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Obama should spare and build the F-22 Raptor - UPI.com
Obama should spare and build the F-22 Raptor - UPI.com
For instance, if all of the weapons cuts proposed by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld had been implemented, every major production line for military aircraft but one would have closed. And as economist Guy DuBois of Raytheon pointed out in a Dec. 8 speech, export restrictions on technologies used in military satellites have caused a steady erosion in the competitiveness of the U.S. space industry. There needs to be a better framework for reconciling economic and security policies.
The logical place to start in crafting a more sensible approach is to agree that the government should not be buying weapons just to stimulate the economy. Weapons programs always should be justified mainly on their operational and fiscal merits, meaning they must satisfy valid military requirements in a cost-effective manner.
The F-22 meets that standard, because it will guarantee global air dominance for the next 30 years -- arguably the single most important requirement for winning future wars.
F-22 provides credible deterrent for U.S. - UPI.com
F-22 provides credible deterrent for U.S. - UPI.com
90 percent of the U.S. military budget during the Cold War was spent on non-nuclear forces, to provide a credible deterrent posture across the full spectrum of potential threats.
The Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor fighter fits comfortably into this framework. Because it is more survivable, agile and versatile than other fighters, it can achieve air dominance even in places where adversaries have a big numerical advantage. Once air dominance is established, enemies are left naked to the other instruments of U.S. military power without being able to attack our own forces.
The F-22 is also equipped to conduct an array of secondary missions such as missile defense, reconnaissance and network attack, enabling the precise tailoring of effects that contributes to effective deterrence. But what really makes it a powerful deterrent -- unlike nuclear weapons, in most cases -- is that enemies know the U.S. government will not hesitate to use it. That has to influence how potential aggressors weigh their options.
Monday, January 05, 2009
Land of Gandhi Asserts Itself as Global Military Power - NYTimes.com
Land of Gandhi Asserts Itself as Global Military Power - NYTimes.com
In a speech in India’s Parliament this summer, a rising political star spoke of a change in civilian thinking that helps explain the change in military strategy.
“What is important,” said Rahul Gandhi, the heir to the family dynasty that controls the governing Congress Party, “is that we stop worrying about how the world will impact us, we stop being scared about how the world will impact us, and we step out and worry about how we will impact the world.”Saturday, January 03, 2009
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