Gates: Fighter gap ignores real-world demand

[unhappycamper]

Navy officials say the current inventory of Hornets and Super Hornets is short — by about 60 planes — of the “validated requirement” of 1,240. Defense Secretary Robert Gates says the Navy should re-evaluate its requirements by weighing real-world needs.


Gates: Fighter gap ignores real-world demand
By Andrew Tilghman - Staff writer
Posted : Sunday Jun 6, 2010 18:31:24 EDT

Does the Navy’s so-called “fighter gap” really matter?

Defense Secretary Robert Gates has asked the Navy that question as he urges military leaders to look beyond “gaps” like the one the Navy is facing as the older F/A-18 Hornets wear out faster than the F-35 Lightning II joint strike fighters arrive to replace them in 2016.

The question has become timelier since Navy leaders have quietly acknowledged that the gap is already here. The current inventory of Hornets and Super Hornets is short — by about 60 planes — of the “validated requirement” of 1,240. Navy leaders revealed the gap in a brief to lawmakers earlier this year; a copy of the brief was obtained by Navy Times.

The gap is troubling to some in the Navy and in Congress, who consider it a strategic risk that threatens national security.

But Gates said talk of gaps, and how to fill them, misses the point.



unhappycamper comment: 60 new Hornets = $4.98 billion dollars

60 new F-35s = $14.58 billion dollars

Why do we need these warplanes anyway? We've been fighting guys on donkeys the last 10 years or so.

[old mark]

1. I don't understand how we can have a "gap" when we have many times the

number of carriers than any other Navy in the world - we have more carriers than several other nations combined. We and the Russians and the European Combine sell most of the fighter planes made to other nations in the world. Even our "old" Hornets are better than other naval aircraft and many other nations are just buying the "Super Hornet" now.

NO ONE IN THE WORLD can now match us in the number and capability of aircraft we currently deploy-no one even comes close.

How about if we cut some carrier groups, some missile submarines and some Air Force wings, and keep our concentration on our ground forces who seem to need all the help and quality equipment they can get.

Remember the US invasion if Iraq? We defeated their BEST (Soviet) armor, and destroyed their (Soviet) air force in a few weeks total-and they had one of the largest armed forces in the world at the time. Who else even comes close to that in military strength?

Yet in that same invasion we sent in ground troops with poor equipment, inadequate armor...
And many lives and billions of dollars wasted.

mark

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

2. I understand Secy Gates predicament

My car is wearing out faster than I can save for a replacement. Monthly repair costs are starting to look like lease payments.

My temporary solution is to drive less. Maybe Gates should try that approach. Make less war.

:hi:

[Scuba]

3. Hey, that Taliban Air Force is...

...nonexistent. Our military is larger than the next 11 combined, ten of which are allies.

Plenty of money for fighters, carriers and submarines but not any for teachers, nurses or anyone else who might actually contribute something positive.

I'm disgusted.

[Forkboy]

4. We cannot allow ourselves to have a mine shaft gap!

[spanone]

5. fuck the navy, fuck the army, fuck them all. 600 BILLION a year and they don't have enough?

fuck them all