I had to laugh at the recent comments by U.S. Senator John McCain, who observed that “Russia is a gas station masquerading as a country”. Well, this comment is true to a degree; the economy of Russia is nearly totally dependent on oil and gas exports. And now, Vladimir Putin is in the process of bankrupting the country. His recent sneaky annexation of the Crimea region of the Ukraine and the occupation of a portion of the country of Georgia reveals his personal geopolitical ambitions, but his big problem is that he is a lousy poker player. The USA holds the stronger hand in the game he is playing, and has in fact, stacked the deck.
Russia cannot fight and win a conventional war with us. The country lacks the infrastructure it enjoyed in the Stalinist era as provided by the Soviet satellite countries; has little experience with the battlefield technologies of modern warfare, and has repeatedly demonstrated ‘Me Too’ weapons systems developments going back to the end of World War II. It is wishful thinking for Putin to consider America as weakened by a decade of warfare; on the contrary, we are a sharpened sword, honed in bloody battle, and have little patience for dictators, terrorists, and puppet masters.
The great danger to the USA is that Russia would burn through its resources feeding the battlefield logistics pipeline in a hurry, and believe it must use nuclear weapons—the weapon that is not a weapon at all but a suicide pill. I am hopeful that cooler heads will prevail in Russia. The citizens there have had a taste of democracy and the free enterprise system, and regardless of how corrupt they are in application at present, they would be sorely missed. While a minority of the population pines for the old days of Joseph Stalin, what they really long for is the stability and predictability of the old government and its system of handouts.
Hopefully, the newly created class of wealthy business owners in Russia will take charge of the government rather than vice-versa. They had better do it soon. Maybe seeing 50 billion dollars of good will created by the Sochi Olympics vaporizing before their eyes will propel them into action. They should also consider that Putin got his political education during his time with the KGB in East Germany.
I also think the European Union shares some blame here; both Georgia and the Ukraine lobbied to join the E.U. repeatedly and were snubbed, for whatever reason. This created the opportunities that Putin has exploited in hopes of restoring some sort of Slavic union of countries to counter the West and its growing integration of commerce and political systems.
I wonder if Putin’s behavior will bring about the resurrection of the F-22 Raptor program?
Sure, there was the high price, but from what I vaguely recall, wasn’t an equally prominent reasoning from the politicians who opposed it … that there was really no longer any adversary that necessitated having it? With things now headed at the very least to the conditions of the Cold War years, a familiar ole adversary will certainly be in the picture.
Hi, Suntana; thanks for the visit. Before I reply, I want to say that I just visited your blog and it blew me away! Good Job!!! Regarding the F-22, it’s now obsolete. The F-35 & the new 2nd gen long-range bomber will replace it, along with the F-117, B1, B2, B-52, etc. Aircraft that have been in my view, stupidly terminated early were the A-10 (Warthog) and the F-111B. There is still a need for close air support, (for which the A-10 was the supreme solution), and the ground-hugging capability, range, reliability, and payload of the F-111. The new supersonic bomber will have dynamic adaptive camouflage, conventional stealth airframe, hypersonic burst capability, directed energy weapons (both offensive & defensive), and also carry conventional missiles and ordinance such as nukes and bunker-busters anywhere in the world within a couple of hours. Revision “B” in 2025 might achieve the dream of single-stage to low-earth orbit.
I figured that just like at one time the B1 program was terminated and then later brought back to life, the F-22 Raptor program could possibly be brought back to life if analysis of the Russia situation deems that the alternative options aren’t gonna cut it.
You see … I was wondering more about the Air Supremacy / Superiority role, which the F-15 now handles. Of course, the F-15 is getting old and is not likely to be able to handle that role for as long as the B-52 has handled its Bomber role. I just don’t see the Jack of All Trades Master at None F-35 being able to handle the In Yer Face – Mess with Me and I’ll Seal Your Fate Air Supremacy / Superiority role.
I don’t know. I just never liked the multi-configuration concept of the F-35. It’s like musicians who play multiple instruments. Even as very adept as they might be at all of them, ultimately they’re going to most assuredly have their main real prowess at [b]one[/b] of those instruments.
Your instincts here are correct, Suntana; the F-22 was a few hundred miles/hour faster & more maneuverable, but sorry to say, the new U.S. Air Force has lost the battle to technology, and fighter pilots are no longer required. Welcome to HAL9000 with an attitude in the form of a Boeing Phantom Ray, or the Northrup Grumman X-47B. They can do maneuvers that would kill a human pilot with the g-forces, and they have no fear, never blink, and learn through experience much faster. The F-35 is the last gasp of the days of the Red Baron. This is why the USA has no qualms about selling them overseas.
