wrote:

:USAF Joins Navy in Warning of 'Fighter Gap'
:
:See:
:
:http://defensenews.com/story.php?i=3472033&c=AME&s=AIR
:
:Looks like the USAF is going to have problems similar
:to the Navy's.
:

Not surprising and I'm not sure what they can do about it under the
current plans. They're not going to be able to keep the F-16s going.
They're flying the life out of those airframes. They've already been
looking for ways to extend the life of some of the F-15 fleet by
selecting low-air-time airframes for retention (the 'Golden Eagle'
program).

My suggest would be to terminate the F-22 program ASAP and accelerate
the USAF buy of F-35A. They could take up the production slack left
by USN reducing their buy to get more SuperBugs, instead. Cancel
F-35C entirely (as the most structurally different of the three
variants).

This leaves USN with the opportunity to initiate its own new fighter
program in a decade or so, with some hope of actually getting what
they want (since it would start off with a carrier-capable design).
Then they could strip out the extra weight for carrier capability and
make USAF start buying it on the back side of the F-35 buy (which
leads us back to a situation like the old F-4 Phantom).

If you want a multi-service airplane, you should start with a USN
design and lighten rather than starting with a 'light fighter' design
and then trying to beef it up for carrier ops.

I wish there was something to do about the F-35B, but I don't see a
viable alternative course. Maybe go back to Boeing with a bid for the
'REALLY Big-Wing Harrier'?

--
"Millions for defense, but not one cent for tribute."
-- Charles Pinckney