With 229 Days till the general election to be held 6 November 2012 I present to you Obama Accomplishment #228.
Killed the F-22: In 2009, ended further purchases of Lockheed Martin single-seat, twin-engine, fighter aircraft, which cost $358 million apiece. Though the military had 187 built, the plane has never flown a single combat mission. Eliminating it saved $4 billion. http://x.co/iMfa
So we don’t need to have the best available equipment for our Air Force. The F-15 the F-22 replaces can do the job and there’s no need to improve our air fighting capabilities…. tell that to the pilots and their families. As usual the easy way to make it appear like your administration cares about the federal budget deficit is to cut one of the ONLY things that you’re Constitutionally mandated to provide funds for… that is National Defense. Lets not take on the entitlement programs that are really bankrupting the Nation lets cut the national defense budget.
Brilliant Obama Accomplishment #228
The Rio Norte Line 
The F-15 can’t do the job – not anymore – not OUR F-15’s…because we have used them so much for so long we have “killed” their airframes.
All F-15’s currently in service fly under G-load restrictions due to structural weakness caused by fatigue. They should have been replaced LONG ago. Allowing this to happen is a clear violation of Congress’s mandate to maintain the national defense.
Playing the devil’s advocate here, isn’t the F-35 Lightning II project a better deal? At the cost of approx. $150m less per aircraft, which is the better choice? Do we need an aircraft as sophisticated as the F-22? It’s not designed to fly off carriers and is a high maintenance aircraft. Remember the B2 project? The number of B2s authorized was reduced due to high cost per aircraft, maintenance, and lack of justified need. The B2 has performed well in combat, but did we need as many as originally planned?
Actually, FC, the F-35 suffers from many of the same weaknesses as the F-22. I am aware of a few, and they are generally public knowledge – IF you know where to look and what to look for – but I’d rather not list them. Suffice it to say, we’d have been better served had we bought the super Eagle with the re-designed tail, forward canards and vectored thrust nozzles. NOTHING could out-fly it, and the electronics would be the equal of anything on the F-22/F-35, but it could carry more and would be MUCH more survivable in combat. Plus, I think I remember the unit cost being only some $75 mill/unit.
The only reason to NOT do this? Well, probably 2: the defense companies building the stealth jets have political pull and want the money and the USAF wants the stealth ability. Thing is, send a queer along with the strike force and it won’t matter: the enemy won’t be able to find you because their radar won’t work worth a cop.
Um, not to change the topic, but to change the topic… what’s up with the Mowgli avatar, B.? Are you feelin jazzy, cool cat? Here, I’ll dedicate a song to your newfound freedom of self:
http://www.stickandtwig.com
Stop being lazy and click the link. Stick is a creation of mine, as drawn by another friend of mine working with me to use him to help teach people about the founding philosophies of this nation.
FYI, I have gone to amazon to order your book, but I couldn’t find my purse. This is probably why my husband bought me one of those clicky thingamajigs to find my keys.
You of all people should know that this is not my fault. If you have not read about the infestation of gremlins in P.C. then you are truly in the dark! I’m a prime example. Geraldo Rivera is going to be doing an exclusive interview about the goings-on in this home.
So you just shut your piehole about me not having ordered your book yet, pal Joey.
Say hello to Stripe for me next time you see him.
That’s odd. That wasn’t my choice. I suppose the computer thought it was so nice it would play it twice……I suppose I could try again….. hopefully, I won’t break anything. Oh! Great news! Did I tell you the govt. has hired yours truly to work on the F22’s?
Don’t you feel safe now?
Then you’ll probably run into my father – sooner or later.
He’s very fond of me and understands that gremlins torment me on a daily basis. He taught me about a specialty screw for the F22.(he has a nickmame for the aircraft, but I won’t repeat it here). I now feel quite certain that our work and my newfound knowledge of screwing will save thousands of lives.
LOL, I doubted you knew my father…until you mentioned his nickname for that beastie. Then I had to accept that you DO know him.
FYI: my old man has worked on EVERY jet the USAF has ever operated in active line service since the T-33. When his generation is finally gone, the military will have lost the last of its ability to actually repair its own equipment without using civilian support services.
It’s a real shame to lose those guys. Remember when the battleship Missouri was recommissioned and the military had to haul out the old sailors from WWII and Korea to teach the young sailors how to fire the big 16″ guns because no one in the Navy at that time knew how the guns really worked?
FC,
Actually, yes, I do. We are becoming a poorer nation in every way that REALLY counts.
Don’t forget the venerable B-52. I read in one of my Veterans newsletters where the Air Force is going to be upgrading their airframes and adding more modern avionics to keep them in service for a few more years. Here is what I used to do way back when; http://www.1stcombatevaluationgroup.com/
Buffs were already long in the tooth back in the Seventies when I served.
That bird should have been replaced DECADES ago. Were it not for her electronics, she would be dead meat in a modern threat environment. But, if you understand her electronics, you understand why I say we have no real “need” for stealth 😉
Buffs and I were born the same year, 1952.
Well, just as long as “buff” doesn’t apply to you, as well…lol 😉