The one that really pisses me off is the Air Force getting the F22 Raptor when they have the JSF coming on line. I don't really see a need for either, but for sure we don't need both.
Well, I would take umbrage (again) with that.. Raptor is an air superiority fighter/interceptor, while JSF is a Fighter/Bomber.
In any particular war with China or some other nation, we're not going to have the mass quantities of aircraft available to us that they might have, however obsolete... Remember the Germans had the qualitative edge in equipment in WWII, but just not enough of it, and we are finding ourselves in the same predicament with regard to a nation like China which can theoretically field an army equal the size of the entire population of the US.
Thus, we'll need to have one fighter dedicated to eradicating the enemy air force, while the other is dedicated to fighter bombing and air support.
This is the strategy we've used to GREAT EFFECT since WWII, when the Mustang replaced the Thunderbolt ("Jug") as the primary escort/interceptor due to its longer range. Or like the F-15 and F-16 combination we currently have in place.
JSF has the great advantage that it will be deployed by EVERY service, Air Farce, Marines, and Navy (despite the fact that the latter normally demand two engines per airframe for redundancy in over water flights). Additionally, the USMC and Navy versions will be VTOL capable, providing them the ability to take off vertically.
I will agree that if it comes to a decision being forced between the two, I would take the JSF.
But you're point about Air Force pilots having little desire to be nothing more than "bomb trucks" is quite important. Although increasingly better coordinated, Air/Army FACs don't really get to spend nearly as much time training with one another as the artillery FDC and infantry and armor based FOs do. Being "in-house", I believe that artillery response is more effective than is air support because of the integrated training that every Army Officer and NCO receives in performing "call for fire" missions.
It's similar to the comraderie that Marine grunts and pilots have developed between one another. On the other hand, being an Air Force air support specialist is literally a "dead end" career, which little opportunity for higher advancement (which equates to having the chance to change priorities).
Hawk |
