Sarah Palin Was Right #6: We Need More F-22 Raptors

The moonbat left is attacking Sarah Palin for her remarks in Hong Kong about the F-22 Raptor air superiority fighter:

"Despite the need to move men and material by air into theaters like Afghanistan, the Obama Administration sought to end production of our C-17s, the work horse of our ability to project long range power. Despite the Air Force saying it would increase future risk, the Obama Administration successfully sought to end F-22 production – at a time when both Russia and China are acquiring large numbers of next generation fighter aircraft. It strikes me as odd that Defense Secretary Gates is the only member of the Cabinet to be tasked with tightening his belt," Palin said.

Media Matters was quick to attack Palin for her remarks, and the always-hysterical Oliver Willis claimed that she "lied" about the fighter. Did the Air Force say that ending F-22 production would increase future risk? Yes:

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz has stated that 243 F-22s is the military requirement, that 187 is a "moderate to high risk..."

The chief of the Air Force Air Combat Command, Gen. John Corley said 381 F-22s is the required number, and that ending the program at 187 is a "high risk."

One of Schwartz's predecessors, Gen. Merrill McPeak (ret.) -- an Obama supporter, by the way -- wrote:

The future air combat capabilities we should build are based on the F-22, a stealthy, fast, maneuverable fighter that is unmatched by any known or projected combat aircraft. But the F-22’s production run may soon come to an end at just 187 planes, well short of establishing the fleet size we need. After all, it’s expensive, and getting more so as the number contemplated has been repeatedly reduced. In an argument they seem to think makes sense, critics say the aircraft has no worthy opponent—as if we want to create forces that do have peer competitors.

It’s been more than half a century since any American soldier or Marine has been killed, or even wounded, by hostile aircraft, a period roughly coincident with the existence of the Air Force as a separate service. Even during the Korean War—the Air Force’s first engagement wearing new, blue uniforms—enemy air attack was primitive and rare. The main air battle was fought along the Yalu River, just as in Vietnam it was fought over Hanoi, and in Desert Storm, over Baghdad. Our guys on the ground had hard work to do, but when they looked up, they saw only friendly skies.

For the life of me, I can’t understand why we should wish to change this.

Our backgrounder on the fight over the Raptor is here.

Sarah Palin was right. The political decision to halt F-22 production, as Gen. Schwartz and others affirmed, increases future risk. But everything related to defense and the military that Obama has done since taking office has been "high risk."

- JP