The Fighter Fleet
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Some of this is because they've done this to themselves.
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I understand the reasoning behind the big F-35 buy. It lowers costs. There are also rumors coming out of the Raider program that the U.S. has a new generation anti-radar coating that is much more durable and easier to apply, and it might bleed over to the F-35 program, lowering maintenance costs. I'm still not completely sold on the F-35, though.
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Looking back on the F-22 Raptor buy, the F-23 may have done everything the F-22 can do, except for thrust vectoring, at a cheaper cost. We should have done a longer run of which ever one was chosen, at least. And maybe we need to go back and take a hard look at the YF-23.
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We actually did a good job of picking a new trainer, the TA-7 Redhawk, a joint venture between Boeing and Saab. Boeing has already announced plans to build an armed version for countries wanting new fighters in lower level threat environments. They're cheaper to fly and maintain and could fill certain roles where non-stealth would work.
- Attack aircraft. I think they're full of feces about attack aircraft. Yes, the threat environment has escalated for those type aircraft, especially when fighting a modern army. But as has been proved time and time again, nothing beats aimed munitions on target when trying to support the guys on the ground.
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