@parados,
parados wrote:Yeah. Let's take your opinion instead of the DoD.
The only part of that claim that came from me is the 750 number. I used it because it was the originally-planned number of F-22s.
The claim "the US Air Force desperately needs a lot more F-22s in order to survive on the modern battlefield" came from the generals in charge of the US Air Force.
Quote:CHICAGO — Intensifying a fight over the fate of F-22 fighter jets, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Thursday that the push by lawmakers for additional planes -- against the Pentagon's recommendation -- risks making America more vulnerable.
In a speech before the Economic Club of Chicago, Gates called the plane a perfect illustration of what is wrong with the way the United States spends on defense: Building costly weapons with limited purpose rather than cheaper, more useful systems.
Gates' idea to instead saddle the Air Force with F-35s that can't even outfight 40-year-old jets was pure brilliance.
Maybe we could just dismantle the Air force and surrender to our enemies. Save us the trouble of being massacred.
I think Gates (and Senator McCain) should be prosecuted for the way they sold out the Air Force.
That article says that the frequencies are
starting to creep down the spectrum. There is no guarantee that acquisition and fire control radars will ever successfully work at the low frequencies needed to detect a stealth fighter.
Regardless, there is more to the F-22 than stealth. Even without stealth, the F-22 will be a powerful and highly-maneuverable fighter.
If the US could replace the F-16 with the Saab Gripen, and replace the F-15 with the Dassault Rafale or Eurofighter Typhoon, that would work.
But so long as our only choice is between the F-22 and F-35, we
really need the F-22.
