Credit: Senior Airman Justine Rho/100th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
EVERETT, WASHINGTON — As they conduct bombing and surveillance missions around the globe, today’s U.S. military pilots rely on aerial refueling aircraft built as early as 1957, when the Soviet Union dominated American security fears, the average home cost $12,000 and “I Love Lucy” was debuting new episodes.
The cost of keeping those aging jets in the air has grown sharply while the military awaits a next-generation refueling plane whose rollout has been repeatedly delayed by design and production issues.
The Air Force’s two-decade effort to field a 21st-century tanker, one of several premier air systems whose development has been beset with problems, is emblematic of the challenges Pentagon leaders face in seeking to maintain the U.S. military’s shrinking edge over its chief competitor, China.
The United States, once the world’s undisputed military superpower, has been struggling for years to efficiently update its arsenal and field new technology in cutting-edge areas such as hypersonics and artificial intelligence, at a time when […]
Shocking, shocking, who would have thunk it? Call the situation what it is the maintenance of the Great American Empire where the sun never sets. America like all rich countries before it imagines that it has the right and duty to rule the world. How much death and destruction has been accomplished since WW2 to justify this enterprise? Truman renaming the War Department was a very telling newspeak thing that has led to near constant unconstitutional war.
Since Biden took over there seems to be a belief that now restoration is in order. Trump was an anomaly so let’s repair our international relations and get on with the business of properly running the world whatever the cost. It’s not real money all borrowed and created out of thin air anyhow. Of course any military needs an enemy the more the better. Que the usually hapless Russians and the evil, job stealing Chinese which is not to say both are on their all very human paths of empire. Both states have long histories of rises and nasty falls that should temper their arrogance but no and they too need enemies the USA being paramount.
So here it is; a worldwide pandemic, global climate instability/warming, economic and political/governance incompetence with so many deaths and what are the richest nation states spending their wealth on?