Navy officials say the current inventory of Hornets and Super Hornets is short — by about 60 planes — of the “validated requirement” of 1,240. Defense Secretary Robert Gates says the Navy should re-evaluate its requirements by weighing real-world needs.Gates: Fighter gap ignores real-world demandBy Andrew Tilghman - Staff writer
Posted : Sunday Jun 6, 2010 18:31:24 EDT
Does the Navy’s so-called “fighter gap” really matter?
Defense Secretary Robert Gates has asked the Navy that question as he urges military leaders to look beyond “gaps” like the one the Navy is facing as the older F/A-18 Hornets wear out faster than the F-35 Lightning II joint strike fighters arrive to replace them in 2016.
The question has become timelier since Navy leaders have quietly acknowledged that the gap is already here. The current inventory of Hornets and Super Hornets is short — by about 60 planes — of the “validated requirement” of 1,240. Navy leaders revealed the gap in a brief to lawmakers earlier this year; a copy of the brief was obtained by Navy Times.
The gap is troubling to some in the Navy and in Congress, who consider it a strategic risk that threatens national security.
But Gates said talk of gaps, and how to fill them, misses the point.
unhappycamper comment: 60 new Hornets = $4.98 billion dollars
60 new F-35s = $14.58 billion dollars
Why do we need these warplanes anyway? We've been fighting guys on donkeys the last 10 years or so.