General: U.S. Dominance of Skies May Wane
 

Just in case you don't want to read the article here:

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...s/us_air_force

WASHINGTON - The success of the Indian air force against American fighter planes in a recent exercise suggests other countries may soon be able to threaten U.S. military dominance of the skies, a top Air Force general said Wednesday.

"We may not be as far ahead of the rest of the world as we thought we were," said Gen. Hal M. Hornburg, the chief of Air Combat Command, which oversees U.S. fighter and bomber wings.

The U.S.-India joint exercise, "Cope India," took place in February near Gwalior in central, India. It pitted some F-15C Eagle fighters from the 3rd Wing at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska, in mock combat against Indian MiG, Sukhoi and Mirage fighters.

The F-15Cs are the Air Force's primary air superiority aircraft. The Indian fighters, of Russian and French design, are the type of planes U.S. fighters would most likely face in any overseas conflict.

Hornburg, speaking to reporters, called the results of the exercise "a wake-up call" in some respects, but he declined to provide details, other than to suggest the Indian air force scored several unexpected successes against the American planes.

For the last 15 years, the U.S. military has enjoyed almost total command of the air during conflicts. A few fighters and fighter-bombers have gone down, usually victims of surface-to-air missile fire, but in general, American planes have been able to target enemy ground forces at will.

In the most recent invasion of Iraq (news - web sites), Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s air force stayed grounded.

Still, new tactics, better Russian fighters like the Su-30, and a new generation of surface-to-air missiles mean that U.S. dominance could be ending, said Loren Thompson, who follows military issues for the Lexington Institute, a Washington think tank.

"The United States has grown accustomed to having global air superiority, yet we haven't put much very much money in the last generation into maintaining that advantage," he said, noting the F-15 first flew in the 1970s.

"So of course the rest of the world is finally starting to catch up," he said.

Hornburg said the exercise shows the need for some new Air Force fighters, particularly the F/A-22 Raptor, which is intended to replace the F-15C. But critics deride the aircraft as too expensive and built to counter a threat that hasn't existed since the Soviet Union collapsed.

So who the fuck cares? Who's got the nukes, bitch?

Well, if the rest of the world are finally catching up, its about time. it only took them about 35 years... Fact is, as that article states, we have better technology, but decided not to build them in the masses, since they aren't economically efficient and there is no primary threat.

Why bother? Our air fighters are still better, just not as much.

(oh yeah, you guys reply to this News post)

Well, I honestly think that if we even lose Air dominance, because we have better technology, I think we'd still be fine.

Countries with Nuclear Weapons Capability

Acknowledged: Britain, China, France, India, Pakistan, Russia, United States

Unacknowledged: Israel (But I'd put all my money saying they do...)

Seeking: Iran, North Korea (*1)

Abandoned: South Africa - Constructed but then voluntarily dismantled six uranium bombs. Belarus, Kazakhstan, Ukraine - When Soviet Union broke up, these former states possessed nuclear warheads that they have since given up.

*1. In Dec. 2002, North Korea revealed that it had violated its 1994 agreement to freeze its nuclear weapons program and has been developing a nuclear bomb. On April 24, 2003, North Korea announced it possessed a nuclear bomb but this claim has not been verified.

Source: U.S. State Department and Time magazine.

Sometimes, I honestly thought that North Korea was just bullshittin' us about the nukes. The US had promised to send Aid to North Korea in exchange for dismantling their nuke program. (If you want the news post talking about that, let me know)

So is this some ploy for you to get a newsposter job? Just suck Chrus's cock. MUCH easier.

Actually, it's not. I just felt like posting some news. I couldn't give a shit if I got the news poster position, it's not a big deal to me. Besides, I thought this was sorta interesting.

I was just pushing your buttons, cheif.

And yes, it was interesting.