via The National Interest.
Of the three military departments, the U.S. Air Force is buying the fewest total amount of new aircraft, purchasing the fewest types of aircraft, and retiring the most airplanesEaglen turns the story into a bitch session, crying about how the US Navy's purchase of Super Hornets is a by product of the USAF having F-22s and the future F-35 to defend against high tech threats but that misses the point.
Since defense budgets peaked in 2010, and continuing through the 2015 budget request, the U.S. Navy is on a path to have acquired 1,133 new aircraft while the Air Force will have bought 824. Of these planes, the Navy will acquire 264 fighters (including the EA-18G Growler electronic attack aircraft) to the Air Force’s 117.
Excluding Remotely Piloted Vehicles (RPVs)—or drones—the Navy is on a path to have purchased 1,039 new aircraft, and the Air Force just 400 airplanes between 2010 and 2015.
This shows just how much the Air Force aircraft replacement rate is slowing, which means the already smaller force is getting older, faster.
The think tank gurus have failed to come to grips with the burning question.
IS STEALTH THE KEY TO FUTURE AERIAL WARFARE?
The US Navy doesn't think so and all open source material points to them being right. Additionally the Europeans haven't been sold and even the Russians haven't joined the "full stealth" bandwagon with their latest airplane in development.
Eaglen said it best near the end of her article....
But even if full sequestration does not continue throughout the decade, “sequestration-lite” is here to stay.The USAF is in a hurt locker of their own making. They bet their future on the concept of an all stealth air force...and since they're unwilling to admit the mistake and correct it, they've doomed their service and the nation to the ramifications of that decision.
The force will be smaller, more expensive and less capable in the future.
