Washington Examiner laments "hollow Air Force"

July 1, 2009

An Op-Ed in the Washington Examiner gets right to the point: "When it comes to air superiority, America may be stuck on the tarmac."

At issue is the decision to cap the F-22 buy at 187. The writer, Michael Auslin, then tracks the real number of F-22s available at a given time, through those used for training and testing; attrition, loss and depot; then the logistical issue of sending aircraft in waves, combined with the logistics depending on where the base is and refueling on the way -- arriving at 20 Raptors available at one time in one place. He concludes: "Debate needs to begin with the realization that 187 is not nearly the number it seems at first glance."

Read it here.

Here's another excerpt worth considering: "Think about it: The Air Force is retiring nearly 250 F-15s and F-16s just as Russia and China are deploying hundreds of far more advanced fighters."