Originally Posted by
UAL T38 Phlyer
It WILL be a disaster, and is a waste of money.....but if you think CAS---or long-range strike, for that matter---can be done by Mortars, arty, and cruise missiles.....it makes me think you don't have first-hand experience in either.
This is the "technology solves everything" argument, and the foundation of the pro-F-35 crowd.
Often times, war is inconveniently dirty, risky, and dangerous.
Back to topic: Sadly, this contract seems to be a "Let's give Northrop a contract, since they haven't had a big contract since the B-2, and just a pittance with the Global Hawk."
CAS and long range strike can't be done by Mortars, artillery and cruise missiles
yet.
I do have first hand experience. I was a Marine grunt in Fallujah and Ramada in 2004. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely loooove CAS, but the technology is there to make most CAS obsolete. Mortars and arty now have GPS guided rounds just as accurate as a JDAM. HIMARS has a range of hundreds of miles, if not more. ISR UAVs are already down to the company level giving the guy on the ground the same bird's eye view as a pilot. If we put money into enhancing these capabilities even more it significantly reduces our logistics burden and makes deconfliction of airspace a non issue. Of course there will still be a need for some CAS platforms. I'm thinking specifically of SOF forces operating on their own far away from traditional fire support platforms.
As far as long range strike, obviously were not there either,
yet. But we can invest in that capability as well. Both from naval vessels and from ground based systems.
This will not only be more responsive, flexible and responsive in the long run but will also be exponentially less expensive. I'm not saying we should do this today, or next year or maybe not even in 10 years but it's the direction we need to be headed. Not in the direction of a trillion dollar long range bomber that will result in nothing but a redundant capability that will only be used because poured so much money into it that we feel we need to justify it.