Joint Strike Fighter

The after taking 25 years to develop the F22 Raptor from conception to operational certification the United States Air Force (USAF) produced the world’s first 5th Generation air superiority fighter. (site) This revolutionary fighter plane leveraged its very low observable stealth (VLO) and thrust-vectoring and digital fly by wire technology, to produce an extremely fast, agile and deadly air to air combatant. (GEO P 2) However, in 2009 Robert Gates, Secretary of Defense, (SECDEF) convinced the President (POTUS) and Congress to truncate the F22 program, leaving the USAF with less than 187 operational F22 Raptors, this number was well short of the 381 the USAF estimated they needed to meet their mission requirements. (AWC 1/ site) Gates made his controversial decision based on three factors. This essay will explore these factors and explain how the 2009 U.S strategic environment, the overall cost of the F22 and Secretary Gates’ desire to change the Department of Defense (DOD) all lead to the decision to limit the production of the F22 Raptor at 187 aircraft.

The past decade has witnessed fundamental changes in the information environment, which makes availability and access to information more prevalent than in the past. For this reason, we must develop and maintain the ability to influence the content and flow of information to potential adversaries, as well as foreign civilian audiences in the area of operations.

Lockheed Martin Corporation relies heavily on defense contracts from the U.S. Government. In fact, 84 percent of the company's net sales were made through being a prime contractor or subcontractor for the U.S. Government. These sales come from both the Department of Defense (DoD) and non-DoD agencies. The next largest area of revenue is from foreign governments that make up 15 percent of net sales. The remaining net sales come from commercial or other customer sales. A slow economy could cause decline or reprioritization of funding for the U.S. defense budget. This is also true for

The 442nd Regimental Combat Team was a segregated U.S. Army. They fought in World War II. It was made up of Japanese Americans that were from the Mainland and Hawaii. The men from Mainland thought that the Hawaiians didn’t speak English very well. There was a conflict between both groups and got sent to a detention camp. The 442nd learned about teamwork very fast. They decided they would complete every assignment that came their way. Frank Hachiya wrote a letter to his 8th grade teacher before he was killed. In addition, he talked about all his regrets in life and how he wasted most of his time. At his funeral, his teacher read the letter.

Attacking or replicating the F-45 Raider fighter jet could potentially cause mass casualties and destruction.

The Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) examines “the national defense strategy and priorities”, and “sets a long-term course for the DoD”. The QDR "assesses the threats and challenges that the nation faces, while seeking to re-balance DoD‘s strategies, capabilities, and forces to address today‘s conflicts and tomorrow's threats." The QDR is required by Congress every four years and is produced by the Secretary of Defense (SecDef). The three pillars that the 2014 QDR rests on are: protect the homeland; build security globally; and project power and win decisively. One of the ways that the US armed forces support the QDR is through the application of airpower. Airpower is “the ability to project military power or influence through the

Advanced Technologies. Lockheed Martin is bringing decades of experience of developing cutting edge technologically advanced systems to the marketplace. Through their legendary Skunkworks program, they have developed the F-117 Nighthawk stealth fighter, U-2 Dragon Lady spy plane and the SR-71 Blackbird. These are craft were operational long before the public even knew of their existence. The SR-71 developed in the 1960s still holds many speed and altitude records. The F-35 takes this experience and incorporates it. It is a fully stealth aircraft that uses advanced geometrical shape and electronic methods to remain undetectable. Each F-35 is fully linked to all other aircraft, being able to “see” what they see. The pilot wears an advanced helmet that allows them to see “through” the aircraft using 6 infrared cameras mounted around the aircraft, virtually eliminating any blind spots.

In September 2011, the Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee voted to cancel the Army and Marine Corps' Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) in their version of the fiscal year 2012 defense bill (Munoz, 2011). This measure could have completely shut down efforts to replace a thirty year-old fleet of Humvees, loyal but potentially outmoded tactical wheeled vehicles. The Army's Modernized Expanded Capacity Vehicle program has been a project set to replace the High Mobility, Multi-Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV) family in the works for years. The project, however, continues to be stymied by budgetary constraints. Per-vehicle costs for the JLTV begin at $250,000 and are likely to climb, as Lockheed-Martin secured a preliminary contract for engineering, design, and development. The high cost of the JLTV does preclude it from completely replacing the HMMWV, and yet cost does not preclude the JLTV from supplementing the Army's fleet. A middle-ground solution is the best method of maximizing initial investments, while also banking on the robustness of national security.

The Unites States Air Force is a huge organization that employs a huge workforce annually who works as its security forces. The organization's mission is to fly, fight, and win all battles in the air, cyberspace, and air. As a huge organization, it acts as one of the most attractive options for individuals who are seriously considering a career with the security forces. However, such individuals should conduct an adequate research before choosing to seek for job opportunities with the organization. This is largely because individual responsibilities in the United States Air Force contain various risks that are associated with different jobs.

In an article by Andrea Shalal the issue of helping the U.S bomb program up and running is addressed. Under this legislation there will be an $80 billion dollar U.S. Air Force bomb program put into place. This program will insure that the U.S. has a supior weapons system. Northrop Grumman Corp will be who is build this new long-range strike bomber. Some lawmakers are worried that this plan would leave the Air Force to a cost increase in the future. What type of contract is used is also up for debate. Some contract could end up costing the government more money in the end. Lawmakers such as John McCain and Randy Forbes who are both heads of Armed Service committees have requested briefing about the contract rewards which are being talked about.

The JTF is based upon current doctrine, the scenario, and forces currently available. The command and control and organization of the JTF explains the need for service and functional components as well as the effectiveness of dual-hatting in certain situations, and where it could add additional confusion in other situations. It also explains the multinational, civil-military, SOF, command

Hence, the United States has approximately 13,000 military aircraft that were built in factories. Comparatively, China and Russia, the world's next-largest aerial powers, only have a total of 2,000 to 3,000 military aircraft each (Bender, 2015) that were produced in factories. Next, another point of contention is the desensitization of warfare as a result of

This position paper will address if the F-35 JSF program is worth the current investment the United States has placed into it. First the pros of the program will be presented followed by the cons. Finally, the paper will discuss why the JSF program is not worth the investment.

Just shortly, after the end of World War II the United States Air Force realized they needed a fighter jet to replace the highly popular P-51 Mustang. North American Aviation Corporation was granted the contract to build these medium range, single-seat, high-altitude, multi-purpose fighter jet/bombers. There were over 6,000 of the jets produced between the two facilities in Los Angeles, California and Columbus, Ohio. This plane was the first United States jet fighter with swept wings, which allowed it to unofficially break the sound barrier on 1 October 1947. Five years later, Jacqueline Cochran became the first woman to break the sound barrier flying a Canadian variant of the F-86. Not only was the plane more

The main goal of the project was building a fighter aircraft with air-to-surface superiority that would meet Air Forces needs and outperform Soviet MiG-29 in face of the Cold War.