In article ,
(puttster) wrote:

And if we did have the capability to build up an air wing
and a Brigade of marines deep into the land mass, well why couldn't we
just bring in some steel planking while we aere at it and build a
runway and bring in some serious cargo and F-35 A's? Wouldn't that be
a faster solution than VSTOLing everything?

Because that's not always an option.

If you're working on rough terrain, you're not always going to be able
to build a runway. There are a *lot* of places in the world where you
can get cargo, troops, et cetera in, but not have the ability to bring
in the thousands of *tons* of materials to build a solid runway capable
of handling modern fighter jets with full loads.

You also have the "big target" problem, where anything bigger than a
football field or so will be a priority, and everyone in the world is
apparently trying to build weapons that will kill any prepared runway in
short order.

On the other hand, three or four Osprey missions per day would give you
enough materials to put up one or two V/STOL fighter missions, or more
if you're just talking interceptor flights.

--
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Slam on brakes accordingly.