Via Neptunus Lex: Despite China and Russia both being in the process of developing heavy, twin-engine next-generation fighter jets, the Obama administration canceled production of the Lockheed Martin F-22. The U.S. Air Force could be accused of asking for too many of these jets, but cutting off production at the 187 units currently scheduled seems anemic compared with the Air Force’s 800-plus McDonnell-Douglas F-15s—the aircraft the F-22 was ultimately designed to replace. The key to U.S. airpower strategy for more than 35 years was to maintain a “high-low” mix of fighter aircraft. This meant having a twin-engine, long-range fighter on the high end (the F-15, later to be replaced by the F-22) and a lighter, single-engine fighter on the lower end (the F-16, later to be replaced by the F-35). This created a division of labor in which the higher-end aircraft operated as an air superiority fighter or a long-range, deep strike platform, while the lower-end aircraft flew close air support missions for infantry and were the dogfighters, designed for an “inside the furball” up-close fight with a formation of enemy aircraft. The other advantage of this two-tiered arrangement was that it gave the United States a sophisticated, expensive plane like the F-15 that could be sold to those allies who had the industrial base and/or economic prowess to support its operation—Israel, Japan, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, and Singapore. At the same time the cheaper, easier to operate F-16 could be sold to almost anyone—in this case 25 other air forces around the world… (Decisions) on future tactical airpower have been made almost entirely on political grounds. Canceling F-22 production did not save any real sums of money—the big development bucks had already been spent. But, as one Lockheed executive told me, the administration needed a win, and going after the F‑22 program was “an easy target.” We, as a country, have some very important decisions to make about our future. No one is going to argue that we can’t cut the defense budget. Of course we can and some argue we must. Fine. And certainly no one is going to attempt to argue that our military procurement process is top drawer and something that is both efficient and cost conscious. Anyone who would would be immediately relegated to “loon” status. That said, however, savings in defense shouldn’t come at the expense of our ability to effectively deter a future threat. And decisions shouldn’t be short sighted attempts to save money when the decision could effect our future capabilities to the point that we could be rendered unable to project the power necessary to insure both our defense and the defense of our allies. One of the fundamental parts of our power projection ability over the last 50 or so years has been based in airpower. And the formula that has worked consistently for us is what Lex calls “high-low power projection”. It requires a mix of airframes which have different roles but are complementary to each other. But, given the competition out there with the aircraft being developed by rival countries, it also requires state-of-the-art fighters able to effectively operate within the ever evolving battle space defined by the technology of the day. Airframes designed and developed in the ‘60s and ‘70s, no matter how capable today, are not going to be able to compete in the next 10 or so years. And so we see this new generation of fighters coming on which are critical to maintaining our competitive edge being cut or having their programs curtailed, while we pour trillions of dollars down the drain on questionable “stimulus” projects of dubious worth. Yes, there are savings to be had in the Defense budget. Yes, there are savings to be had in the procurement process. But when decisions today could effect our ability to compete and win in combat in 10 to 20 years, those cuts should be critically evaluated and we should err on the side of our security. They shouldn’t be decisions grounded in what is politically expedient at the time.
Read the complete post at http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Blackfive/~3/Voo9u6v5jZI/jet-fighters-power-projection-and-the-future.html
Posted
Oct 12 2010, 03:49 AM
by
BLACKFIVE