Free Republic

On Sept 3, Beijing hosted one of its biggest military parades in years. Xi Jinping watched from Tiananmen Square as long-range missiles, hypersonic weapons, and unmanned systems rolled past in a choreographed display of force, accompanied by Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un. The message was unmistakable: China is positioning itself to shift the global balance of power in its favor — and has the will and means to field a military that can deliver not just quantitative, but qualitative, superiority over the United States.

The U.S. Air Force’s secretive F-47 sixth-generation fighter is a technological marvel designed to counter the growing threat from China. Expected to fly faster than Mach 2, the F-47 will likely be the stealthiest aircraft ever built, featuring a tailless, horizontal design. More than just a fighter, it will act as a “quarterback” for a swarm of AI-enabled drone wingmen. Its advanced sensors and computing will shorten the “sensor-to-shooter” timeline to milliseconds, and it may even be armed with revolutionary laser weapons, ensuring American air dominance for decades to come.

The fact is, said a retired Dassault executive, that “those questioning the Rafale’s combat capability forget just how long the aircraft has been around, how Dassault was one of the first aircraft design companies to seriously mitigate the aircraft’s signature by treating the inlets with radar absorbing materials, how it was one of the first aircraft to have an electronically-scanning array radar, and so on.” “These and other features of Rafale make it more than a match for these US aircraft within the visual range part of the engagement envelope,” he continued.

The current U.S. bomber force is a “hollowed-out sword,” dangerously antiquated and too small for modern great-power competition. With only 19 stealthy B-2s capable of penetrating advanced defenses, the fleet is ill-equipped for a potential conflict with China. The new B-21 Raider is the solution, but the planned fleet of 100 is a “dangerously inadequate half-measure.” To credibly deter and, if necessary, win a two-front war against both China and Russia, the United States must procure a fleet of at least 200 B-21s.

Ever since the Europeans signed on to the F-35 program, it has been clouded by one persistent fear: that in some future geopolitical crisis, Washington might seek to exercise leverage by denying software updates or spare parts, thereby rendering the European fleet inoperable. But where does this geopolitical anxiety come from? Is it grounded in historical fact (i.e., have there been precedents in which the United States weaponized its control over advanced weapon systems against its allies)?

Though officially retired since 2008, the F-117A Nighthawk remains a vital and highly active asset for the U.S. Air Force, performing critical secret missions. Its primary new role is that of a high-tech "aggressor"; its older-generation stealth profile is perfect for simulating the radar signature of Chinese and Russian adversary aircraft to train U.S. pilots.

The U.S. risks losing its air superiority by 2030 if it fails to build its next-generation aircraft in sufficient numbers.For a “strategic restraint” approach, where the new F-47 fighter and B-21 bomber are not for global policing but for credibly deterring great-power war in the Atlantic and Pacific. To achieve this, the U.S. needs a minimum of 200-300 F-47s and at least 145 B-21s. These numbers are essential to absorb combat losses, reassure allies, and deter adversaries like China and Russia.

The Northrop YF-23A Black Widow II was a revolutionary stealth prototype that competed against the YF-22 in the Advanced Tactical Fighter competition. While the YF-23A was arguably stealthier and possessed a longer range, it lost to the more agile YF-22, which became the F-22 Raptor. According to one of the program’s engineers, the decision was not based purely on performance but was influenced by politics and industrial base concerns; specifically, the need to keep Lockheed Martin in the fighter business.

While the U.S. F-35 and F-22 may be qualitatively superior, China’s ability to mass-produce its J-20 stealth fighter presents a grave quantitative threat. China’s “offset strategy with Chinese characteristics” focuses on overwhelming the limited number of American fifth-generation jets with a massive fleet of J-20s.

The U.S. Air Force’s plan to procure “at least 100” B-21 Raider stealth bombers is dangerously insufficient for an era of simultaneous great-power competition with Russia and China. Credible deterrent and the ability to fight a protracted, two-theater war requires a much larger fleet, in the range of 200 to 400 aircraft.

Restarting the F-22 Raptor production line is a “pipe dream” that is not feasible or strategically wise. The industrial base, including the assembly line and specialized subcontractors, no longer exists, and a 2017 Air Force report estimated a restart would cost a staggering $50 billion. Furthermore, the F-22’s 1990s-era technology is now obsolete and would require an extensive and costly redesign to remain relevant.

The F-117 Nighthawk, the world’s first operational stealth aircraft, was officially retired in 2008 but continues to fly regularly. The U.S. Air Force still uses the iconic jet as a cost-effective platform for several key missions. Primarily, it serves as a unique “aggressor” trainer, simulating foreign stealth aircraft like China’s J-20 to prepare U.S. pilots for modern threats.

The McDonnell XF-85 Goblin was a bizarre Cold War experiment: a tiny, egg-shaped “parasite fighter” designed to be carried inside the bomb bay of a massive B-36 bomber. The plan was to launch the Goblin mid-air to defend the bomber from interceptors and then retrieve it on a trapeze. The concept was a complete failure.

For decades, China’s advanced fighter jets, including the J-20 stealth fighter, were held back by a critical dependency on Russian-made engines. China has systematically overcome this weakness, evolving from copying Russia’s AL-31F engine to reverse-engineering Western commercial cores and finally developing its own powerful, indigenous designs like the WS-10 and WS-15.

In a historic pivot, the Pentagon is reportedly halving its planned purchase of F-35 stealth fighters, signaling a significant shift in U.S. airpower strategy. The move is a long-overdue break from a history of bad procurement choices, like rejecting the superior YF-23. Many would argue the F-35 is a vulnerable “procurement Frankenstein,” unsuited for a future war with China or Russia.

The U.S. Air Force made a “strategic blunder” in 1991 by choosing the YF-22 over the more advanced YF-23 prototype. The YF-23 was a more futuristic design, prioritizing the all-aspect stealth, speed, and range needed for modern, beyond-visual-range combat.The Air Force, however, being risk-averse, chose the more conventional and maneuverable YF-22 (or F-22) because it clung to outdated dogfighting dogmas.

While the F-35 is a capable 5th-generation fighter, it is a transitional “stopgap” that is becoming increasingly vulnerable to the evolving threats from China and Russia. To maintain air dominance, the U.S. must rapidly develop the 6th-generation F-47. The F-47 is envisioned not just as a faster, stealthier fighter, but as a “quarterback” for the entire battlespace, orchestrating drones, cyber operations, and other assets.

Despite being officially retired in 2008, the U.S. Air Force has confirmed that a fleet of approximately 45 F-117A Nighthawk stealth aircraft (or commonly known as the F-117 Stealth Fighter) will continue flying until at least 2034. The iconic jets are not designed for combat, but now serve in critical new roles. They act as “red air” aggressors for realistic pilot training, test advanced technologies like new “mirror-like” coatings, and serve as proxies for other stealth platforms.

The Air Force Global Strike Command has ordered an immediate halt to the use of its M18 service pistol following the death of a Security Forces Airman in a “tragic incident.” The Airman was killed by an alleged accidental discharge, fueling long-standing complaints and a recent FBI report suggesting the M18 can fire without its trigger being pulled.

Decades before the rumored SR-72 “Darkstar,” America had already conquered hypersonic flight with the X-15 rocket plane. In 1967, this remarkable experimental aircraft, developed by North American Aviation, reached a stunning speed of Mach 6.7, a record for a crewed, powered aircraft that remains unbroken to this day.