[b]Boeing Phantom Ray[/b]
[i]Performance[/i]
Maximum speed: Mach 0.85
Cruise speed: Mach 0.8
Range: 2,414 km
Service ceiling: 12,192 m
[b]Northrup Grumman X-47B[/b]
[i]Performance[/i]
Maximum speed: “high subsonic”
Cruise speed: “high subsonic”
Range: 2,778+ km
Service ceiling: 12,192+ m
[b]MiG-35[/b]
[i]Performance[/i]
Maximum speed: Mach 2.35 at altitude; 1,450 km/h at low-level
Range: 2,000 km
Service ceiling: 17,500 m
[i]Armament[/i]
Guns: 1× 30 mm GSh-30-1 cannon, 150 rounds
Hardpoints: 9 total (8× under-wing, 1× centre-line) with a capacity of 7,000 kg
Rockets: S-8, S-13, S-24, S-25L, S-250 unguided and laser-guided rockets
[i]Missiles:[/i]
[b]Air-to-air:[/b]
AA-10 Alamo: 4× R-27R, R-27T, R-27ER, R-27ET
AA-8 Aphid: 4× R-60M
AA-11 Archer: 8× R-73E, R-73M, R-74M
AA-12 Adder: 8× R-77
[b]Air-to-surface:[/b]
AS-17 Krypton: 4× Kh-31A, Kh-31P
AS-14 Kedge: 4× Kh-29T, Kh-29L
Sorry, guys, but no one chance 🙂
Hi, Ilya; thanks for the visit and your comments. The public specs for the Phantom Ray and the X-47B have nothing to do with combat capabilities because these aircraft are technology demonstrator platforms in this early iteration. This is why the U.S. military has not bought any at present. The combat variants, not requiring a human pilot, will allow more weight (performance) added to engines, fuel loads, and armaments and they will have swarming capability.
A quick postscript to this post: Today, an opinion piece was published in the Wall Street Journal that sheds more light on the main subject of this post. My readers can find it here: http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303725404579460183854574284?mod=WSJ_Opinion_LEADTop&mg=reno64-wsj&url=http%3A%2F%2Fonline.wsj.com%2Farticle%2FSB10001424052702303725404579460183854574284.html%3Fmod%3DWSJ_Opinion_LEADTop
Yeah, I’ve heard that said before, David … about Fighter Jets in the traditional sense now being obsolete. But, Nnnnggg, I don’t know that I really buy it. Just like the B-52 should now by all accounts be ultra mega obsolete to infinity and beyond, yet they just can’t seem to be able to put it out to pasture.
But, then I’m no expert on these matters. Let’s just hope that those who ARE supposed to be the experts don’t guess wrong as to what is now obsolete and no longer needed and what will now do the job more than adequately.
Very interesting article, David.
[b]From WSJ:[/b]
[quote]Contrary to the West’s belief in the importance of win-win relationships among nations, for Mr. Putin every transaction is win-lose; when one party benefits, the other must lose. For him, attaining, keeping and amassing power is the name of the game.
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No one wants a new Cold War, much less a military confrontation. We want Russia to be a partner, but that is now self-evidently not possible under Mr. Putin’s leadership. He has thrown down a gauntlet that is not limited to Crimea or even Ukraine. His actions challenge the entire post-Cold War order including, above all, the right of independent states to align themselves and do business with whomever they choose.[/quote]
That’s a very worrisome Payback Axe to Grind that he’s got there.
The B-52 is the plane that wouldn’t die. The current plan is to keep 50 or more flying until 2040 or so… Amazing that this aircraft was designed within 120 days of the approved concept (engineered and design approvals all in hotel rooms…….
It is even more worrisome that our government is deadlocked politically, and the administration is clueless. When I was in the Strategic Air Command, our motto was “Peace is our profession”, and we were on a constant war footing, especially during the Cuban Missile Crisis. And, our power to annihilate the entire civilized world was no joke. Now, it seems that taking care of civilian indigents and the losers in life is somehow a better use of our tax dollars than spending it on a strong defense in a world that is even more barbarous than in the cold war era. Some of our finest General officers have been harassed to resign or removed from their jobs through witch hunts involving private sexual ‘misconduct’ and other personal ‘failings’ in the last five years that are subjective to the accuser and have nothing to do with being a great leader in battle. Now, this is something to worry about……