Q: What happens when you discover the stall speed on an SR-71 while doing a low pass?
Posts Tagged ‘Air Force’
Finding the Stall Speed on an SR-71
Thursday, January 21st, 2016Air Force Finally Gives Up On Trying To Kill The A-10
Saturday, January 16th, 2016Remember last year’s story about how the Air Force was trying to kill the A-10 Warthog, with one now-cashiered general saying airmen talking to congress about saving the venerable plane was “treason?”
Well it appears that the Air Force has finally given up on attempts to kill America’s most effective tank-killing aircraft:
The U.S. Air Force is reportedly scrapping what has become an annual attempt to retire the A-10 Thunderbolts from the fiscal 2017 budget request being drawn up.
Maj. Melissa J. Milner, an Air Force spokeswoman on budget matters, said Wednesday she could not comment on the Defense One report that the Cold War-era attack aircraft had been spared indefinitely, but boosters of the plane affectionately known to ground troops as the “Warthog” hailed the move to keep them in the inventory.
“It appears the administration is finally coming to its senses and recognizing the importance of A-10s to our troops’ lives and national security,” said Rep. Martha McSally, a Republican from Arizona and a retired Air Force colonel who flew the A-10.
“With A-10s deployed in the Middle East to fight ISIS, in Europe to deter Russian aggression, and along the Korean peninsula, administration officials can no longer deny how invaluable these planes are to our arsenal and military capabilities,” said McSally, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, referring to the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, also known as ISIL.
For the past three years, the Air Force has sought to begin mothballing the A-10s in favor of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter to take over the close air support mission. Each year, the House and Senate have blocked the cuts.
In a statement, Sen. John McCain, a Republican from Arizona and the chairman of the defense panel, said, “I welcome reports that the Air Force has decided to keep the A-10 aircraft flying through Fiscal Year 2017, ensuring our troops have the vital close-air support they need for missions around the world.”
The debate over the A-10s appears to have been shelved as commanders in the Iraq and Syria air war increasingly call upon the Thunderbolts flying out of Incirlik air base in Turkey and other bases in the Mideast for attack missions.
Score a point for the restoration of sanity over institutional antipathy.
Air Force General Who Called Support for A-10 “Treason” Removed From Post
Friday, April 10th, 2015Here’s an update on my previous post about the latest attempt to kill the A-10:
An Air Force general has been removed from his position after warning airmen not to talk to members of Congress about the A-10 “Warthog” attack jet.
Air Force Maj. Gen. James Post III, a two-star vice commander at Air Combat Command, was under investigation by the Air Force’s inspector general for allegedly telling more than 300 airmen at a Nevada conference in January that they were not to talk to members of Congress about the Air Force’s attempts to retire the attack jet.
In response to a question about the A-10, Post discussed “the importance of loyalty to senior leader decisions and used the word ‘treason’ in describing his thoughts on communication by Airmen counter to those decisions,” the investigation found.
Post’s “choice of words had the effect of attempting to prevent some members from lawfully communicating with Congress, which is a violation of the U.S. Code and [Department of Defense] Directives, whether that was his intention or not,” said Air Combat Command (ACC).
Maybe Gen. Post was just talking clues from more vocal supporters of his Commander and Chief. After all, is there any opposition to any Obama Administration policy that hasn’t been called “treason” at this point?
The Decline and Fall of the U.S. Air Force?
Tuesday, October 5th, 2010The main purpose of government is to protect its citizens from criminals within the nation (via the police and courts) and from enemies without (via the armed forces). Obama’s trillion dollar deficits not only threaten prosperity, they actually threaten national defense. Between extended missions in Iraq and Afghanistan and budgetary neglect at home, how are are armed forces holding up? According to this piece, the Air Force isn’t doing so well:
The average age of the refueler and bomber fleet, which forms the foundation of U.S. air power-projection capability, now exceeds fifty years. Most of the Air Force’s fighters were built in the 1970s. Virtually all Air Force aircraft are decades past their planned retirement dates. Technology designed to overcome Vietnam War-era surface-to-air missiles and fighters is becoming obsolete in the face of emerging air-defense capabilities. Air Force bases built half a century ago are poorly placed to meet emerging deterrence missions. Today, a large portion of the Air Force exists only on paper, its aircraft too old to fly in combat but requiring enormous sums to maintain. If current procurement practices continue, the readiness and effectiveness of U.S. airpower will steadily worsen over time, with serious consequences for U.S. national security.
This piece is well worth reading. However, I have to dissent from some of the conclusions. Frankly, the era of the manned strategic bomber has passed. There are few battlefield missions that can’t be carried out better by a combination of strike fighter aircraft, unmanned drones, and cruise missiles. The renowned “loiter” capability didn’t give us any advantage when we were hunting Saddam’s scuds during the first Gulf War.
Also, to say that “emerging land- and air-based defenses are likely to render [older fighters] incapable of participating in conventional conflict” overstates the case. In a near-term conflict with Russia now, or one with CHina ten years down the road, that might be the case. There’s simply no other nation on earth that, even with our depleted air force, we shouldn’t have achieved decisively air superiority over within 24 hours, because that’s maximum Russia’s export anti-aircraft batteries can be expected to last under a concerted American air assault. (Further down the road things may well be different.)
But the central point, that some of the biggest sticks in our air arsenal are getting dangerously old, is still undoubtedly true. Serious investment is going to be needed to rectify the problem, and sooner rather than later.
(Hat tip: Todd H.)