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Vanishing American Air Superiority
American Thinker ^ | March 4, 2010 | J.R. Dunn

Posted on 03/03/2010 10:36:46 PM PST by myknowledge

The debate over the F-22 Raptor has been carried out at the customary level of simplemindedness we've become used to with Congress handling military questions. Since the early 60s, the favored method of killing a military program has been to come up with an argument easily expressed in a sound bite and stick with it. This time, the sound bite was, "Why do we need two fighter planes, anyway?"

The answer is even simpler: we need two fighters because need two fighters. The historical record clearly reveals this: every air campaign carried out with two distinct and particularly formulated fighter designs has been a success, and every attempt to do otherwise has resulted in disaster.

(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...


TOPICS: Editorial; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: aerialwarfare; airsuperiority; f22; f22raptor; f35; f35lightningii; militaryaviation; usaf
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Air Superiority comes first.

Without the 5th Gen fighters, U.S. ground and naval forces are doomed and vulnerable to enemy air attack. Air superiority is one crucial element the United States has retained since the Korean War and maintained it in the face of the Vietnam War. The heyday came in the PGW, but a political football would compel U.S. air power to face the acid test in the next war.

1 posted on 03/03/2010 10:36:47 PM PST by myknowledge
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To: myknowledge

The USA elected a muslim who is a puppet to the Saudis.

People voted for this. The masses are too stupid. All they care about is inane TV shows and ball games.


2 posted on 03/03/2010 10:39:29 PM PST by Frantzie (TV - sending Americans towards Islamic serfdom - Cancel TV service NOW)
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To: myknowledge

The military doesn’t stand a chance against the Democrat-Media complex.


3 posted on 03/03/2010 10:40:16 PM PST by UnbelievingScumOnTheOtherSide (IN A SMALL TENT WE JUST STAND CLOSER! * IT'S ISLAM, STUPID! - Islam Delenda Est! - Rumble thee forth)
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To: Frantzie
People voted for this.

No, the globalist elite voted to install him.

The masses are too stupid.

A majority are. A minority know much better.

4 posted on 03/03/2010 10:45:51 PM PST by myknowledge (F-22 Raptor: World's Largest Distributor of Sukhoi parts!)
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To: myknowledge
plus No-Bama is now wanting the USA stripped bare of all its nukes in the name of 'Nuclear Free World!!"

Some people see him as a dreamer and/or naive, but I see him for what he really is: A Clear & Present Danger to all Americans!!

5 posted on 03/03/2010 10:46:26 PM PST by prophetic (0Bama = 1 illegal president = 32 illegal, unconstitutional & unnecessary CZARS to do his job!!)
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To: Frantzie

WE have to thank obama for this decision, cuzz when gas gets to 7 bucks a gallon can you imagine the bill to run those jets?

Flippin Asshat!

All part of his NEFARIOUS plan.


6 posted on 03/03/2010 10:50:02 PM PST by himno hero
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To: myknowledge

Article makes some valid points, but here is one point it did not mention: We won’t have to worry about air superiority or maintaining it when the US goes bankrupt.....


7 posted on 03/03/2010 11:03:16 PM PST by cranked
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To: Frantzie

the military will only let this go so far you know


8 posted on 03/03/2010 11:17:40 PM PST by LeoWindhorse
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To: myknowledge

National security isn’t chat. What’s PGW, Persian Gulf War in 1991?


9 posted on 03/03/2010 11:30:44 PM PST by neverdem (Xin loi minh oi)
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To: neverdem

Correct.


10 posted on 03/03/2010 11:37:55 PM PST by myknowledge (F-22 Raptor: World's Largest Distributor of Sukhoi parts!)
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To: myknowledge
The reality is that the F22 is utter overkill for those the current administration sees as its real enemy: The conservative citizens of America, esp the “evil” southern Christians. Likewise having more than a few nukes. Hence the obamanation's current position w/r/t US armament...
11 posted on 03/03/2010 11:47:10 PM PST by piytar (Ammo is hard to find! Bought some lately? Please share where at www.ammo-finder.com)
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To: Frantzie
People voted for this. .... All they care about is inane TV shows and ball games.

Remember, 2001 was the year we were introduced to "reality TV". Pretty ironic, huh?

Almost a cliche' -- years from now, historians will look back and seize on 2001 as the year of the apogee of our fortunes. Personally, I think it was 1999, the year we failed to impeach, unseat, and excrete from polite society the lump of malign, traitorous offal named William Jefferson Clinton.

