Free Republic

When I stood under the bomb bay of a retired B-52 bomber at the U.S. Air Force Museum this summer, I quickly understood why some consider this bomber the best to fly. Longevity means you earn a place in the record books and get to claim that crown. You don’t keep an airplane flying for six decades by accident. The B-52H Stratofortress didn’t just outlast its stablemates; it became the most complete version of the BUFF idea—long legs, big payload, and the electronics to make both matter in the 21st century.

Boeing’s X-32B, the Joint Strike Fighter contender that lost to Lockheed Martin’s X-35 (now the F-35), survives in just two museum airframes: one indoors at the USAF Museum and one outdoors at the Patuxent River Naval Air Museum, where weather is taking a toll.

Based on discussions with retired senior US military officials, the best chance for the F-35 Ferrari option is not as an option if the F-47 falters or is delayed. Where it may have the greatest utility, said one source very close to the program, is that technologies being developed for the Block 4 F-35 are close to the baseline for the very first models of the F-47. There is the possibility of a happy marriage there, I was told, that is the option with the greatest potential. Based on what National Security Journal is being told, if there is a...

The conflict itself would likely play out in several phases. The opening week would be defined by missile barrages aimed at Taiwan’s defenses and US forward bases, along with cyber and space attacks to blind command networks. Taiwan’s dispersal plans and mobile launchers would mitigate, but not eliminate, the damage. The next phase would be the battle for sea denial. Submarines, mines, and long-range anti-ship weapons would be hurled against convoys carrying PLA troops and supplies across the Strait. Geography favors the defenders, but China’s proximity and numerical advantage mean some ships would get through. The outcome of this battle...

This 6th-generation aircraft, now designated the F-47, will be the first stealthy aircraft designed by Boeing and is intended to move far beyond the F-35, into territory where, literally, “no man has gone before.” It will be bereft of any vertical control surfaces and will, according to one person close to the program who spoke to National Security Journal, “Be based on concepts of stealth that go beyond just the shaping of an aircraft fuselage and the techniques we know as the keys to low RCS today,” he said. “I cannot be specific about these newer technologies, which have not...

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.