Clark Griswold

As long as you have 'Merica en mass in Europe you are not that worried, if we would wisely draw down our European footprint for some deterrence and keep a few MOBs ready for use if conditions warranted it, then our friends might upgrade total capability. As this idea doesn't promote the force structure of the past and buying shit we no longer need, I am not holding my breath... Copy dat

that was money well spent... /s Found another article on the subject of poor acquisition choices of the Phillippines AF, IAI offered them low time Block 60 Kfirs with technical support for 20 million per tail. FA-50s came in at 38 mil per tail and have no combat record, where as you could almost buy two Kfirs for the price of one, get support and is already operated by Sri Lanka and Columbia. http://aviationweek.com/awin/iai-looks-east-sell-updated-kfirs

Yup, the boss is right always... right boss... Or I would say focusing your AF on getting a capability (or only a small amount of a capability) you probably don't need and/or in an amount that is not operationally relevant. 12 FA-50s will not deter China but 20 or so Scorpion Jets or light attack helos is a lot of capability to deal with Islamic insurgents in their backyard. Their country, their decisions though.

Small jump in ORM. Forgot to add to the blue light special list, the AIDC F-CK-1Ching-kuo. Never change that designation. Another in the 30 mil range and would have the side benefit of really pissing of China. But as you said, this will probably have the main benefit of being able to realistically handle something bigger (sts) later on but with a Pacific Pivot, this could/should fall under Building Partnerships, a core function now for the AF.

Nope - everybody has to pay the piper at some point and that time is coming... damn it... Unrelated to the post on 6th gen concepts but a question for BO.net - where is the US or European answer to aircraft like the JF-17, MiG-35 or F/A-50? Relatively inexpensive to acquire and operate 4th gen multi-role fighters (price around 30 million) with a per flight hour cost in the $7500 or less range? FMS are getting vetoed by the State Dept but having those relationships, supply-sustainment-training-etc... are key to building inroads. Other nations are taking advantage of this and moving into this market: http://www.defensenews.com/story/defense/air-space/strike/2015/06/16/pakistan-jf17-thunder-export-china-rafale-egypt-africa-south-america-argentina/28818897/ Why this matters is that it keeps your defense industrial base solvent without the need for a big ticket 5th or 6th gen new MWS program that's a budget buster to keep them in the black. We need to field a Freedom Fighter for the 21st century for our price conscious allies (Philippines, Columbia, etc..) not just for them but for us.

Sixth generation concepts from Northrop & LM: This Is Northrop Grumman's Idea Of A Sixth-Generation Fighter, But Is It Feasible? http://foxtrotalpha.jalopnik.com/this-is-northrop-grummans-idea-of-a-sixth-generation-fi-1747680825 From the article; Since the F-35 procurement plan spans multiple decades, and supposedly will continue on well into the 2030s, where will the money come from for yet another advanced fighter aircraft? Especially considering this one will be even more complex and capable than the F-35 by a large margin. That is the rub, where the hell is the cash or political will going to come from to fund this as you are still buying the F-35?

UFB

You can almost set your watch by the personnel PIO, it used to be every 5 years (ish) the AF would be at the top or bottom of the cycle, everyone get out or please everyone stay in, the only thing I have noticed different than when I came in back in the late 90's is that the frequency is now about every 3 years... the PIO that AFPC and A1 induce just gets worse as they keep moving the stick from full aft to full forward while simultaneously going idle to military, the stick being RIF boards and the throttles being the bonuses or lack thereof... they use personnel tools with opposite effects one right after each other making the frequency shorter and the amplitude higher If you could have an hour to explain the concept of control and performance to A1, that might help but as most of them (that I have met) have no operational experience, have been in personnel all of their carriers and think it is just a spreadsheet to be manipulated at will, you will continue to get arbitrary / clueless / no real strategy just reaction to the problem du jour force structure decisions or God forbid, A3 asserts itself and we structure the AF around ops Get that long term orders check book out and call the Guard / Reserves, if you offered 3+ years of orders or back on AD to get that last 5 years or whatever they need to get in the check of the month club, you would get takers... if this CSAF wants to fix one problem (of many) before the new guy (or gal) takes the controls then focus on this ant and burn it up Did some bar napkin math and I bet you could get 3500 bodies (even split of O's and E's) for 3 years with all costs included (including PCS, TDY and training) for 3 years for about $1.5 billion, less if you expand at RPA Guard / Reserve bases, that kicks the can down the road but shit take a step in the right direction, spend the money, get rid of a problem hemorrhaging our credibility to manage this mission The easy part is figuring whose ricebowl to steal from... not

Can't argue with that, given the fecklessness of most Eurocrats, I think it would be hollow as drum. Basically Germany, Italy, Spain, et. al would need to almost double their military capabilities to be credible, put that in snowball in hell category. Yeah, I would put the Dutch in the tough fighter for their weight class also, this article was also at the National Interest and related to the subject: http://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/why-germanys-air-force-dying-14549 This is a somewhat older article but a list of proposed overseas bases for closure, http://www.g2mil.com/obcl.htm. If departing NATO outright is a bridge too far, then associate membership with a WAY reduced presence is probably feasible. Tell, American public we're bring 20,000 of the 30,000 troops in Europe home and saving X billions of dollars, that will pass after some isolationist name calling. Really if the area of the world with 46% of the GDP can't or won't defend themselves, they aren't worth defending.

This comes up from time to time but I thought this was a well reasoned article on exiting the alliance at the extreme of options or changing our participation in the alliance to associate member (as really a fail-safe and firewall against nuclear intimidation). http://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-skeptics/should-the-us-leave-nato-14534 Thoughts?

