re: F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Thread
I hope this is the right place for this:
Its a few pages long, and would require an hour or so. But in my view it is well worth it.
The basic question being addressed is whether or not F-35 is in the interest of USAF. This is an alternative view and raises many well reasoned objections to F-35 and presents an alternative force structure that has only the F-35 units already built and not the 1700+ ones that are planned.
I am no expert and I would like to know the views of esteemed members who have been following this program better than me.
Thank you for posting this well written and informative article Zahid, and yes this is the place to post it. In response to Col. Peitrucha's article, as the unfocused and loose cannon of Sino-Defense Forum, I would like to offer my well reasoned, arrogant, and bombastic, and veddy, veddy, British, "haaaarrruummmppppphhh! While Col Peitrucha's article is based on his years of experience as an F-4G Wild Weasle and F-15E Eagle driver, I respectfully and completely disagree with him. He is going back to the 80's scenario and of multiple engagements on multiple continents, with the ill founded desire for a Light Attack Aircraft that cost virtually nothing and delivers mostly as a counter-insurgency platform, against an adversary such as we have attempted to engage in a meaningful way for the last two decades, and ignoring the larger and far more dangerous threat posed by our cold war opponents. IMHO the only way to avoid an all out melt-down and being drawn into a war with our "good friends, the Russians and Chinese, is to up-grade our capabilities, and to "harden" our resolve to meet the threat being posed by both our friends. In often less than friendly comments by members of our friends MODs and Military, they reveal their true intentions, and the cold war animas that motivated our long term postering previously. The F-35 while a less than stellar A2A bird, will be most adequate and actually much better than that for that purpose, while arming our partners with a potent tool to defend themselves and provide their own deterance, while at the same time providing the Navy, Marines, and AirForce with an outstanding air to ground platform that can also fight its way home, and come back tomorrow for more fun. Yes it is complex, yes it is expensive, and yes it is necessary, and yes I would be far happier if we had an additional F-22s to cap off the top tier,,,,,,,, but thanks to BHO and Robert Gates, we don't......while most of us on the Sino Defense forum pray for peace, we must remain prepared for the eventuality....much better to be prepared, and avoid the unpleasantries, than to be unprepared and face the certainty that their are many who love a power vacuum.
