Senate Pushback on F-22/C-17 Cancellation

[MasterBates]

OSU your personal stake is clouding your judgement. We need things other than more C17s now.

It is a defense budget, not a jobs program.

 

[Uncle Fester]

...some people have a real stake in these programs. My mom works at the C-17 plant in Long Beach; if it goes she loses her job and my parents lose their house...

Hey, I feel you. My folks work for the Missile Defense Agency in Hunstville, and I wasn't crazy to hear about that budget getting slashed. But the thing is, the programs don't exist to provide work. There's only so much money in the pot, the AF is comfortable with their heavy-lifting fleet, and there are a lot of things they need much more urgently, like replacement tankers and CSAR-X.

 

[OSUbeaver]

UF and MB,

I completely agree with both your points, my biggest issue was with the tone of the post rather than the arguement that was made in that post and in others on this thread. I will upgrade my skin and move on, have a good day gentlemen.

 

[SkywardET]

Eh. Given the price tag of the ABL, there's no way in hell we'd ever be able to buy enough to keep a continuous airborne presence anywhere. Linebacker Aegis ships give you the on-scene presence and persistence, for about the same price tag. Airborne lasers are sexy, but when we're under a budget crunch, we can't go dumping that much money into an unproven technology that may or may not work out in the long run, when we have other systems that can do the work now.

We built over 20 B-2 Spirits to provide a credible strategic capability and I think we wouldn't need more than 20 ABLs to provide a credible strategic capability (assuming it works, I know I know) in this brave new world.

You are right that Stellar Chickenhawk ships are current and real, but I think ABL could provide another part of a new nuclear deterrence triad specifically tailored against proliferation--AEGIS, ABL, and our original nuclear triad.

Just sayin'...
Would be nice to get the most nifty toys before we go bankrupt.

 

[Uncle Fester]

We built over 20 B-2 Spirits to provide a credible strategic capability and I think we wouldn't need more than 20 ABLs to provide a credible strategic capability (assuming it works, I know I know) in this brave new world.

You are right that Stellar Chickenhawk ships are current and real, but I think ABL could provide another part of a new nuclear deterrence triad specifically tailored against proliferation--AEGIS, ABL, and our original nuclear triad.

Just sayin'...
Would be nice to get the most nifty toys before we go bankrupt.

On the other hand, buying a lot of nifty toys is often how you go bankrupt. The B-2 was designed and built during the Reagan years, and we all know we're never going to see that kind of cash in DoD again. ABL doesn't really provide any part of the missile defense system that's not already covered by PAC-3 Patriots, Linebacker Aegis, or GMD silos, at least, nothing that's worth the enormous price tag.

 

[Redux]

It is supposed to be a defense budget, not a make-work program.

No argument with that statement but will the price of 60 or so more C 17's matter one iota when one considers the amount of hock the new Christ Child put us in?

 

[usmarinemike]

Y'all STFU. Don't turn this into another one of those arguments. Your stupid shit has already ruined the thread.

 

[Redux]

Hmm never would have though someone would refer to former president Bush as the Christ child.

Just a quick refresher, the financial crisis happened under Bush's watch. Obama was just a presidential candidate. No matter what Rush Limbtard says or how hard the Fox news idiots try to re-write history.

Also, the Government has been a damn make-work program for decades.

If you want to talk Limbaugh please report accurately since I haven't listened to him in nearly a decade. That's 10 years for you. :sleep_125

 

[Redux]

Y'all STFU. Don't turn this into another one of those arguments. Your stupid shit has already ruined the thread.

And on the 4th day God invented the ignore feature.