WEBVTT 00:00:00.010 --> 00:00:03.109 Today's Veterans Radio program is dedicated to 00:00:03.109 --> 00:00:05.370 all the men and women who have served and are 00:00:05.370 --> 00:00:08.589 currently serving in the United States Air Force 00:00:08.589 --> 00:00:27.179 throughout the world. From the studios of Ave 00:00:27.179 --> 00:00:30.219 Maria Radio in Ann Arbor, this is Veterans Radio. 00:00:30.719 --> 00:00:40.219 And now, here's your host, Bob Gould. Ah, yes, 00:00:40.219 --> 00:00:43.719 here we are once again for another Veterans Radio 00:00:43.719 --> 00:00:47.100 program right here on our flagship station W 00:00:47.100 --> 00:00:51.719 -D -E -O, W -D -E -O right here in beautiful 00:00:51.719 --> 00:00:55.840 Ann Arbor, Michigan, the Garden Spot. the Midwest 00:00:55.840 --> 00:00:59.299 and they're also part of the odd Maria Network 00:00:59.299 --> 00:01:01.979 mm -hmm today we've got a program well you know 00:01:01.979 --> 00:01:05.040 we like to do programs not just in the past but 00:01:05.040 --> 00:01:09.120 of the future and I have a guest that is absolutely 00:01:09.120 --> 00:01:11.859 dynamite doctor Rebecca Grant she's been on the 00:01:11.859 --> 00:01:14.640 program before she's a spokesperson with the 00:01:14.640 --> 00:01:18.120 Air Force and she will be our guest today and 00:01:18.120 --> 00:01:22.140 talking about defense strategy Air Force defense 00:01:22.140 --> 00:01:26.269 strategy into the next Decade and with me operating 00:01:26.269 --> 00:01:30.969 the board is our board person Nina. How you doing 00:01:30.969 --> 00:01:33.469 Nina? Good morning, Bob. How are you today? Oh, 00:01:33.469 --> 00:01:35.150 you're gonna say hello to your mom and dad. Hi 00:01:35.150 --> 00:01:37.989 mom and dad. I love you Oh, that's great. Okay. 00:01:38.489 --> 00:01:40.829 Yes, we do a lot of that and she's got a big 00:01:40.829 --> 00:01:44.090 smile on her face mom and dad Okay. Well, we've 00:01:44.090 --> 00:01:47.010 got dr. Grant coming on the program in just a 00:01:47.010 --> 00:01:49.650 few minutes here. We've got what do we have Nina? 00:01:49.670 --> 00:01:52.549 She's signaling me. Well, we have our first break 00:01:52.549 --> 00:01:56.920 good We'll be back with defense strategies into 00:01:56.920 --> 00:02:00.099 the next decade with Dr. Rebecca Grant right 00:02:00.099 --> 00:02:04.420 after this message. Oh yeah, Nielsen Schmielsen. 00:02:04.560 --> 00:02:06.599 That was the album. That one's from Jumping to 00:02:06.599 --> 00:02:09.500 the Fire. We may be jumping to the fire. There's 00:02:09.500 --> 00:02:11.900 going to be a whole lot of changes. A whole lot 00:02:11.900 --> 00:02:15.080 of changes with our defense budget in the next 00:02:15.080 --> 00:02:18.800 decade. And we have on the, well, you know, first 00:02:18.800 --> 00:02:20.099 of all, I think I'm going to give you just a 00:02:20.099 --> 00:02:23.340 little bit of background very quickly. Back in 00:02:23.340 --> 00:02:26.979 the beginning of January, President Obama announced 00:02:26.979 --> 00:02:30.900 his new defense strategy. This is all, I believe, 00:02:31.139 --> 00:02:34.719 part of cost shifting, etc. And it shifts the 00:02:34.719 --> 00:02:38.680 U .S. from a decade of war in Iraq and Afghanistan 00:02:38.680 --> 00:02:42.919 to where we're going to be changing our whole 00:02:42.919 --> 00:02:47.400 strategy as to whom we're going to be targeting. 