via USNI News
Navy officials told a key House panel this week that by creating a different mix of aircraft in the future carrier air wing, the service could shave five years off the timetable to close the shortfall in its strike fighter aircraft inventory.
By 2025, the Navy will have solved its strike fighter shortfall in part by changing how it will field the F-35C Lighting II Joint Strike Fighter. Instead of two squadrons per air wing with 10 tails, the Navy will now field a single squadron with 14 tails, Rear Adm. Andrew Loiselle, director of the Air Warfare Division (OPNAV/N98), told the House Armed Services subcommittee on tactical air and land forces on Tuesday. testified it was reducing F-35C Lightning II Joint Strike Fight from two to one squadron per air wing.
Here
This is a wow story for me.
It sounds good to solve the fighter shortfall.
It sounds good to combine squadrons so you have less overhead, thereby driving efficiencies.
It even sounds good to at the end of it all to pull off a stealth (pun intended) cut to F-35C production while singing a happy song to Congress.
What concerns is that everything is getting smaller.
Less wings/aircraft acknowledges (at least in my mind) that we have a carrier surplus.
If we have a surplus (according to the accountants) then that means we can cut carriers.
We cut carriers then we're shrinking while China is growing.
I cheer the cuts to the F-35 but the implications for our overall stance against China (which is supposed to be the end all be all for the Pentagon...at least for now till another shiny ring shows up) is taking a beating.
That super big reconciliation bill the Dems are gonna pass don't help either.
Defense analyst were predicting a terrible 20's for the DoD. Its not gonna be terrible its gonna be savage and brutal.
I'm drinking this in but it looks like we're headed toward fortress America. The entire defense establishment is about to be ravaged and nothing can stop it.
