RIP F117-A stealth fighter

Our primary enemies are not deterred by very big boom-booms from very big ships. The terrorists in Lebanon were so deterred by the shelling from the New Jersey that they slaughtered a barracks full of Marines.

 

The F117-A royally fucked up the Iraqis in Desert Storm. As a kid who had a big old model of it, seeing them in action for the first time left me in awe.

It flew 1,300 sorties in the Gulf War alone and only one has ever been shot down (Kosovo?).

It was also used in Afghanistan and Iraq after 9/11.

I'd say it took off pretty good.

 

I'm not entirely sure that's a fair enough comparison or reason to not have aircraft carriers.

And again, look at the numbers. If you have five or six carriers actively deployed around the globe, that leaves seven or eight either training or in maintenance. Better, in this case, to have more than not enough, given the lead time of building these things.

Think about it from a fire station perspective. You build stations at critical points throughout a city to ensure maximum range of coverage and the shortest possible response time, when every second counts. If you constantly have five or six carriers prowling around, with several more in reserve, you can respond almost instantly to any flare-up there may be.

In 1994, during my deployment with the George Washington, we responded to flare-ups in Iraq, Oman, Yugoslavia and more. All within the span of just a couple of months. We were able to provide incredibly effective air cover, weaponry and presence in all these locations because we were deployed.

 

It did do well, but for many years early on, it appeared to be a flop, kinda like the Osprey.

 

Carriers aren't about naval power. They're about air power, and the ability to put it right where it's most needed on short notice, with minimal negotiation, without having to fly all the way around the world and without having to do constant mid-air refueling.

Hell, the Navy's doing more aviation work than the Air Force these days.

Vietnam was a long time ago, fleet-to-fleet battles are a thing of the past and 16-inch shells don't do much good if your target is a thousand miles from the nearest deep blue. Smart missiles have inherent advantages that cannon shells just can't emulate.

The era of the battleship is finished. Tactics have passed them by.

 

No comparison with the Osprey which has been in development for almost 30 years and is only just now in full production, I think. The Nighthawk was greenlighted in the early '70s and at full production by '83. The entire fleet was finished by 1990.

The Nighthawk, as far as I know, was a complete success. The only reason they're retiring it is the Raptor and JSF are not only better planes, but as the article mentions, they'll be saving money by putting it into mothballs.

EDIT: The Osprey was in development for 25 years according to Wikipedia. According to the same article, the Pentagon approved full production in 2005, with a new 5-year contract beginning this year.

 

Oman?

 

Oman.

http://www.jamestown.org/terrorism/news/article.php?articleid=2369923

Had nothing to do with Islamist movements, though.

 

Sorry...Yemen, not Oman.

 

It would be nice if we spent some of that money on a decent rifle for the people who actually win wars. I have no experience with the M4. I understand it is simply a carbine version of the M-16, which may be the oldest weapon in the American arsenal outside of the B-52 and certain gunnery sergeants.

 

Nice.

I'll defer to TBF for the low-down on that. What say you? What would be a good replacement, if any, for the M4?

Oh, and ink-stained wretch. This gentleman would like to have a word with you...



Who said that? Who the fuck said that? Who's the slimy little communist shit, twinkle-toed cocksucker down here who just signed his own death warrant? Nobody, huh? The fairy fucking godmother said it. Out-fucking-standing. I will PT you all until you fucking die. I'll PT you until your assholes are sucking buttermilk.

 

Which is an incredibly bad decision, given its reliability problems. Delta uses the HK416 due specifically to that, and the Army has started purchasing HK416 upper portions specifically to upgrade the M4.

http://www.military.com/NewsContent/0,13319,131317,00.html?wh=wh