00:02:47.539 --> 00:02:50.259 Ooh, maybe that's a bad pun, but... we're going 00:02:50.259 --> 00:02:51.960 to be we're going to be looking at terrorists 00:02:51.960 --> 00:02:56.520 and then to quote president obama get rid of 00:02:56.520 --> 00:03:03.599 outdated cold war era systems okay well he was 00:03:03.599 --> 00:03:05.319 talking about it's clear that some prominent 00:03:05.319 --> 00:03:09.620 remaining cold air war systems will live on and 00:03:09.620 --> 00:03:14.939 that includes the b -52 bomber and the u -2 spy 00:03:14.939 --> 00:03:18.110 plane Wow, it's all part of a foundation of U 00:03:18.110 --> 00:03:21.770 .S. nuclear deterrent strategy. On the line with 00:03:21.770 --> 00:03:26.150 me right now is Dr. Rebecca Grant, who is president 00:03:26.150 --> 00:03:30.250 of IRIS, I -R -I -S, the Independent Research, 00:03:30.550 --> 00:03:34.430 a public policy research organization in Washington, 00:03:34.430 --> 00:03:37.729 D .C. Dr. Grant is an active member of the Air 00:03:37.729 --> 00:03:40.650 Force Association. She writes regularly for Air 00:03:40.650 --> 00:03:45.870 Force Magazine. and served from 2008 to 2011 00:03:45.870 --> 00:03:49.710 as the founding director of the Mitchell Institute. 00:03:49.990 --> 00:03:53.849 Dr. Grant, welcome to Veterans Radio. Thank you, 00:03:53.889 --> 00:03:55.949 Bob. It's nice to be on this morning. Well, it's 00:03:55.949 --> 00:03:59.770 nice to have you. Well, let's talk about those 00:03:59.770 --> 00:04:04.870 Cold Era, Cold War Era systems, namely the B 00:04:04.870 --> 00:04:07.870 -52 who, how many times have they had the rec 00:04:07.870 --> 00:04:12.180 room for that? for that wonderful war bird, and 00:04:12.180 --> 00:04:14.759 it's lived on and lived on for 60 years. I know 00:04:14.759 --> 00:04:18.920 recently you had the occasion to fly in one. 00:04:19.139 --> 00:04:22.480 Why don't you tell us about that? Oh, I'm so 00:04:22.480 --> 00:04:25.959 glad I can start there. I was the guest of our 00:04:25.959 --> 00:04:30.500 Air Forces out on Guam, which is out in Micronesia. 00:04:30.839 --> 00:04:33.459 You know, Guam is eight hours' flight away from 00:04:33.459 --> 00:04:37.259 Hawaii, so it really is the piece of sovereign 00:04:37.480 --> 00:04:42.399 U .S. soil the furthest out in the Pacific. We've 00:04:42.399 --> 00:04:46.160 had bombers stationed on Guam on a rotational 00:04:46.160 --> 00:04:49.899 basis for about the last eight years. I visited 00:04:49.899 --> 00:04:53.699 there during a big exercise with Air Forces from 00:04:53.699 --> 00:04:58.379 Japan and Australia and my hosts were the 23rd 00:04:58.379 --> 00:05:02.220 Bomb Squadron from Minot Air Force Base in North 00:05:02.220 --> 00:05:05.769 Dakota. They were so kind as to let me fly in 00:05:05.769 --> 00:05:08.290 the little what they call the instructor pilot 00:05:08.290 --> 00:05:10.490 seat, which is right behind the pilot and the 00:05:10.490 --> 00:05:13.750 co -pilot in a B -52. And I got to make a flight 00:05:13.750 --> 00:05:16.610 and see how they do their mission. It was just 00:05:16.610 --> 00:05:18.569 one of the most exciting days of my life. What 00:05:18.569 --> 00:05:22.550 did it sound like inside the bird? The power, 00:05:22.670 --> 00:05:27.050 you just can't imagine. The B -52 has eight engines 00:05:27.050 --> 00:05:30.399 on the wing. And the power when they start those 00:05:30.399 --> 00:05:33.560 things up is incredible. You have to wear earplugs 00:05:33.560 --> 00:05:35.980 just to walk out to the airplane. You have to 00:05:35.980 --> 00:05:38.600 wear earplugs