Boeing Offers Additional F/A-18 Sale to U.S. Navy

On Apr 22, 2:55 pm, "Flashnews" wrote:
You have to look at this in a slightly different way

(1) Everybody is at fault for expecting too much from the JSF, the three
variants have made it just to hard to do on schedule; many knew it long
ago but the inertia of the large program just kept unsubstantiated
optimistic claims piling up until they had to "show it". A true legacy
of past programs (the F-18 itself BTW) in the one program that was to
bring change. To argue that now will be like trying to talk with
Gonzales about why he fired the Federal Attorneys - gobbledygook and
everything BUT a demonstration of leadership and command. The
application of Hora's Horror is well underway, that is the continuing
dilution of accountability by bringing in more and more of the
organization until it looks like it all happened as an act of God. This
also may be the last comment on the gravestone of the American Empire -
but - let's just say we have the power to really think "solutions"

(2) The war between the Navy and Marine Corps over aviation is real (as
expressed) and clearly making a shambles of all the hollow "joint" and
"brotherhood" discussions. They are not alone however, the Army and Air
Force are also pulling apart and what is really weird is that after five
years we still have not focused upon the kinds of air vehicles we need
to win a counter-insurgency or COIN war. Considering that in World War
II the US went from biplanes to jets in less than four years this mess
is atrocious and unacceptable to our society - it is hallmarked by the
fact that General Franks finds it perfectly normal to desert his Army
and make a million dollars - how in the hell can we criticize the
British POW's - but that is another story yet it reflects the same
cancer of character and honor. Old farts like me ask who in the hell
"fathered" these people, are they all abused having been born into total
ignorance of values.

Well, Franks would probably find it perfectly
normal to return to civilization. Since it's morons
in London and Washington who abandoned things in Dunkirk.
And the uneducable D-Day idiots have been constantly
abandoning things for like 60 years now.




(3) The balance to canceling the JSF is: Do it selectively - F-35B
STOVL first, then merge the other two into one CTOL - and then refurbish
the JFK (CVA-67) for the Marine Corps not as a carrier (to compete with
the CVN's) but as a new class of conventional amphibious assault
aviation command ships with the Kitty Hawk standing in reserve.

- JSF is then slid a decade deliberately and merged with many of the
high tech programs to produce the one strike fighter of choice for Navy,
Marine, USAF, and allies that will face the new tactical environment
dealing with China, North Korea, Iran and any state holding new high
threat IADS and air defense systems. The present JSF does nothing
better than legacy aircraft in Iraq and Afghanistan scenarios and it can
not out pace the F-22, or the F-15 for that fact except yet unproven
stealth issues.

- A refurbished JFK could be cut down in boilers and screws, gutted
of at least two cats, a full hospital added (remember the new hospital
ship was killed) to where a less than 2000 people crew would run the
vessel and much of the engineering and supply could be contractor.
Marines, SOF, FBI, CIA, DEA, Allied SOF, etc. could all be provided
C4ISR planning areas with build-up/tear-down living areas in bays and
rooms created by gutting. The O-3 level would become for instance a
farm of briefing and planning rooms being fed by the IOIC turned COAC

- the Air Wing would be a large mix of new Marine VMFA F/A-18F/G's,
perhaps one Navy VF F/A-18E, E-2C and S-3's converted to be dedicated
tankers and specific support craft for them. More V-22 and CH-53 for SOF
types and it all fill in with a new Expeditionary Battle Group made up
of LHA's and LHD's with twice as many MV-22's and paid for by the JSF
savings and the LHA(R) savings that is no longer needed

- the Battle Group is run with the Navy but it is not Navy and it
is attached to the European (Atlantic) Command to be joined by the UK
and French commando ships and perhaps assault carriers. The US Navy can
continue with their CVN's for high tempo open seas ops not requiring
Marines and getting back one air wing

- the net result is that the Marines gain 50% more aircraft, dump
the old ones and get 100% more MV-22's

"Henry J Cobb" wrote in ...



Mike wrote:
...
Recent moves by Navy officials have shed doubt on the service's
commitment to the international, tri-service JSF effort.
One industry official with ties to naval leaders said senior sea
service officials disagree about how they should shape the Navy's
tactical air fleet. The service has said it likely will face an
"inventory shortfall" of nearly 230 planes over the next 15 years.

"The Department of the Navy is already trying to figure out how to
buy
fewer aircraft and save money to plow into shipbuilding" accounts,
one
congressional aide said.
...
"The committee is concerned that the Navy will confront a sizeable
gap
in aircraft inventory as older F/A-18A-D Hornets retire before the
aircraft carrier variant of the Joint Strike Fighter is available.

If the Navy manages to kill the JSF then the Marines will be forced
into Super Hornets which can then be sucked into carrier ops.

2015: Somewhere in the Dasht-e Kavir one Marine asks another, "Where's
my CAS?" and the response is "They're doing CAP sir."

-HJC- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -