F/A-22 and F-35 Reductions!

Greetings,

Well here it goes again, the government view these two programs as very deep, expensive blackholes and are threatening to cut numbers ALLL over again.

Ok I screwed up on this one, thanks Seeker Of for the heads up.

Facing severe budget pressures, the Pentagon is developing plans to slash the Air Force's two prized fighter jet programs, according to Defense Department officials and outside experts. Military planners are debating options to scale back the Air Force's F 35 Joint Strike Fighter and the stealth F/A 22 fighter, as some defense officials question spending billions on weapons that have little use against terrorist networks and other unconventional threats. Such a move would be an enormous blow to the Air Force, which has spent years developing the two weapons to replace its aging fleet of fighter jets. The budget cuts could encounter fierce resistance from lawmakers, including some from California, whose districts would be hit hard by the economic repercussions.

L.A Times

www.latimes.com...

- Phil

[edit on 27-7-2005 by gooseuk]

gooseuk, two things here, mate:
1) link to your sourced article.
2) don't speculate with "they might only get 50 of them," k?
I have more respect for you then to see you resort to speculative wise cracks.




seekerof

[edit on 27-7-2005 by Seekerof]

Old news, Raptor has alrady been cut down to 179. And I've already said a few times on this website that the DoD was considering cutting hundreds of JSF.

Maybe we will not need them, you read that Red Heifer link?

I think this would be a horrible mistake, sadly I see a big war coming soon most likely with China.

Just great, China's putting out the J-10 and were cutting back on obviously superior fighters.

The JSF was designed to be cost effective, yet they want to actually cut back on it. Twits. Isn't military downscaling like this what happened to the allies just before WWII while the axis built up.

These are only proposed recommendations, and as such, are not set in stone.

And as with any proposal, reductions can quickly become increases and vice versa.





seekerof

I think it will be cheaper, because it will be built in China (like everything else these days)

I am against cutting back the number of Raptors, because air supremecy is key. However, I am for cuting back the number of JSF. Why have 1,500 $45million - $55million JSF when you can have 1,000 JSF and 500 $20million X-45C ...

The F-35 will not be cut much. Remeber that they wanted to cut the Kittyhawk?. That did not happen. The cuts have to be aprroved by congress.

I think this is some mistake. Actually the USAF considered to cut 400 JSf but they wanted to replace them with 200 Raptors.

You always have threads that I get smarter of reading... Thanks...

Originally posted by NWguy83
Old news, Raptor has alrady been cut down to 179. And I've already said a few times on this website that the DoD was considering cutting hundreds of JSF.

It's not definate yet, and probably won't even happen, I can guarantee you there will be around 300 Raptors in service by 2012.

Originally posted by NWguy83
I am against cutting back the number of Raptors, because air supremecy is key. However, I am for cuting back the number of JSF. Why have 1,500 $45million - $55million JSF when you can have 1,000 JSF and 500 $20million X-45C ...

And not only they (X-45) are cheap, they also don't need pilots. The operator job is easier and they can train fully on computer sims. So the X-45 can be in ontainer for 10 years and only used in case of war.

Originally posted by jetsetter
The F-35 will not be cut much. Remeber that they wanted to cut the Kittyhawk?. That did not happen. The cuts have to be aprroved by congress.

I thought it was the Kennedy.

Ran across this article mentioning:

WASHINGTON, Aug 29 (Reuters) - U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. John Jumper on Monday said arguments for restoring some Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT.N: Quote, Profile, Research) F/A-22 fighter jets cut from the Pentagon's 2006 budget were "making sense" to military planners.

"Quite frankly, I don't think the number's going to stay the same. I think we're making good arguments for why we need this airplane," Jumper told reporters at a final roundtable before he hands over the reins as the Air Force's top uniformed officer to Gen. Michael Moseley on Friday.

"The capability, I don't think, is being questioned any more, just the size" of the order, Jumper said, when asked about the F/A-22's fate in a once-every-four-years review of defense programs under way at the Pentagon. "I think our arguments are making sense."

UPDATE 1-Air Force looking at larger Lockheed fighter order


Anything close to 400 would be very cool.



seekerof

[edit on 29-8-2005 by Seekerof]

I think the military is opening their eyes and realizing that we might face more than just terrorists in the next 20-25 years and hence we need more Raptors. Like someone said congress has to approve any changes so we'll wait and see.

Irregardless of the future " 20 year Unknowns", the current military situation in Iraq and near future conflicts will presumably exclude the need for such advanced tactical fighters. With military base closures looming and the huge financial crisis the US, few if any politicians have the leverage to bolster JSF or Raptor numbers.

Originally posted by nullster
Irregardless of the future " 20 year Unknowns", the current military situation in Iraq and near future conflicts will presumably exclude the need for such advanced tactical fighters. With military base closures looming and the huge financial crisis the US, few if any politicians have the leverage to bolster JSF or Raptor numbers.

While they serve no use in Iraq, they would get used if we went to war with Iran...and theres obviously China, Air Supremecy is a must, even if there usage becomes like the ICBM's.

Originally posted by nullster
Irregardless of the future " 20 year Unknowns", the current military situation in Iraq and near future conflicts will presumably exclude the need for such advanced tactical fighters. With military base closures looming and the huge financial crisis the US, few if any politicians have the leverage to bolster JSF or Raptor numbers.

It is this kind of shortsided thinking that left the US military unprepared for the current bush wars.