in the airplane underneath your 00:05:38.600 --> 00:05:41.480 flight helmet. So it sounds like all the power 00:05:41.480 --> 00:05:45.620 of the human race combined into one sleek, dark, 00:05:45.939 --> 00:05:49.939 gray aircraft. Could you see the ground from 00:05:49.939 --> 00:05:51.779 where you were sitting? I heard that the pilots 00:05:51.779 --> 00:05:54.240 can't really see the ground, that they have to 00:05:54.240 --> 00:05:57.139 look straight out. Is that true? Well certainly 00:05:57.139 --> 00:05:59.519 they can see the runway and I was a little bit 00:05:59.519 --> 00:06:02.939 back of them but had a really good view and that 00:06:02.939 --> 00:06:06.480 runway on Guam is so historic. It's built partly 00:06:06.480 --> 00:06:11.379 of coral and it has a shiny white glow to it. 00:06:11.560 --> 00:06:15.139 It also has a little rise at the end of the runway 00:06:15.139 --> 00:06:18.920 and at the end is a cliff that goes right down 00:06:18.920 --> 00:06:21.980 into the Pacific Ocean. So you go down the end 00:06:21.980 --> 00:06:24.910 of this super super long runway and lift up And 00:06:24.910 --> 00:06:26.889 suddenly, there below you are the waves crashing 00:06:26.889 --> 00:06:29.870 as you are peeling off into the sky. But the 00:06:29.870 --> 00:06:33.290 power of the B -52 is pretty immense. And we 00:06:33.290 --> 00:06:35.990 lifted off. It seemed like, as they say, like 00:06:35.990 --> 00:06:39.089 a homesick angel, the B -52 lifted off. So it's 00:06:39.089 --> 00:06:41.110 pretty neat to feel that. And your heart was 00:06:41.110 --> 00:06:45.689 pounding. It certainly was. Next time, please 00:06:45.689 --> 00:06:48.910 take along somebody from Veterans Radio. I volunteer. 00:06:49.149 --> 00:06:50.949 They told me never to do that in the Army. I 00:06:50.949 --> 00:06:55.639 still, I volunteer. Absolutely. Now, when we're 00:06:55.639 --> 00:07:00.240 talking about Cold War era systems, the B -52, 00:07:00.899 --> 00:07:04.720 what is the future for the B -52? Well, there 00:07:04.720 --> 00:07:07.939 is a long future ahead for the B -52. It just 00:07:07.939 --> 00:07:10.259 seems amazing, Bob, because this is an aircraft 00:07:10.259 --> 00:07:14.199 that was designed in the early 1950s. Hundreds 00:07:14.199 --> 00:07:17.740 of them were built. We now have just over 70. 00:07:18.009 --> 00:07:20.629 left in the active flying force. There are four 00:07:20.629 --> 00:07:23.629 squadrons. Two are based up at Minot in North 00:07:23.629 --> 00:07:26.170 Dakota, including the one I flew with. And there 00:07:26.170 --> 00:07:28.490 are two others down at Barksdale Air Force Base 00:07:28.490 --> 00:07:31.430 in Louisiana. But these aircraft have a very 00:07:31.430 --> 00:07:35.290 important double mission. They contribute to 00:07:35.290 --> 00:07:38.769 nuclear deterrent. And they also perform conventional 00:07:38.769 --> 00:07:40.290 missions, which is, of course, what they were 00:07:40.290 --> 00:07:43.889 doing out on Guam. So they're part of all the 00:07:43.889 --> 00:07:46.649 war plans for the Pacific Theater. That means 00:07:46.649 --> 00:07:50.910 these crews have to be very proficient in the 00:07:50.910 --> 00:07:55.350 exacting standards of flying with nuclear weapons 00:07:55.350 --> 00:07:59.790 and training to use them if necessary. And also 00:07:59.790 --> 00:08:03.709 with training to use conventional weapons, particularly 00:08:03.709 --> 00:08:07.629 whether that would be gravity bombs or air -launched 