Clark Griswold

Concur I wish this could spread to other requirements/acquisitions Good enough is good enough, good enough plus quickly delivered at a reasonable cost is great.

From the ‘tube so caveat emptor but some initial thoughts that are probably in the ballpark of truth… Very stealthy Focused on itself being air to air / tactical C2 Very long ranged Not built to last for super long time, 20 years then on to next gen Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

If Boeing get the NGAD then LM gets the NGAS, NG can get the F/A-XX Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

What is the problem with LM’s proposal? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

5 years from now on BO… ”Who had 30 billion over budget and no planes yet built?”

If you keep touching the stove when it’s on you’ll keep getting burned Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Winning https://www.theblaze.com/news/trump-water-mexico-treaty-cruz

Preach on Mini https://www.defenseone.com/ideas/2025/03/theres-tanker-sized-gap-vision-air-forces-future/403589/ We need this team with a catchy acronym, Future Air Refueling Team or FART if you will… 46s as the foundation and -330 MRTT+ for distance with -390s for ACE.

After St Paddy’s… Related to Irish fighters, worth the read on Ireland and expandable to other declared neutral countries https://warontherocks.com/2025/03/no-time-to-spare-irish-defense-and-security-in-2025/ FA-50 in Irish Air Corps colors

True but in defense of the MRTT it carries more passengers, 290+ vs 50+ for the 46, 110+ in a contingency configuration. Just my two cents, the correct answer is both of them for the USAF Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Unfamiliar with the KE-3… About the same fuel as a -135? Modern cockpit and avionics at delivery? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yup, switched to the Bus from the 73, the MAX is good the Bus is great I’m not usually for corporate welfare but I’ll just advocate here for some corporate welfare… buy 75 more or so -46s, come up with a new configuration to unfornicate the design to the maximum possible and help Boeing get its legs underneath itself again We’re committed to it, replace the 135 with the 46, don’t call it a replacement for the -10 but buy the -330 NEO for the Y and get cranking on NGAS… for that I’d quietly ask NG if the B-21 could also have KC-21 variant Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

No extra gas but 8% fuel savings, will have an automated boom system too https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/defense/2024-07-24/airbus-a330-multi-role-tanker-transport-goes-neo More gas, more range, less bullshit Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

A bit old but if KC-Y is still being considered this is the way https://breakingdefense.com/2023/11/airbus-exploring-development-of-future-tanker-based-on-a330neo/

Brochure on the 777 tanker https://bemil.chosun.com/brd/files/BEMIL085/upload/2007/05/KC-777.pdf Not gonna happen but grist for the mill. Since we’re discussing big tankers and potential missions for them, this is a video showing all the choreography that the RAF had to do to get a Vulcan down range in the Falklands War. I think you can make an argument that more, smaller tankers give more redundancy than one or two big tankers but I think also you can say in the fog of war you might have more success with fewer variables to control. If/When a contingency arises in the Far East, we might be doing our own version of this. 25 to 45 big tankers would really be helpful then…

On site. I’m not one for excessive oversight but keeping them on a shortish leash might be helpful. Go pros, FDRs, quality/standardization checks with mil instructors, etc… solid pay for CFIIs for IPT, 75k to start, pass probation period, say 6 months, pay bumps up, second year guaranteed 100k+ for x number of student training hours flown, etc… This would be to off load some of a hypothetical phase 2 of my COA, intro mil flight training in a PC-21. Phase 3 then T-7s or T-54. If the AF won’t buy the -54, then a ME course in a light twin, type training course with some extra sims, a LOFT phase, call it good. Plane porn just because

If IPT were done at a military base with direct oversight do you think the quality control could be maintained?

Related item: Navy having T-45 problems https://www.twz.com/air/t-45-goshawk-navy-jet-trainer-fleet-grounded

Concur All you hear is Pacific Pivot, Great Power Competition, Tyranny of Distance, etc… from AF “leaders” and they then divest a platform suited to all of those problems/challenges in the expected title fight… Just as a PACAF GO said he wanted the E-7 now with no acquisition shenanigans or BS to replace the E-3, we need a message from the top saying we need a strategic tanker now or a strategic concept now. I say concept as while I’m always gonna say this new iron or that, I get that is likely a bridge too far in financially difficult times (8% budget cuts and the rest) Concept to me would be new overseas basing, FMS and long term posture on west coast / sovereign pacific territory Australia, NZ, Guam and a rotational presence in the PI. Some that already happening but just continuing this idea on this post… KC-45 fleet if new iron were to be had would be my suggestion if Australia would host a new PACAF base(s) A bit more fuel and interoperability with the RAAF Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

We might be there, taxes are high and wallets stretched thin, if I lived there I would tell them hell no to paying for this. Tell the wealthy bleeding hearts there is no law stopping them from self funding this other than the law of common sense, when I see Newsom et al write a check for 100k+ out of their pockets for these utopian ideas I’ll be surprised

6 gen

Tangent: What a shock, paying for health care for people who are here illegally is a really bad financial idea https://redstate.com/wardclark/2025/03/13/medi-cal-fail-providing-health-care-for-illegal-aliens-is-breaking-the-program-n2186631

Yeah, that’s not a good plan. Not shooting the messenger just commenting on the situation.

Triage or publicly ask Congress for supplemental funding for reasons a, b and c… this is how we got here, here’s what we want to do to Make UPT Great Again and here’s how we are going to do it. I suspect Triage is going to be the answer Congress would approve so honestly I’d look for where operational risk is possible and reprogram money It would likely be a vertical cut versus horizontal to maximize savings, so much old iron has already gotten the ax we’re getting down to the family jewels Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I think we’re starting to get to another point CAF wants one thing MAF (maybe AFSOC, AFGSC) might want something else in their new pilots Points expressed here are singular data points but enough of them become useful data clusters Is the single advanced trainer useful to try to bring back or go to in the everyone goes to T-7s after civ training model? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk