[Sine_Pari]

Esteemed Seasoned Bill,

My friend, simmer down a bit. First, you have not addressed the technical questions which I will not repeat for third time. BTW, it was a Navy Aviator friend of mine who first put this bug in my ear regarding Air Force stealth planes.

Rarely do I expose credentials in such a public forum yet I think it is warranted here. I'm a 25+ still on active duty commissioned officer with many operational and combat tours. Having planned and been at the receiving end of CAS and other air support, I am skeptical of the full capabilities of stealth technology as advertised. As for the Chinese, we do not know how many of these birds they have or what their full capabilities may be. I seriously doubt you have qualitatively or authoritative information at your disposal concerning the matter.

In my years wearing the uniform I have seen a lot of waste at all levels. Weapons procurement programs remain one of the most expensive endeavors in the DoD budget and a fertile source of waste. I care less about the tired old garden variety waste you mention that goes back to the early '80s involving tools or 'holed' pilot seats. I care about providing the combatants with the proper cost effective tools to do the job; nothing more and nothing less. Questioning if a specific tool is right, necessary or even cost effective for the job at hand is healthy skepticism and fiscally responsible, nothing else. Unfortunately people out there insist on protecting their rice bowls and pet projects with little factual or logical basis to support their position.

Continue to ponder and Regards.

[oldbill]

“BTW, it was a Navy Aviator friend of mine who first put this bug in my ear regarding Air Force stealth planes.”

Says enough right there. Of course, the Navy decided to stay out of the stealth business, and now too late it realizes it could not survive against a stealth-based air-to-air enemy with its grape-like F-18s.

Your experience is noble and brave. When you have 33+ years give me a call.

CAS is not the arena for stealth. If you want airpower to be A-10s and Army helicopters, go right ahead. But the spectrum of warfare is not just bringing in cover for the guys outside the wire and in the firefight.

It means keeping the skies clear of the other guy’s airpower so those Warthogs and choppers can work unimpeded over your head.

It means the ability to bust down the other guy’s doors so you can bring in all those tanks and mechanized infantry to fight your part of the war without seeing night vision Youtubes of YOUR buddies getting blasted out of their truckstops.

It means strategic offensive actions deep in a peer power’s territory, whose occupants deploy more sophisticated technology than you have seen in Iraq or Afghanistan.

Even at 25+ your time horizon has never included what engaging a peer enemy is all about. The Russians are not gone, just sleeping. The Chinese are waking up, and they have the industry they stole from us to be the next arsenal of (their) democracy, not ours.

If you want to address technical issues, get back with me when you know what an F-pole is, and then we can talk.
And stay away from the Navy guys. They have more important problems now than worrying about stealth aircraft in the other services.

[oldbill]

“BTW, it was a Navy Aviator friend of mine who first put this bug in my ear regarding Air Force stealth planes.”

Says enough right there. Of course, the Navy decided to stay out of the stealth business, and now too late it realizes it could not survive against a stealth-based air-to-air enemy with its grape-like F-18s.

Your experience is noble and brave. When you have 33+ years give me a call.

CAS is not the arena for stealth. If you want airpower to be A-10s and Army helicopters, go right ahead. But the spectrum of warfare is not just bringing in cover for the guys outside the wire and in the firefight.

It means keeping the skies clear of the other guy’s airpower so those Warthogs and choppers can work unimpeded over your head.

It means the ability to bust down the other guy’s doors so you can bring in all those tanks and mechanized infantry to fight your part of the war without seeing night vision Youtubes of YOUR buddies getting blasted out of their truckstops.

It means strategic offensive actions deep in a peer power’s territory, whose occupants deploy more sophisticated technology than you have seen in Iraq or Afghanistan.

Even at 25+ your time horizon has never included what engaging a peer enemy is all about. The Russians are not gone, just sleeping. The Chinese are waking up, and they have the industry they stole from us to be the next arsenal of (their) democracy, not ours.

If you want to address technical issues, get back with me when you know what an F-pole is, and then we can talk.
And stay away from the Navy guys. They have more important problems now than worrying about stealth aircraft in the other services.