4th Generation Fighters

Well, it seems that any future funding for the F-22 is dead. Obviously we need to confine spending as much as possible and in as many areas as possible, but it seems that the concessions in the areas of strategic and tactical aircraft are grossly out of proportion. After all, these are what we have used to fight and win battles for the last fifty years. I don't agree with Secretary Gates' view of what our military needs and I believe he is the wrong person for the job. I recently saw the head of the Joint Chiefs agree with Gates, so the new thinking has spread far. Perhaps the idea of fighting two conventional wars is outdated, although given the geopolitics of the last ten years, I think the assumed locations of two wars is still viable. But, I don't think we have fought (or not fought if we are properly prepared) our last conventional war. I think better planning would be for one conventional war with a simultaneous unconventional conflict. Therefore we must continue to advance and procure systems necessary for the possible front-line military engagement.

As for the F-22, the latest controversies have been over 8-12 additional aircraft, in the range of 1 to 2 billion dollars. At a current defense budget of over 700 billion dollars, we are discussing a miniscule part of America's budget. 187 Airframes is simply not going to be enough to fully field the F-22 for several decades. I argue that we should actually procure 200 more. At a top cost of $137 million, we could build 20 per year at $2.7 billion. This is still less than 1/3 of 1 percent of the budget. Surely we can afford this for front-line defense. I believe since the F-22 is already operationally fielded, it should get first funding and the F-35 should be reduced significantly to reduce the overall AF budget.

I recently read an article in Combat Aircraft discussing the "Fighter Gap" by the commander of the Oklahoma Air National Guard. Since the current F-15s and F-16s are being retired so fast, there will not be enough for future Guard use. And since the F-22 and F-35 are so expensive and in small numbers, the Guard won't be seeing those either. His suggestion was one I have been saying for years- its time for new build F-15s and F-16s. They are relatively low cost, and developments over the last ten years could be incorporated into the latest models, making them first-class lethal fighters for several decades.

Whether or not the F-22 could be built in higher numbers, I think more 4th-Generation fighters is the answer, both for future effectiveness and lowering the current defense budget. Unless, of course, we are actually getting something else for our $700 billion. Perhaps the Air Force is actually acquiring rumored YF-24 fighters, or one of numerous other conjectured aircraft. If this is the case, then perhaps the DOD's case for ending the F-14, F-15, F-16, F-22 and the F-117 is accurate. But, that is something we won't know for many years and if we only have the obvious assets and we destroy F-22 tooling and end any hope of future F-15, F-16 or F-22 production, we will have done incredible damaged to our military structure. And the only fix may be starting from square one, a very expensive and lengthy option.