00:08:07.629 --> 00:08:09.410 cruise missiles, conventional air -launched cruise 00:08:09.410 --> 00:08:12.529 missiles. And the fact is we plan to keep these 00:08:12.529 --> 00:08:16.019 bombers flying for another couple decades. Well 00:08:16.019 --> 00:08:18.759 some think that the US should do away with the 00:08:18.759 --> 00:08:21.879 bombers role as part of the triad land sea and 00:08:21.879 --> 00:08:25.259 air Because well, we're not we're not having 00:08:25.259 --> 00:08:28.620 that same. I guess you'd say the enemy or that 00:08:28.620 --> 00:08:31.519 same strategy We really have terrorists. I don't 00:08:31.519 --> 00:08:34.899 think the B -52 is going to work well for terrorists 00:08:34.899 --> 00:08:38.460 or will it what do you say about that? Well really 00:08:38.460 --> 00:08:41.080 good question Bob actually the B -52 has done 00:08:41.080 --> 00:08:43.200 quite a bit of work not in recent years, but 00:08:43.200 --> 00:08:46.519 early on in Afghanistan Just a little 10 years 00:08:46.519 --> 00:08:50.460 ago, there were B -52s based out of Diego Garcia 00:08:50.460 --> 00:08:53.539 and they were flying conventional missions, dropping 00:08:53.539 --> 00:08:57.960 bombs in Afghanistan on terrorists while U .S. 00:08:58.279 --> 00:09:00.360 Army and Marine and coalition forces were fighting 00:09:00.360 --> 00:09:03.019 on the ground. They did that again in Iraq in 00:09:03.019 --> 00:09:06.659 2003 and now the B -1 bomber performs that mission 00:09:06.659 --> 00:09:09.620 daily. But we're talking about the B -52 and 00:09:09.620 --> 00:09:12.480 it has a role still in these conventional operations 00:09:12.480 --> 00:09:15.700 but... Its nuclear deterrence role is still very 00:09:15.700 --> 00:09:18.679 important. There have been some significant changes 00:09:18.679 --> 00:09:22.919 in our nuclear posture as a result of the agreements 00:09:22.919 --> 00:09:26.179 between Obama and Medvedev back a couple years 00:09:26.179 --> 00:09:28.919 ago. And so we see reductions going on. There 00:09:28.919 --> 00:09:32.019 were some cuts made to the B -52 fleet. But it 00:09:32.019 --> 00:09:34.440 remains an important part of the triad. And Bob, 00:09:34.559 --> 00:09:37.519 the thing that people really stress about the 00:09:37.519 --> 00:09:41.259 bomber in this case is the B -52 and the B -2 00:09:41.259 --> 00:09:44.509 stealth bomber. in the Triad is that it's a very 00:09:44.509 --> 00:09:48.789 flexible weapon. You can forward base a B -52 00:09:48.789 --> 00:09:53.090 on Guam, for example, and send a message to the 00:09:53.090 --> 00:09:56.429 region. And it's a two -sided message. One, it 00:09:56.429 --> 00:09:59.610 shows that American power is there, and that 00:09:59.610 --> 00:10:01.970 points to countries, perhaps like China, who 00:10:01.970 --> 00:10:04.070 are improving their military capabilities and 00:10:04.070 --> 00:10:06.149 says, hey, we're only going to let you go so 00:10:06.149 --> 00:10:09.750 far. But the other half of the message goes to 00:10:09.750 --> 00:10:12.610 our allies and partners in the region. And it 00:10:12.610 --> 00:10:15.590 says that American military presence is here 00:10:15.590 --> 00:10:18.950 and withstand with our allies when it really 00:10:18.950 --> 00:10:23.950 counts. So when we hear that the Obama administration 00:10:23.950 --> 00:10:27.210 to cut costs is going to be cutting back on the 00:10:27.210 --> 00:10:30.169 number of nuclear weapons because there's going 00:10:30.169 --> 00:10:33.789 to be a cutback in the role of the bomber, that's 00:10:33.789 --> 00:10:36.350 pretty accurate and it's not really, it's not 00:10:36.350 --> 00:10:39.070 really, should I say this, going to be a detriment. 