Free Republic

In past few decades, the U.S. Air Force has spent untold billions researching and developing a family of stealth fighter jets that are supposed to be generations ahead of any dogfighters in the sky. But after building more than 170 F-22 Raptors and a handful of F-35 Joint Strike Fighters, not a single one is available for service. The Air Force currently has zero flyable stealth fighters. None.

June 2009, while speaking at Elmendorf AFB, Alaska, “Defense Secretary Robert Gates defended his proposed cuts in the Air Force’s fighter fleet in Fiscal 2010 as part of overall changes to the US tactical air arm. He said under his plan—to cap F-22 production at 187, shed more than 250 legacy fighters, and rely on the F-35 production line henceforth as the sole active source of advanced stealth fighters—the US will still be left with a “numerical and technological edge” that will remain “extremely strong and far superior to that of any potential competitor for at least the next 15...

Russia will build more than 1,000 stealth fighter jets within four decades, including at least 200 for its traditional weapons buyer India, the head of plane maker Sukhoi said on Friday. Sukhoi test-flew its long-delayed fifth-generation fighter at the end of January, and Moscow said it would be able to compete with its U.S. F-22 Raptor rival built more than a decade ago. Sukhoi said last week it hoped the fighter, codenamed T-50, would be ready for use in 2015. "If you talk about warplanes of this type, there is definitely a market for it if we produce more than...

THE United States is sending between 15 and 24 radar-evading Stealth fighters to South Korea this month, the US military said today, amid increasing speculation over a second North Korean nuclear test. "One squadron of F-117 Nighthawk Stealth fighters will be deployed this month,'' said Kim Yong-kyu, a spokesman for US Forces Korea. One squadron of fighters has between 15 and 24 aircraft. "This is a routine deployment,'' he said, adding that the move had nothing to do with any particular threat. He declined to give further details, including where and for how long the fighters will be deployed. Holloman...

Vice-president Dick Cheney stepped up America's war of words with North Korea yesterday by calling it a police state run by an irresponsible leader indifferent to the fate of his malnourished people.His words came just 48 hours after the Pentagon announced that it was sending 15 F-117A Nighthawk stealth fighter-bombers to South Korea, a US ally, for an undetermined period. The aircraft crews, trained to seek out targets with precision weapons, needed to familiarise themselves with the Korean terrain, the air force said. Speaking to CNN in an interview broadcast last night, Mr Cheney described North Korea's leader, Kim Jong...

The Bush Administration is accelerating preparations for a military attack on Iraq, ridiculing its offer of unconditional weapons inspections and ignoring United Nations moves for a quick return of inspectors. And in response to a call by President George Bush for world leaders not to be fooled by Saddam Hussein's apparent backdown, the Prime Minister, John Howard, yesterday toughened his criticism of the Iraqi offer, calling it "nothing more than a diplomatic ploy". "There was no undertaking to comply with relevant Security Council resolutions. There was no commitment to allow inspectors full and unfettered access. There was no capacity to...