonard David
Special Correspondent, SPACE.com
March 6, 2008

GOLDEN, Colorado — A just-released Pentagon report spotlights a growing U.S. military concern that China is developing a multi- dimensional program to limit or prevent the use of space-based assets by its potential adversaries during times of crisis or conflict.

Furthermore, last year's successful test by China of a direct-ascent, anti-satellite (ASAT) weapon to destroy its own defunct weather satellite, the report adds, underscores that country's expansion from the land, air, and sea dimensions of the traditional battlefield into the space and cyber-space domains.

Although China's commercial space program has utility for non- military research, that capability demonstrates space launch and control know-how that have direct military application. Even the Chang'e 1 — the Chinese lunar probe now circling the Moon — is flagged in the report as showcasing China's ability "to conduct complicated space maneuvers — a capability which has broad implications for military counterspace operations."

To read the entire publication [29.67MB/pdf], see U.S. Dept of Defense:
http://www.defenselink.mil/pubs/pdfs/China_Military_Report_08.pdf
_____________________________________________________

From the Sino-Russian Joint Statement of April 23, 1997:
"The two sides [China and Russia] shall, in the spirit of partnership, strive to promote the multipolarization of the world and the establishment of a new international order."

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Central_Asia/HI29Ag01.html

[clearcarbon]

If we keep cutting these programs we're going to lose the expertise to design and build them. Why would anyone want to go to school for two decades for jobs that won't exist when they graduate.

[ETL]

Deep defense cuts mean fewer troops

AP via YahooNews ^ | November 15, 2011
DONNA CASSATA - Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of U.S. ground forces would drop to levels not seen since 1940, the Navy would drop to the smallest number of ships since 1915 and the Air Force would be the smallest ever, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said in warning Congress of the dire implications of deeper defense cuts.

The Pentagon chief on Monday offered a litany of drastic steps triggered by the automatic, across-the-board cuts if Congress' supercommittee fails to come up with a $1.2 trillion deficit-cutting plan by Nov. 23. If the panel stumbles, the Pentagon faces some $500 billion in reductions in projected spending over 10 years — on top of the $450 billion already under way.

(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...

[Thunder90]

Russia also has anti-Carrier missiles. The Iskander-M can take out our carriers as well as being a surface to surface missile. And, it can be fitted with a tactical nuke.

[ETL]

Obama insists US does not fear China [while he and Congress gut the military!]
AP via YahooNews ^ | November 16, 2011 | BEN FELLER

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — President Barack Obama insisted Wednesday that the United States does not fear China, even as he announced a new security agreement with Australia that is widely viewed as a response to Beijing's growing aggressiveness.

China responded swiftly, warning that an expanded U.S. military footprint in Australia may not be appropriate and deserved greater scrutiny.

The agreement, announced during a joint news conference with Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, will expand the U.S. military presence in Australia, positioning more U.S. personnel and equipment there, and increasing American access to bases. About 250 U.S. Marines will begin a rotation in northern Australia starting next year, with a full force of 2,500 military personnel staffing up over the next several years.

(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...

[neverdem]

A Democrat reaches across the aisle on Medicare (Liberal Senator Wyden works with Paul Ryan)

Now, 91 congressmen have ‘no confidence’ in Holder or believe he should quit

The EPA Is Dreaming Of A Blackout Christmas

Romney as Nixon? 2012 Carries Unsettling Echoes for GOP

Some noteworthy articles about politics, foreign or military affairs, IMHO, FReepmail me if you want on or off my list.