00:10:39.360 --> 00:10:44.279 to our capability for preventive of a nuclear 00:10:44.279 --> 00:10:48.919 war, correct? That's right. The desire has been 00:10:48.919 --> 00:10:51.360 and the treaty now is an agreement to come down 00:10:51.360 --> 00:10:53.399 to some lower numbers and I think that's probably 00:10:53.399 --> 00:10:56.740 a healthy thing. But we want to be sure to maintain 00:10:56.740 --> 00:10:59.299 that triad and that's the administration's policy 00:10:59.299 --> 00:11:02.659 right now. We do hear a lot of discussion about 00:11:02.659 --> 00:11:06.769 whether the submarine force or the intercontinental 00:11:06.769 --> 00:11:10.850 ballistic missiles, the land -based ICBMs down 00:11:10.850 --> 00:11:13.970 in their silos, or whether the bombers should 00:11:13.970 --> 00:11:16.990 be reduced. But most of the professionals in 00:11:16.990 --> 00:11:19.029 the business, and particularly the commanders 00:11:19.029 --> 00:11:23.470 of strategic command who are responsible for 00:11:23.470 --> 00:11:25.889 carrying out that mission, they want to keep 00:11:25.889 --> 00:11:29.269 the triad because each part of it brings some 00:11:29.269 --> 00:11:32.909 significant advantages. and the nuclear deterrence 00:11:32.909 --> 00:11:35.690 is stronger with each of its three legs rather 00:11:35.690 --> 00:11:39.690 than going down to just two. Well, here is another 00:11:39.690 --> 00:11:44.149 aircraft, a favorite of mine, and that is the 00:11:44.149 --> 00:11:50.129 A -10 Warthog. This thing was scheduled to the 00:11:50.129 --> 00:11:55.110 scrap heap many times. It's been reconstituted, 00:11:55.549 --> 00:11:59.110 reincarnated. It's still a stick and rudder. 00:11:59.279 --> 00:12:02.200 It's not run by computers, folks. I mean, the 00:12:02.200 --> 00:12:05.480 guys have got to sit in, guys and gals, oh lord, 00:12:05.559 --> 00:12:07.500 I've got to make sure I get that right, and they 00:12:07.500 --> 00:12:09.860 can sit in, the pilots, there we are, in the 00:12:09.860 --> 00:12:13.620 cockpit and fly the darn thing, get low to the 00:12:13.620 --> 00:12:17.919 ground. It's very effective against the Al Qaeda, 00:12:18.559 --> 00:12:22.840 the Taliban, et cetera, et cetera. What is the 00:12:22.840 --> 00:12:26.740 role for the warthog, the A -10? You're right. 00:12:26.860 --> 00:12:29.379 We're going to keep the A -10 and pilots really 00:12:29.379 --> 00:12:33.059 do love it. I'm sure glad you said the men and 00:12:33.059 --> 00:12:36.679 women who fly the A -10 because one of the most 00:12:36.679 --> 00:12:39.820 famous incidents with the A -10 occurred back 00:12:39.820 --> 00:12:44.100 in 2003 when a young woman, Captain Pilot, brought 00:12:44.100 --> 00:12:47.179 her A -10 back with significant battle damage 00:12:47.179 --> 00:12:50.919 back to a base in Iraq. And she had lost some 00:12:50.919 --> 00:12:54.679 of the hydraulic systems. that control the aircraft, 00:12:54.820 --> 00:12:58.059 and she had to manually fly that aircraft in 00:12:58.059 --> 00:13:00.039 using a lot of muscle power, and she did it. 00:13:00.480 --> 00:13:02.740 Did a real good job. That's one thing the pilots 00:13:02.740 --> 00:13:06.460 love about the A -10s is rugged durability. We've 00:13:06.460 --> 00:13:11.720 seen in Iraq and Afghanistan much more use of 00:13:11.720 --> 00:13:14.539 strafing, just like you remember from the World 00:13:14.539 --> 00:13:17.379 War II movies, with all sorts of aircraft down 00:13:17.379 --> 00:13:21.200 at low level strafing against Al -Qaeda and Taliban. 