(Franco Iacch)
04/21/16
http://www.difesaonline.it/mondo-militare/f-22-raptor-ufficiale-il-congresso-lo-rivuole-produzione-gi%C3%A0-nel-2017-commissionato
Now it's official: "In light of the growing perception that the US military is losing the technological advantage against Russia and China, Congress expressed keen interest in restarting the Raptor production line and has commissioned a specific study to assess it's feasibility".
Five years after the closure of the F-22 production line, first fifth-generation fighter for which it was coined the term "air supremacy", it might happen unthinkable (at least until a few months ago). What has officially been launched is a study for the feasibility of reopening the Raptor production line, and the resulting economic impact.
"To have suspended production F-22 Raptor at just 187 units was one of the stupidest decisions on military procurement in recent decades now no one denies any more." Is what said, last January, the Air Force Secretary Deborah James (pictured).
"The original plan was to produce many F-22. Unfortunately, a series of unfortunate circumstances and budget overruns have sped the conclusion of the program. We have just pulled the plug and shut the production line. Now we are focusing everything on the F-35, although it will never do what guarantees the Raptor ".
We know that the entire production line was not cannibalized, but kept in storage as well as all projects. The Obama administration has never foreseen that possibility, only granting the necessary updates (not without difficulty) to the only fifth generation fighter in service in the world to date.
We were optimists - it can be red in the Air Force report presented last March to the Armed Services Committee of the Senate - perhaps too much, but we were convinced that in a reasonable number of years, no country will been able to develop next-generation platforms. Unfortunately, Russians and Chinese have done in half the time than we assumed was possible.
A 2010 study commissioned by the Air Force at the RAND Corporation estimated for 75 new Raptors, an expenditure of $ 17 billion. The new study for the congressional defense committee should be delivered by January.
The official statement states: "In light of the growing threat to the air superiority of the United States, of opponents who have now reduced the technology gap, the constant demand of the allies for platforms of high-performance and deterioration in global security threats, It is advised necessary to further investigate this proposal. "
The only fighter for air supremacy on the planet, the F-22 Raptor, was built in only 186 copies, but only 123 have been converted for the fighting. The rest of the fighters are classified as inventory machines, intended for testing or out of service. To date, considering the current threats and contexts where the presence of a fifth generation platform is required, the Air Force would need at least 382 Raptors.
The question is purely numerical: the first fighter in the world that has been coined the term "air supremacy", can not be everywhere. The United States has six operational squadrons of F-22, but these are undersized compared to other combat units. American Standard Squadron is based on 24 aircraft (F-16 or F15) PAA, or Primary Authorized Aircraft, and two in BAI or Backup Aircraft Inventory.
The five fighting Raptor squadrons have 21 jets online plus two in BAI. The only Raptor squadron of the National Guard, based at Hickam in Hawaii, is made up of eighteen F-22 and two in inventory.
The situation is even more dramatic considering that the Air Force Weapons School at Nellis, only has thirteen Raptors for certification.
Nevertheless, the Raptor is still the best fighter in the world, although in a large-scale confrontation, it would pay dearly for it's small numbers. Without considering, finally, that some AIM-120 might not even hit the target in an age where active electronic warfare is making great strides.
So, the only real enemy of Raptors is thus numeric: there are 123 Raptor fights. The story, however, could change soon.
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The Rafale hidden beauties and its future, VS F-22 & China radars
http://www.rumormillnews.com/cgi-bin/forum.cgi?read=40654
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Is the $400 billion F-35's 'brain' broken?
By Zachary Cohen, CNN
Updated 1119 GMT (1819 HKT) April 21, 2016
More:
http://edition.cnn.com/2016/04/21/politics/f-35-software-system-gao-report/index.html
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IZAKOVIC
