OK, I've been hesitant to join this and any other discussion on the F-22, mostly because of what I know -- levels of information on this program and the F-35 that make me nervous I might slip on OPSEC protected information. But, JustaWife, you're just plain wrong. Allow me a few minutes to dispel some bad information, provide some insight into the decisions made at the highest levels on the cancellation, and shed my opinions on the matter. Trust me, before I it the "Reply" button, I'm checking what I'm posting 3 or 4 times to make sure nothing I post can get me in trouble....
And what makes me qualified to pass his info? Well, you see, I work in the AF HQ's office at the Pentagon in charge of fighter requirements. The big bosses want to know something about the F-35, then my phone is the one ringing.The guy working the F-22? He sits next to me. Trust me, we've spent the last year answering these exact questions for the highest levels of the DoD and Congress. You'll have to forgive us if we're a little down now, we just lost a rather big fight, usually for the same reasons that are posted here; bad publicity and information that either fit an agenda or led to bad decisions.
So, why was the F-22 cancelled? For the same reason EVERYTHING is judged in the halls of the Pentagon: Money. The F-22 IS, HANDS DOWN, teh BEST air-to-air fighter out there for the foreseable future, bar none. Some of our friends are designing and building their own next generation aircraft to challenge them; they will lose. Did the program have some developmental challenges whicch delayed the program, drove up costs, and led to some bad publicity? Certainly. But any aircraft like this, with pushed the envelope on next-generation avionic and technology to levels unprecedented, will have some initial challenges. The program is overcoming them. In fact, other fighter programs also experienced high operating and maintenance costs when they first come off the line (and the F-22 is still coming off the line). It takes YEARS to establish and train a core of maintenance personnel who are familiar with the idiosyncrasies of a new airplane. Even more so when the jet is this advanced. The rain issue? Identified and overcome. The maintenance hours per flight hour? Steadily coming down to levels close to our current inventory of 4th Generation fighters.
But the F-22 is still a very EXPENSIVE piece of military equipment. This is when those in charge have to make the tough decision -- is it worth the cost? We're fighting two wars right now, that cost a lot of money as well. As a Nation, we can't afford to purchase every toy for every contingency. We have to look at what is out there, what we expect to be out there, and decide if and where we can take the risks that we just can't defeat he potential enemy as easily as we experienced these past few conflicts. The AF is a victim of it's own success. America now EXPECTS us to easily establish air dominance in any future conflict like we have done these past 20+ years. Again, in some potential areas of the world, this will not be the case with the numbers of F-22s we will now buy. Can the F-35 do the job? Yes, but not as well. Losses will be greater. And if, heaven forbid, that nightmare scenario does occur, military men and women WILL die. And not just AF and Navy pilots. Our ground troops have had the luxury of fighting under airspace we OWNED and CONTROLLED, free from attack from the enemy's air forces. This will not be the case, our ground forces will die in large numbers. Bravely, heroically, and with honor -- but they will die.
Our leadership made a choice. Fund the current fight, prepare for future fights just like them, and pray that the nightmare scenarios won't happen. They prove prophetic, and America will cheer their foresight and intelligence. They prove worng, and there will be a lot of questioning on the Hill, just like on Dec 8th, 1941. I pray they are right.
I think the whole "job creation and protection" side of this arguement is a shame and a joke, and I really think Lockheed made a huge mistake going down that route. We're the US military; our job is not to make and ensure a job market, our job is to protect and defend this country. The F-22 helped us in that area. I really couldn't care less about Lockheed profit margin, I worry about my friends and neighbors instead.
Where do I stand? Well, I think we should have bought a few more than what we're planning now. We just aren't getting enough to adequately meet the risks I foresee. But I do realize the fiscal constraints we as a Nation have to face. We can't be invincible by buying a huge number of F-22s, we just aren't even going to be the biggest kid on the block anymore; we're going to have to be the smartest instead.
But this is all water under the bridge. The deed is done, and we'll move on and live with the decision. Again, I hope they're right... Bullet
