F-15C, F-35 to boost US air-to-air capacity, not more F-22s

[MigBuster 2,881]

The head of US Air Combat Command says it would be his dream to restart production of the Lockheed Martin F-22 air superiority jet as potential adversaries like Russia and China “close the gap” with Western air power.

But the chances of the Raptor, which is still considered the world’s premier air-to-air combat jet, re-entering serial production is likely to remain a dream due to year-to-year defence budget uncertainty and the introduction of the air force’s top three priorities – the Lockheed F-35 multirole fighter, Boeing KC-46 tanker, and Long-Range Strike Bomber.

“I dream about it every night in the hopes it will happen, but I can’t tell you what the cost would be,” says Gen Herbert "Hawk" Carlisle. “With the fiscal environment we’re operating under, I don’t know if we’d be able to get that through Congress or OSD (the Office of the Secretary of Defense).”

F-22 procurement quantities were trimmed repeatedly, going from 750 to 339 and production was finally capped at 195 aircraft – which Carlisle calls the “biggest mistake ever”.

 

But instead of producing more F-22s as a stopgap measure until a sixth-generation air superiority aircraft comes online in the late 2020s, Carlisle and USAF chief of staff Gen Mark Welsh point to Boeing F-15C upgrades and more dependence on F-35 and F-22 teaming as the way forward.

“We have to have the F-35,” Welsh said at an Air & Space Conference in Washington this week. “It’s not intended to be an air superiority fighter; it was designed to be a complimentary fighter and to do the multi-purpose air-to-ground work while the F-22 did the air-to-air work. The F-22 buy was curtailed and now we don’t have enough F-22s to do large theatre operations in the air-to-air arena.

“We have to supplement them with something near-term and that’s going to be the F-15C – which is why we have to upgrade it with AESA radar and other things to be credible in that arena in the next 10 years.”

Welsh says relying more on the F-15C and F-35 is the “only practical solution” to maintaining dominance in air-to-air realm – not restarting F-22 production. Although, he admits the air force has a serious capacity problem, having slimmed down from 188 fighter squadrons at the end of the Cold War to just 49 squadrons in the current five-year plan.

Today, America has four active fighter production lines including the Boeing F-15, F/A-18 and Lockheed F-16 and F-35, however, all but the F-35 line will be shuttered by the end of the decade without additional domestic or international orders.

Meanwhile, Russia and China maintain steady production of several advanced fourth-generation fighter aircraft, including the Russian Mikoyan MiG-29, MiG-35, Sukhoi Su-35, Su-30 and Chinese Chengdu J-10 and Shenyang J-11. In the fifth-generation portfolio, Russia is pursuing the Sukhoi T-50 (PAK FA) and China intends to introduce the Chengdu J-20 and Shenyang J-31.

Some industry officials have said privately that it would be very possible restart F-22 production since much of the tooling and manufacturing equipment remains intact in storage, but it would be expensive and the supplier base has already moved onto other projects.

 

 

 

 

https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/f-15c-f-35-to-boost-us-air-to-air-capacity-not-mor-416863/

Sorry need to add the F-16  2040 proposal 

 

[JediMaster 451]

Yes, everyone knew it was dumb to cut F-22 production but BUDGET. So we're going to make old planes and fighter-bombers do air superiority.

 

Of course, we could just stop sending our planes all over the damn place and then we wouldn't need so many.

[ironroad 218]

There are only three active duty USAF F-15C squadrons left, one in England and two in Japan. The rest are Air National Guard units that are primarily tasked with homeland defense, interception, and training (in the case of the one of Oregon's wings). Does this mean the USAF is going to task and stretch the ANG even further than it already is?

 

I love the F-15A/C to death. Been my favorite aircraft since I was child, but it's time as "the" air superiority has passed. The F-22 is far superior and the FLANKER has exceeded it in maneuverability and I'm willing to bet the Russians and Chinese have developed some sensor or E/W capability that can do an end-run or match US 4th generation tech. F-15 pilots are probably the best trained and most experienced fighter pilots in the world (including the IAF) but how long is that going to last with deep budget cuts?

 

As far as budget woes, both political parties and both the executive and legislative branches are to blame for these fiascoes. They failed to plan and prioritize and became more concerned with being re-elected or snagging "consulting jobs" then governing. Makes no sense the government has been operating on a unbalanced budget and "CR" for almost a decade. Knee jerk reactions to media frenzies is not a way to govern a country. Not thinking beyond the next election cycle is a failure of political leadership. Governing by emotion (which both parties actively do) gets nothing done.

 

In addition, the American public also has a share in the blame. People knowingly and willingly believe the lie that you can have "something" for "nothing". That they are entitled to "everything". And that all they have to do is vote in POTUS elections make the the government effective. The public has shrugged its responsibilities or being educated, informed, and most importantly be active voters.