00:13:21.529 --> 00:13:25.250 to pin them down while coalition forces maneuver. 00:13:25.570 --> 00:13:29.590 The A -10 is a master at that. Boy, when I've 00:13:29.590 --> 00:13:35.929 seen film of the A -10 and that 30 millimeter 00:13:35.929 --> 00:13:42.149 Gatlin gun in the nose, wow! I would not at all 00:13:42.149 --> 00:13:44.809 want to be on the receiving end. I don't know 00:13:44.809 --> 00:13:47.570 of any other aircraft that really can do that 00:13:47.570 --> 00:13:53.330 in this day. How should I say, powerful and so 00:13:53.330 --> 00:13:57.409 much a part of our deterrent. So the future will 00:13:57.409 --> 00:14:00.769 be that we're not going to be losing the A -10 00:14:00.769 --> 00:14:03.929 anytime soon. Is that correct? No, there will 00:14:03.929 --> 00:14:06.309 be. I think they're going to trim the A -10 for 00:14:06.309 --> 00:14:08.269 us a little bit. You know, we just had a big 00:14:08.269 --> 00:14:11.129 round of budget cuts come out a couple weeks 00:14:11.129 --> 00:14:13.769 ago, and I think they will retire a few of the 00:14:13.769 --> 00:14:16.250 A -10s, but the weapons system as a whole is 00:14:16.250 --> 00:14:18.110 due to stay around. They, in fact, have taken 00:14:18.110 --> 00:14:22.370 some steps. to expand the life and to bring it 00:14:22.370 --> 00:14:24.350 up so that it can put more hours on the A -10 00:14:24.350 --> 00:14:26.970 by strengthening the structure. So they plan 00:14:26.970 --> 00:14:30.330 to keep A -10s in the force. The program that 00:14:30.330 --> 00:14:34.450 I saw regarding the A -10 that the pilots had 00:14:34.450 --> 00:14:37.330 at one point, this one pilot had three missions 00:14:37.330 --> 00:14:41.149 in four hours. He was in the cockpit. He hot 00:14:41.149 --> 00:14:44.129 -fueled, meaning he did not get out of the cockpit. 00:14:44.470 --> 00:14:46.350 From what I understand, he didn't even shut the 00:14:46.350 --> 00:14:49.090 engines off. and he was back out there again. 00:14:49.250 --> 00:14:52.070 Wow, what durability. They actually had the poll, 00:14:52.490 --> 00:14:55.870 the pilot, the service people, the techs had 00:14:55.870 --> 00:15:00.269 to poll the guy out at the end of the day. So 00:15:00.269 --> 00:15:02.690 that says a lot though for the pilots to feel 00:15:02.690 --> 00:15:05.029 that way about their aircraft and to feel that 00:15:05.029 --> 00:15:09.230 way about flying something that still is stick 00:15:09.230 --> 00:15:11.490 and rudder. You still got to fly the darn thing. 00:15:11.730 --> 00:15:14.730 Speaking of... And I did not know that this was 00:15:14.730 --> 00:15:16.549 still part of the Air Force. I thought they'd 00:15:16.549 --> 00:15:20.429 retire it. What about the U -2 spy plane? U -2. 00:15:20.529 --> 00:15:24.649 So there's an aircraft that's a real contemporary 00:15:24.649 --> 00:15:29.509 of the B -52 in design. Such a famous plane designed 00:15:29.509 --> 00:15:33.950 in the mid -1950s to be a super high altitude 00:15:33.950 --> 00:15:37.769 aircraft that could fly over the Soviet Union 00:15:37.769 --> 00:15:42.570 in secret and take pictures. of the developing 00:15:42.570 --> 00:15:44.909 missile and bomber force. Remember, this was 00:15:44.909 --> 00:15:47.789 right after the Soviet Union had tested its first 00:15:47.789 --> 00:15:51.470 atomic and then hydrogen bombs. And we were desperate 00:15:51.470 --> 00:15:53.470 to know what they might have in that country. 