I will agree with you to a certain point on all the topics you listed but what is your answer for the statement above?
We currently have 530+/- F-15's in active and reserve status, if we only replace them with 120 F-22 what is going to fill in the gap, the F-35??? Not nearly the same type or quality of aircraft as the F-22, by this I am referring to range, TOT, payload, etc..
BTW - This is not an attack just a question I have been asking for some time now and would like to see his answer, or anyone else's for that matter on how you replace the capabilities of 500 a/c with only 120
I don't think 120 (or 186) is enough. I think we need more than 4 or 5 squadrons. The idea of the Hi/Low mix of the F-22/F-35 just like the F-15/F-16 would work nicely. It would be ideal if every F-15 squadron transitioned to the F-22. And of course, the more F-22s we buy, the cheaper each one really is.
I think that as the F-15 gets old and needs to replaced we will be looking at a whole different F-35 similar to how the Block 50/52 Viper is a totally different animal than the Block 1. A lot of that will have to be addressed and unfortunately we will have to decide how deep our pockets will go to get us the best advantage. Will the Brass think that a lesser amount of Raptors will do an adequate job with more F-35s? That will depend upon the capability of the "block 30" F-35. Right now as it stands, the answer is no, so we have to deepen our pockets to get what we want. So I guess the bottom line is that I think the F-35 will evolve eventually into something that will work for what we need it to.
A perfect example of this: For a few years the NEAD Det at Langley was manned by block 15 ADF Vipers, yet the 1FW has F-15s that could see 3x farther with their radars? Would an F-15 be a better player in this role? Yes, but money (and some politics of the 1st AF) says the Viper is good enough.
Does this help in getting at what I'm thinking?
(now where IS that "roll eyes" icon, anyway ... ??? )
