Doomsday for defense? (After supercommittee’s failure, cuts threaten America's military future)

NY Post ^ | November 21, 2011 | Arthur Herman

[presidio9]

The news last week from the Pentagon’s supersecret Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency that it had successfully tested a hypersonic missile capable of speeds up to 3,082 mph caused quite a stir in military circles, and no wonder. Imagine being able to aim at and hit any target on the planet within an hour; or soldiers in Afghanistan calling in a pinpoint airstrike with missiles fired from Omaha.

Taken together with the successful test by the Office of Naval Research over Halloween of its hypersonic electromagnetic railgun — which, once it goes into action, can knock out approaching missiles as far away as 100 miles — and we may be entering an era as revolutionary as when gunpowder replaced the crossbow.

Unfortunately, now that Congress’ supercommittee has failed to reach some kind of budget deal, we may be doomed to crossbows for good.

The resulting sequestration of funds could strip away as much as $1 trillion from defense spending over the next decade — and put future weapons systems like hypersonic in permanent eclipse.

The House Armed Services Committee’s Democrats and Republicans have issued a chilling report on what happens if sequestration sets in.

We’ll be losing 60 ships from the Navy, including two carrier battle groups, and we’ll have 200,000 fewer troops than in 2010. Production of the Army’s Apache attack helicopter and Kiowa reconnaissance helicopter will have to shut down. No vertical take-off F-35 fighter for the Marines — and no next generation bomber for the Air Force. On top of losing ships, the Navy will also see fewer and fewer replacements,

[presidio9]

Going with your tank analogy, that exact paradigm was proved to be outdated in the Battle of 73 Easting. I watch a lot of Military Channel.

[Wiz]

What?! No budget for border patrol?!

[GeronL]

Yes, a cut in the rate of growth is just the end of the world. Over 10 years we might have to let EUrtopia defend itself, we might have to bring our troops home from Kosovo, Haiti and other countries. We might have to let some countries defend themselves if they are attacked. The horror. lol.

A spending freeze across the board would make more sense.

[refermech]

I like your ideas. Makes a lot of sense. We need a smaller footprint in the world. a lot has changed and we must acknowledge the realities we now face.

[alamogal]

Agree. Too many living in never never land. Do the words 15 trillion in debt mean nothing? Security is based, as well on economic stability.

[Nowhere Man]

Going with your tank analogy, that exact paradigm was proved to be outdated in the Battle of 73 Easting. I watch a lot of Military Channel.

Point taken so that's why I put in the clause where "your mileage may vary." I know there was a time Zulus overran Queen Victoria's finest in a battle but the reverse can be true too such as the Conquistadors taking the entire Aztec Empire with a few hundred men. "Rock beats laser" is a common trope in real-life as well as fiction and does happen quite a bit though.