00:15:53.830 --> 00:15:56.269 Totalitarian states, so the U -2 was developed 00:15:56.269 --> 00:15:59.549 to be able to fly over the Soviet Union. And 00:15:59.549 --> 00:16:03.710 very famously, one was shot down in 1960 by a 00:16:03.710 --> 00:16:06.750 surface -to -air missile. The U -2s today are 00:16:06.750 --> 00:16:11.559 the same plane in spirit. They are a little bit 00:16:11.559 --> 00:16:14.379 newer and they have some significant redesign 00:16:14.379 --> 00:16:16.519 that was done in the 60s, but they're still an 00:16:16.519 --> 00:16:19.240 old plane. They're still manned. They're very 00:16:19.240 --> 00:16:21.980 light. They fly at super high altitudes. The 00:16:21.980 --> 00:16:25.899 pilots have to wear specialized suits. But what 00:16:25.899 --> 00:16:29.639 they do now is their mission is to collect all 00:16:29.639 --> 00:16:32.700 sorts of intelligence. They take pictures. That 00:16:32.700 --> 00:16:35.299 can be electro -optical, which is what you think 00:16:35.299 --> 00:16:39.159 of like TV. It can be infrared, which is looking 00:16:39.159 --> 00:16:43.889 for hot It can be synthetic aperture radar where 00:16:43.889 --> 00:16:47.330 a series of radar shots work at longer range 00:16:47.330 --> 00:16:51.830 to form a really good image of maybe an enemy 00:16:51.830 --> 00:16:53.909 missile site or something like that. And they 00:16:53.909 --> 00:16:57.509 also scoop up what's referred to as signal intelligence. 00:16:57.610 --> 00:16:59.990 So they listen to what the enemy is broadcasting 00:16:59.990 --> 00:17:02.789 and what its weapons are saying. The U -2s have 00:17:02.789 --> 00:17:05.269 been pretty busy on, you know, when there are 00:17:05.269 --> 00:17:08.789 tensions in Korea, you'll find the U -2s flying. 00:17:08.809 --> 00:17:11.809 They fly. missions in Europe as well and they 00:17:11.809 --> 00:17:14.289 fly missions around the Middle East. But the 00:17:14.289 --> 00:17:17.589 astonishing thing is the Air Force had for some 00:17:17.589 --> 00:17:23.009 years planned to retire the U -2 because in the 00:17:23.009 --> 00:17:26.710 end it's a great plane but it's limited by the 00:17:26.710 --> 00:17:30.490 endurance of the pilot. Then just a few weeks 00:17:30.490 --> 00:17:33.750 ago the Air Force reversed its position and said 00:17:33.750 --> 00:17:37.470 that in fact they will keep the U -2 and they're 00:17:37.470 --> 00:17:42.009 going to retire a much newer system called the 00:17:42.009 --> 00:17:45.390 Global Hawk, which is an unmanned high -altitude 00:17:45.390 --> 00:17:47.410 drone aircraft. They're not retiring all of them, 00:17:47.490 --> 00:17:49.890 but they're retiring about a big portion of the 00:17:49.890 --> 00:17:52.690 fleet. It was really a shock here in Washington 00:17:52.690 --> 00:17:55.890 to hear that the U -2 would stay and the much 00:17:55.890 --> 00:17:58.329 newer Global Hawk would have some retirements. 