As an aside, and maybe an important one, both the P-3 and the KC-135 started life as commercial airliners.
Over the years, it's always seemed as though the Air Force defines its mission as flying cool planes. Actually fighting a war is incidental. (Unfair, I know. But I'm presenting my perception.)
They've tried to get rid of the A-10, only to retain it when the Army threatens to end the Key West agreement and take them over. AF people claim that the F-16 is better at CAS. It isn't, we know it isn't, they know it isn't, but it is more fun to fly than an A-10.
We've still got a huge number of C-130s that are not only wearing out, they can't carry much, if any, heavy equipment. But I have yet to hear about any effort to expand the fleet of C-17s or C-5s. (Moot by now anyway - I understand the tooling has been destroyed.)
Now the AF has a combat fleet of 1. Fighters that are deteriorating like crazy - but no SEP plan. 2. Bombers way older than their crews, or that can't fly in bad weather. 3. CAS versions of the F-16 that are falling apart because the AF is loading them with 2000 lb bombs in Iraq and Afghanistan, then landing again with the unexpended bomb load.
In the meantime, MG Dunlop is complaining that the AF isn't getting its fair share of work in COIN, and we should redefine the doctrine so they can break lots more stuff and kill lots more people.
I agree that the AF is putting itself out of business. They're accomplishing that goal exactly the same way it happens in private industry. They have lost touch with their market and can't provide a relevant product.
If they are going to stay relevant (and in business) they need to redefine the organization around a few major missions:
1. Moving the Army. Transports. Whether anyone likes it or not, we'll be dealing with conflicts of low intensity in areas where there are lots of civilians to be protected. That means moving and supporting infantry.
2. Supporting the infantry. Close Air Support. A-10 type aircraft, not F-16. Long loiter times, lots of low and medium armament. (i.e. 100 lb. bombs, not 2000.)
3. Air superiority/supremacy. The fun planes. F-22, F-35. And extract their heads from the alpha hotels and get effective SEP in place for the F-16s and F-15s before they're grounded permanently.
4. Bombers. Behind the other guys lines. Dumb bombs, smarts bombs, stand off attack missiles, who cares. giver them flexible payloads capability, and make them all weather.
They do that, and they'll find a path forward. They fail, in any of those four areas, and they run the risk of going out of business.
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