12 posted on 03/04/2010 12:31:36 AM PST by lentulusgracchus
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To: myknowledge
The historical record clearly reveals this: every air campaign carried out with two distinct and particularly formulated fighter designs has been a success, and every attempt to do otherwise has resulted in disaster.

Anyone else see a problem with this assertion?

In the Battle of Britain, the Germans fielded at least three major fighter types (Me-109, Me-110, He-113) and lost. The British fielded two in any numbers (Spitfire, Hurricane) and won.

In the Falklands War, the Argentines fielded Dassault Mirage 50's (or F-1's, I forget which) supported by A-4's and Super Etendards and some Pucara's, versus the single British fixed-wing type, the BAE Harrier. (There was one raid using V-bombers, Avro Vulcans refueled by converted Victors.) The British won again with fewer types to choose among.

13 posted on 03/04/2010 12:47:26 AM PST by lentulusgracchus
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To: myknowledge
[Article] ....a fiasco involving the General Dynamics F-111, which might be called liberalism's attempt to build a combat aircraft.

Bwaaahahahahaaaaa...!

MacNamara .... what a maroon .... serial Edsel-perpetrator.

"Commonality" </cant warning> was the idea behind the F-111. He'd noticed at Ford you could use common parts among car designs. He thought that would be a "raht smort thang" to do w/r/t combat aircraft.

He also pioneered the use of computers to make U.S. war managers, er, conflict modulators smarter, and the enemy dead, deader.

Total liberal, total maroon.

14 posted on 03/04/2010 1:03:51 AM PST by lentulusgracchus
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To: myknowledge
Coming into the ‘60s without a fighter to carry out its basic missions, the USAF was forced to purchase the F-4 Phantom II, developed on behalf of the enemy service, the U.S. Navy.
15 posted on 03/04/2010 3:29:43 AM PST by Jacquerie (Support and Defend our Beloved Constitution)
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To: Jacquerie
...the USAF was forced to purchase the F-4 Phantom II, developed on behalf of the enemy RIVAL service, the U.S. Navy.

Clarifying correction for the MSM morons.

16 posted on 03/04/2010 6:48:13 AM PST by JimRed ("Hey, hey, Teddy K., hot enough down there today?" TERM LIMITS, NOW AND FOREVER!)
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To: myknowledge
[Article] One of the major failings of American politics involves its short time horizon. American voters and politicians simply cannot grasp that actions taken today can have consequences years and decades down the line....there will be no second chances. Barack Obama has proven to have far more limited foresight than even the average American pol.

Author Dunn gives Obama and his left-wing Alinskyite termite buddies too much benefit of the doubt. His harmful and noxious foreign policy and defense-deprecatory posture are premeditated, and Obama needs to be held accountable in every way for the postures and actions he's taken.

At least he didn't bug out of Iraq and Afghanistan. However slow-footed, at least his policies seem to comport with some version of reality, thanks to the indefatigable, standup service and counsel of Generals Petraeus and McChrystal.

17 posted on 03/04/2010 8:54:49 AM PST by lentulusgracchus
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To: myknowledge; All

Restart the F-22 production lines the best fighter aircraft ever built. http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2444670/posts


18 posted on 03/04/2010 10:21:10 AM PST by raptor22 (The truth will set us free)
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To: AdmSmith; Berosus; bigheadfred; Convert from ECUSA; dervish; Ernest_at_the_Beach; Fred Nerks; ...
The debate over the F-22 Raptor has been carried out at the customary level of simplemindedness we've become used to with Congress handling military questions. Since the early 60s, the favored method of killing a military program has been to come up with an argument easily expressed in a sound bite and stick with it. This time, the sound bite was, "Why do we need two fighter planes, anyway?" The answer is even simpler: we need two fighters because need two fighters. The historical record clearly reveals this: every air campaign carried out with two distinct and particularly formulated fighter designs has been a success, and every attempt to do otherwise has resulted in disaster.

19 posted on 03/04/2010 5:27:32 PM PST by SunkenCiv (Freedom is Priceless.)
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To: myknowledge

Good post! Just finished reading this @ AT...also revisited Colonel Boyd’s OODA Loop which applies to business and politics where the OODA Loop could be viewed as the Alinsky strategy seemingly used by many today.


20 posted on 03/05/2010 6:20:56 AM PST by iopscusa (El Vaquero. (SC Lowcountry Cowboy))
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