Quote Originally Posted by slapout9 View Post
I have said this before. With our current technology there is nothing that cannot be hit with a guided missile! Long range,medium range or short range. Once you have this capability it doesn't make any sense to send in aircraft for so called strike missions. The delivery system does not need to penetrate enemy air space only the warhead needs to do this. Missiles are cheaper and better because you never have to have a return to base capability. One way delivery is all you need.

The Pershing II missile could hit a target the size of a tractor trailer truck since the mid 1970's within it's 1500 mile range. All this without GPS satellites. But we gave it away as part of the SALT 2 treaty. But it was an Army Missile and very strong threat to the Air Force so we had to get rid of it....very bad move on our part.
This is actually a far more accurate assessment of an existential threat to the Air Force, which is unmanned vehicles. You could look at the Pershing missle as a huge unmanned Kamikaze plane. Now we have unmanned "U-2's" (I know they aren't actually U-2's). Soon we will likely have unmanned fighters.

The Air Force made a lot of sense when it took a large training and support staff to operate in the air, because people's lives were at risk. Soon a fighter or bomber may just be another piece of expendable equipment. Then less time and care will likely be taken in the training of those pilots, who are increasingly young enlisted soldiers instead of hundreds of hours of flight time Academy officers. When that happens the Air Force will face an existential threat, and it knows it. That is why it is trying to consolidate all high flying UAV's under its command, and that unsuccessfully. It wants to ensure a long term raison d'etre.

Nonetheless, this is the Small Wars Council, and not the Grand Strategy Council. We need to remember that we are currently fighting a very small war, in the scheme of things. Restructuring our entire military around a small war would be very unwise. And, as long as there are aerial threats, the Air Force remains important.