There's some gaps in this piece that I hope some aero beat reporters (ahem @ValerieInsinna @Oriana0214 @TheDEWLine) dig further into
It's not wrong, just incomplete
It's not wrong, just incomplete
Yes, if the NDS is truly king, then we should absolutely junk every MQ-9. They're marginal, at best, in any "competition" phase, and they're largely irrelevant in any shooting conflict at that level
(I say that as someone with "ties" to that platform, to put it lightly)
(I say that as someone with "ties" to that platform, to put it lightly)
Note I didn't say "useless"; I've alluded to the Reaper's contested capes before, it can operate in that environment if needed.........it's just that whether it has a crew in it or on the other side of the world, turboprop attack aircraft don't matter to that conflict's outcome
But the dirty secret is the NDS is not in fact prime, as best I can tell it's a running joke because unless Iran just ascended to anointed gReAt PoWeR sTaTuS we just spent a whole bunch of resources towards deterring a country who the NDS said is less important
Look, NCA wants to go hog wild in any part of the Earth, that's absolutely their prerogative, not mine to judge (at least not professionally). But don't piss on me and tell me it's raining, either the NDS matters or it doesn't. And OSD/JS actions to date point towards the latter
As for the meme that I've seen going around that this is something the USAF brought on itself...we're proposing boneyarding a(nother) portion of the B-1 fleet, that we flew the literal wings off of supporting the GWOT and that is the current premiere standoff (i.e., NDS) shooter
GTOFH that this is somehow "our" fault because ol' Darleen was a criminal almost a quarter of a century ago and because we sacrificed a Secretary and a Chief a decade ago because they had some foresight, unlike Bob Gates
(Side note, man sure would be nice for this almighty NDS and gReAt PoWeR cOmPeTiTiOn if we had more than six fuckin combat coded squadrons of Raptors)
The worst part is I've seen this coming from USN accounts, and...c'mon man, we need to be united on this
The worst part is I've seen this coming from USN accounts, and...c'mon man, we need to be united on this
We've made our mistakes, but so has every other Dept and you'll agree to this casually unless you want me to start pulling receipts
LCS and FCS, you're the first up..at least the Raptor yielded a combat superior system, even if we didn't buy enough. More than can be said for you
LCS and FCS, you're the first up..at least the Raptor yielded a combat superior system, even if we didn't buy enough. More than can be said for you
Anyway, the larger discussion here mirrors all that. The USAF is, in all seriousness, trying to can the programs that are irrelevant in a high end fight to build capacity, and we're doing it to the tune of $30B with a B
To be blunt it pisses me off when the other services start sniping in on budget needs (at the Secretary and Chief level) when the only service who had actually moved out on sacrificing within the topline to pay for what's (supposedly) needed tomorrow in the NDS is the AF
Pro-tip for my superiors in the other Departments, wildly gesturing while pointing towards the bad guy doesn't actually mean your system, or budget, is geared towards the NDS. Come back to me when you pulled $9B (with a B) out of your topline to fund JOINT (yup, joint) C2
In the words of my Chief, if it doesn't help in the 2030-2038 timeframe, in a China/Russia fight.....it got axed
As to why we're still flying the A-10 in that timeframe, I refer you to the AZ Congressional delegation. I guess they know best out there
As to why we're still flying the A-10 in that timeframe, I refer you to the AZ Congressional delegation. I guess they know best out there
Sad part is none of this matters and the AF's portion of the budget will probably get axed another 30% because we "demonstrated eficiencies" plus "lol like the AF needs any money, we've had air superiority for a half century who cares" or something
