Originally Posted by
Killface
I think its because the Air Force has liked to maintain a hi/lo mix for decades though. or that General Mosely was willing to sacrifice large swaths of the USAF to get a fighter pilot crown jewel.
I find it interesting that both Gen Mosley and Secretary Wynne were willing to “fall on their swords” for the F-22.
The immediate reason for the requested resignations of Gen. T. Michael "Buzz" Moseley, the Air Force chief of staff, and Air Force Secretary Michael W. Wynne was a report on the accidental shipment of nuclear triggers to Taiwan. However, the dismissals came amid a long-brewing dispute between Gates and the Air Force leadership.
Gates has been critical of Air Force officials' calls to build more F-22 fighter jets, an advanced but expensive plane. He also has been frustrated over what he sees as insufficient deployment of unmanned aerial vehicles over Iraq and Afghanistan.
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Originally Posted by Killface. I'm not saying that the F-22 isn't a superb fighter, at an astronomical cost, that only poisons its pilots occasionally,
The original procurement of the F-22 was to be 750 aircraft. The final procurement is 137. The current F-35 program assumes procurement of 2,443 aircraft. I submit that if the F-35 number is cut by the same 75% the overall cost will be much higher than the F-22 program.
And who builds the OBOGS for the F-35 .... Honewyell
Honeywell Aerospace in the UK produce and supply Air Management and Life Support Systems for civil and military aircraft. It has vast experience and capability in Life Support, from a background of traditional, high pressure, stored gaseous and liquid oxygen to today’s On Board Oxygen Generation Systems (OBOGS). The consolidation of experience on the B-1B, B-2, F-22 and Eurofighter aircraft, and other state-of-the-art systems made it capable of being readily tailored to many different single/twin seat and multicrew aircraft and, ultimately, selection for the F-35.
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Originally Posted by Killface. I am talking about the F-22 as a system and its own political fights for survival and what some call "dubious value", others call "essential for the future" There are a great many, that much like sweetman and the F-35, thought it should be cancelled outright and its systems and lessons should be incorporated into a new fighter, rather than doggedly sticking with the F-22 "no matter the cost".
There is no doubt that if we are only to fight “wars” such as Iraq and Afghanistan then we should mothball all the F-22s and cancel the F-35 program. However if, as is presented in the video below, there is a possibility we might just encounter an advisory with more capable weapons systems, then the F-22’s air-to-air capability will be critical.
See CAPT Fanell’s comments starting at 0:21:00
Panel: Chinese Navy: Operational Challenge or Potential Partner? - YouTube