Touche' mon ami Per usual, The Onion has the finest commentary on the situation: http://www.theonion.com/article/new-evidence-suggests-middle-east-conflict-predate-38428

True but our strategy (for lack of a better word) requires restraint, if it comes to needing cluster bombs, MOABs and napalm I'm ok with it but until then shoot carefully

CDE not on their 9 line I think.

Reset option as seen from ground level. But Quinn was right, 200k boots on the ground indefinitely with the equal number teachers, doctors, etc.. but that could be low. Just a WAG but 200k boots on the ground and the civil rebuilding teams, logistics, support etc.. would be in the 85+ billion a year range with no end in sight. No thanks.

Another milestone for the program: The first F-35 delivered outside the U.S. was taken on charge by the Italian Air Force.http://theaviationist.com/2015/12/04/first-italian-f-34-accepted-by-itaf/ With that, built and delivered outside the US, we might be able to get another partner in the program and give the PLAAF a counter balance in the region: http://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/coming-soon-russian-su-35s-pakistan-american-f-35s-india-13838 http://www.indiandefensenews.in/2015/08/idn-take-why-india-should-buy-f-35.html

Shifty bastards. Not disengagement but selective direct action is our best tactic, our strategy needs to be money, guns and support for regional allies that meet serious requirements (anti-corruption, human rights, etc...) with a limited footprint in the ME. All of this accompanied by a cultural, moral argument against jihadism; an information campaign larger than our current one and the expansion of a what I would call active allies in this active intellectual confrontation against Islamic Fascism. This argument can not just be fought by the West; other nations, cultures, traditions, religions, etc... need to brought to isolate and confront intellectually the jihadis but their sympathizers and enablers. The civilized world has to call out the Saudis for exporting Wahhabism, the Iranians for support of Hezbollah, the Pakistanis for the assistance to the Taliban, etc... there are a ton of free riders out there enjoying the benefits of the liberal world order that has evolved, it's time to get everyone rowing who enjoys this boat... http://foreignpolicy.com/2015/05/28/the-pitfalls-of-a-whack-a-mole-strategy-against-isis/ Easy to say, hard to implement given our current political climate. Pols want to score soundbite points and bumps in the poll numbers with quick shots from the hip and large military actions to project the image of strength and decisiveness. Our political cycles are so short that a careful, well thought strategy requiring years to be effective comes across as weakness because you don't get the immediate high of a major military ground action, seizure of territory but then followed by the hangover of occupation-pacification-nation building. That said, I think if a President (particularly one in their second term) laid out an agenda to contain and confront, offer help to change the nations and societies that produce nihilistic, sociopathic jihadis and be honest that this will take 20+ years because our ultimate goal is a generation of young people in the ME who don't hate us, other religions and want to do something other than blow themselves up on a bus or airplane and that we are gonna get all the Allies on board with this because we all stick together or hang together, this could work, but I'm an optimist...

Long article but worth the read. ISIS’ Grip on Libyan City Gives It a Fallback Optionhttp://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/29/world/middleeast/isis-grip-on-libyan-city-gives-it-a-fallback-option.html?_r=0

Good luck and congrats Lt. Zehrung https://www.f35.com/news/detail/first-usmc-student-selected-to-fly-f-35b-earns-his-wings

Joyride in an A-4. http://foxtrotalpha.jalopnik.com/the-tale-of-when-a-marine-mechanic-stole-an-a-4-skyhawk-1745015819

This thread needs some humor. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4FIo89Ll4E

There's the turd in this punchbowl, a wannabe Islamist Sultan whom the Euros keep flirting with and who we should keep at a distance until he's out of office or no longer a threat and he is a threat to the West. Backsliding on human rights, not doing dick on foreign fighters and causing a Kurdish migration to Europe all while pleading for money, his usefulness and the project of integrating Turkey into NATO & the EU has come to be a head (sts). I have been waiting for the STHF with Russia returning the serve to Turkey and Putin may not go kinetic (unless an obvious opportunity presents itself) but Russia arming the Kurds could be a good backhanded compliment to Turkey, I doubt the Iranians would like it but Putin can probably use arms sales as leverage to keep them quiet and use proxies to return the favor to Erdogan.

Yup - when oil was north of 75 a barrel Putin put money, time, effort and focus into making them far more creditable and capable a military force than we want to believe they are. Even with oil low, all those good years of high oil prices (for Putin, Iranians, et al) have let them acquire more capability than we have considered recently. If oil stays low for say 3-5 more years they may coast down to the speed we are use to them operating at but for now they're fairly high speed, low drag...

2 Turkey needs a time out http://www.breitbart.com/london/2015/11/24/nato-should-tell-turkey-this-thanksgiving-youre-dumped/ And while the shoot down is the big news, the Russians are doing some fairly complicated air power demonstrations / ops. Turkey should mind its manners and be cool. http://theaviationist.com/2015/11/21/infographic-russian-strategic-bombers-syria/

20 lb. brains are working on it and there are already some out of the container ideas being tested probably soon to be fielded. and the marketing video... Still I see your point, for whatever reason the USAF has all the chips on stealth, hopefully it keeps winning. Still some insurance on that bet like our own Growlers or ideally the never realized F-15G Wild Weasel as the sensors get better but as the Navy is now "revalidating" the number of F-35C's they are looking at buying, this may be a toe in the water by the USAF to see if asking about buying fewer F-35As and buying some 4th+ Gen will pass with Congress. Not holding breath though.

This seemed related to the original article this thread was started on, article on improvements to the SAAB Gripen's NG radar and really the rise of the 4.75+ gen fighter. http://foxtrotalpha.jalopnik.com/saabs-gripen-ng-fighter-has-an-awesome-way-to-make-its-1743963539 We just may not be able to afford an 5th gen fighter fleet but a good mix of 5th and 4th+ gen fighters may fit the budget.