United States Military Aircraft ( 2a Spirit )

“Never before had so much brain-power been focused on a single problem.”(Laurence qtd. in “Eyewitness”). Many inventions can be said to have changed the world, and the way it worked. Only a core few of these many inventions can be said to change air warfare, and few of those are as game-changing as the B-29 Superfortress by Boeing. The B-29 was the plane that dropped the atomic bombs in World War Two (“bomber”). The plane by Boeing was used most in World War Two as a strategic long-range bomber. This invention revolutionized the concept of war, and war is a factor in all life on planet earth. The B-29 bomber changed warfare by sparking the innovation of aircraft technology, saving lives, and allowing more power to be carried by the means

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.

From a United States and Soviet Union perspective that conveys that the Space Race had a minor impact on the improvisation of United States defense technologies; the Space Race was in a way responsible for the United State’s production of new technology of missiles and defense against intercontinental ballistic missiles. In the late 1950s the United States Air Force started a series of advanced strategic missile projects under the Weapon System WS-199A called Martin's Bold Orion air-launched ballistic missile (ALBM). Similar to ICBMs the purpose of the ALBM was to destroy satellites sent into orbit that posed a intellectual and physical threat to the US. The ALBM was created due to the increasing pressure that the Soviets were to launch a satellite before the United States, and since the United States would not know of the capabilities of this

Spirit Airlines was founded in 1980 by Ned Homfeld as Charter One in Macomb County Michigan. It started as a trucking company in 1964. As a Detroit based charter the company mostly dealt with providing travel packages to entertainment destinations such as Las Vegas, Atlantic City and the Bahamas. It was in 1992 that Charter One actually brought jet equipment into the fleet and changed its name to Spirit Airlines. From 1993 to 1998 Spirit expanded rapidly. It increased its service to new markets such as Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Los Angeles, and New York.

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.

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.

Spirit Airlines granted a newborn baby free air travel for his entire life as his mother delivered him on a flight.

On July 17th, 1989, the B-2 Bomber flew its first planned flight. The B-2 Bomber is known for its super stealth mode. Due to setbacks, the bomber has had many failures. The B-2 is not as stealth as the Airforce would have hoped. The aircrafts stealth is generated by airframe that absorbs radar signals so that little is reflected back to radar systems. This helps the enemy not be able to detect the aircraft in sight. The Airforce as well as many agree that it is still a great aircraft to have in the air even with the setbacks. Many are trying to face these problems and help increase the value of the bomber.

The Aviation Branch of the U.S. Army, as we know it today, did not exist at the turn of the 1800 to 1900 centuries. The military did use a Balloon Corps and Detachment for the Civil and Spanish-American Wars respectfully. However, the Army deactivated both organizations after their usage in the campaigns. These artillery spotters and reconnoiters were helpful. However, the leadership did not see a usage for them outside of war. Therefore, it would take someone understanding the potential of air power to open a door for its peacetime usage. This occurred with the birth of the Signal Corps.

The Air Force does not have the proper number of funds for the Air Force to maintain its active aircraft. As I stated previously. Many of the active aircraft are old and no longer in production. Many of the old aircraft need a lot of maintenance. Thus rely on many of the retired air craft for broken parts. Congress needs to be able to loosen their wallet and propose more money into the military. The military in general needs the funds to be able to invest in new reliable and more cost efficient air craft. Instead of relying on our old aircraft. Col. Gentry Boswell, commander of the 28th Bomb Wing at Ellsworth stated that, “the B-1 has evolved into a close-air support bomber. Flying for 10-12 hours at a time high above the battlefield, B-1’s can carry 50,000 pounds of weapons, mostly satellite-guided bombs, but only half of these supersonic bombers can actually fly right now.” Being able to maintain and keep are aircraft in the air are vital. Many soldiers when deploy depend on these iron birds to provide support in very rigorous situations when air support is needed, surveillance, and just a sense a relief that American troops know they have iron bird to count on incase things get to

In 1968, the Soviet Union came up with a new development- the building of antiballistic missiles defence systems. These were to be used for nuclear, chemical, biological or even conventional warheads in the homeland defence of such a strike because they were designed to counter ICBM’s. As a method to counter this development, United States came up with multiple independently targeted re-entry vehicles (MIRV’s) which improved the chances of avoiding detection by ABM systems. In addition to this, United States also developed its own IBM in order to match that of Soviet Union.

The Boeing B-29 Superfortress, a 4 engine propeller driven heavy bomber designed by Boeing, flown by the US during WWII and the Korean War. 3,970 of these planes were built, at a costly $639,188 each. A 99ft long, 28ft tall, 141ft wide super-plane decorated with four wright r-3350-23 duplex cyclone supercharged radial engines at 2200hp each, was a plane of it’s time. A high altitude strategic bomber, also carrying out low altitude night incendiary bombing missions, the plane known for also performing the atomic bomb attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The B-29 was one of the largest planes to see service during World War II.

Towards the end of the War the airplane becomes a practical device of war being able to carry weapons. Anthony Fokker and Louis Bleriot create the most successful of early modern biplanes known as the D-VII and D-VIII. Biplanes are eventually taken over by the monoplane, or one wing. This new design allowed for faster flight and better visibility for the pilot. Air-cooled engines lead the way for commercial aircraft, and Boeing introduces the first modern airliner the 247. Airplanes are effected the greatest by supply and demand of war. New styles of war begun to emerge so did new and improved types of aircraft. The population of the U.S. also begun to grow which leads to the modern most sophisticated commercial airliner the 777. Most aircraft improvements are found in the military and intelligence field. The most high tech aircraft known today for such things as spying are the SR-71 Blackbird, and the U-2 Spy plane. The most complicated and best aircraft performance is still held by the space shuttle and probably always will be. The last 200 years have seen incredible changes in aircraft from the man with wings to heavier than air flying machines that can travel at supersonic speeds.

After sucessfully selling military aircrafts adapted for troop transportation in the 1950’s and introducing commercial aircrafts model 707, 727 followed by 737, Boeing has since then become a leading producer of military & commercial aircraft.

the enemy is a ground target. Another limitation to the stealth’s design is that once