Why is the F-35 So Important to America’s Defense in Such a Time as This?

I can answer that question in one brief answer, which is simply air superiority. Air superiority is something that America has enjoyed during every conflict we have been engaged in since World War 2. Now while the world’s superpowers such as China and Russia, as well as other nations are attempting to build up their high tech air arsenals at break neck speed, we are cutting defense budgets that directly affect our combat readiness and war fighting capabilities. These other nations obviously realize that the world has become an extremely dangerous place, so why are we taking our Gen 5 fighter and putting it into mothballs? Let’s take a moment to examine one of the many plausible scenarios as an example of what could occur on the battle field.

The Commanders decide to send a twelve man Special Operations team into a known hot spot to do some recon. Things are going fine, but then suddenly the team is accidentally discovered, and a large number of enemy soldiers come out of the woodwork and start to engage the team and pin them down while attempting to over run them. Unfortunately for the team, the enemy has also closed off the retreat. What you now have is a small efficient group of elite soldiers with a limited amount of ammo, trying to hold off a large number of enemy combatants with virtually unlimited ammo and supplies. Time now becomes of the essence in this situation, because it is just a matter of time before the team will be overrun and all members killed. Fortunately for the team, one of the members is an Air Force Combat Controller. A Combat Controller, or CCT is part air traffic controller, and part Elijah, as he can call down fire from the heavens above simply by directing the pilots who have been called in by him to deliver the ordnance. The CCT gives the pilots the co-ordinance of the enemy’s location, and then the planes fly by at a high rate of speed raining down a metal storm directly onto the enemy’s location from above. Sometimes an aggressive fast approaching enemy can get dangerously close to the team, and the Combat Controller may have no other option but to call in a strike close to the team as their last option. As many of the readers know, friendly fire is not really all that friendly, so in a case like this, you need a plane that is fast, agile, and maneuverable that can carry a formidable payload while still being surgical in its application. This is a situation when you would look up at the sky as you are digging in to take cover, and be thanking God when you see the F-35’s as they come screaming in to give you the air support needed to save you and your team from imminent destruction at the enemy's hands. The parameters of the above scenario could be changed with a larger number of American troops being involved, but the method to resolve the issue would still be the same. The bottom line, is that when you posess air superiority, you control the battle space environment.

So the readers might be wondering what makes the F-35 so much better than our existing fighter planes? When you compare the F-35 against our existing planes with the exception of the F-22, there really is no contest, because the F-35 has better flight performance, and better weapon loads with a larger ordnance payload. The internal weapons bays add to its superior lessened operational drag and greater stealth. The F-35 also has a greater range along with its drastically reduced radar signature, and the sensors and situational awareness systems on the F-35 are like something out of star wars. The F-35 is also extremely flexible. It can take advantage of its near mach 2 speed and stealth to deliver internally carried 2000-pound bombs against command and control targets, then once the targets are knocked out and stealth is no longer necessary, ground crews can load the F-35 with a variety of missiles and ordnance. The bottom line is that for any mission under any threat environment no matter what the range, the F-35 will be significantly more effective than the majority of our existing planes. So if the F-35 is so cutting edge then why is this project being put on hold is a question that you might be asking yourself? Could it be because of the so called high price tag that we keep hearing about in order to justify the budget cuts? That and many other questions will be answered in the next few installments.