00:17:58.569 --> 00:18:01.670 You know, that's interesting because everybody's 00:18:01.670 --> 00:18:04.069 talking about unmanned this and unmanned that, 00:18:04.250 --> 00:18:07.069 and you know what? they still need somebody to 00:18:07.069 --> 00:18:09.650 fly the darn thing and here they are they're 00:18:09.650 --> 00:18:13.009 finding out that the pilots are still needed 00:18:13.009 --> 00:18:16.089 now one of the things that happened when the 00:18:16.089 --> 00:18:20.470 u2 was shot down that well what have they are 00:18:20.470 --> 00:18:24.769 they flying the u2 higher up in the up in the 00:18:24.769 --> 00:18:27.609 up in the atmosphere to to keep that away or 00:18:27.609 --> 00:18:30.089 is it still vulnerable to surface air emissions 00:18:30.799 --> 00:18:33.819 Well, the U -2 and in fact just about every aircraft 00:18:33.819 --> 00:18:36.359 we fly is vulnerable to surface -to -air missiles. 00:18:36.680 --> 00:18:40.200 Like I said, this happened back in 1960 and it 00:18:40.200 --> 00:18:42.579 showed that surface -to -air missiles were now 00:18:42.579 --> 00:18:45.180 capable of targeting higher altitude aircraft 00:18:45.180 --> 00:18:48.140 under certain conditions. So the shootout of 00:18:48.140 --> 00:18:50.660 U -2 is in fact, you know, really a chapter in 00:18:50.660 --> 00:18:53.519 history for many reasons, but partly because 00:18:53.519 --> 00:18:57.019 it led us to start developing a technology known 00:18:57.019 --> 00:18:59.779 as stealth. And stealth didn't come to fruition 00:18:59.779 --> 00:19:02.839 for many, many years afterwards, really not until 00:19:02.839 --> 00:19:08.440 the early 1980s. But stealth was devised so that 00:19:08.440 --> 00:19:13.059 it could evade radar detection by these surface 00:19:13.059 --> 00:19:15.900 -to -air missiles, like the one that had shot 00:19:15.900 --> 00:19:18.980 down the U -2. And so it's from that that we 00:19:18.980 --> 00:19:23.380 see stealth becoming a huge piece of our top 00:19:23.380 --> 00:19:27.380 combat aircraft. Well, that's a great segue into 00:19:27.380 --> 00:19:30.859 our next aircraft, but before Before we do that 00:19:30.859 --> 00:19:35.359 we have a caller Rod from Colorado another beautiful 00:19:35.359 --> 00:19:38.539 state. Oh, yeah skiing in Colorado How's the 00:19:38.539 --> 00:19:41.420 snow out there rod? It's still there Bob. It's 00:19:41.420 --> 00:19:47.019 still there you want some No, I mean yeah, it's 00:19:47.019 --> 00:19:49.119 okay for snow, but I'm waiting for spring and 00:19:49.119 --> 00:19:51.200 it's gonna happen here I'm sure it's very beautiful 00:19:51.200 --> 00:19:55.150 in Colorado right June or July Bob Okay, I'll 00:19:55.150 --> 00:19:58.269 remember that and I'll book my reservations. 00:19:58.730 --> 00:20:01.269 Rod, you have a question for Dr. Grant. Go ahead. 00:20:01.569 --> 00:20:04.009 Yeah, first thing I want to say is, do I have 00:20:04.009 --> 00:20:06.769 Dr. Grant correct? Didn't I see you quite a bit 00:20:06.769 --> 00:20:10.789 on the Military Channel? Yes, that was me. Okay, 00:20:10.829 --> 00:20:14.829 well I want to say I appreciated your information 00:20:14.829 --> 00:20:17.710 and certainly recognize your expertise because 00:20:17.710 --> 00:20:20.930 you really came across very professionally and 00:20:20.930 --> 00:20:24.150 very knowledgeable on that program. I enjoyed 00:20:24.150 --> 00:20:26.089 seeing you there. Hope to see you again there 00:20:26.089 --> 00:20:29.190 sometime soon. Oh, thank you very much. You're 00:20:29.190 --> 00:20:31.630 welcome. My question has to do with, when we're 00:20:31.630 --> 00:20:34.069 talking about Air Force defensive strategy, I 00:20:34.069 --> 00:20:37.390 always think a good defense is a good offense. 00:20:38.210 --> 00:20:41.769 Does the Air Force going to be taking any responsibility 00:20:41.769 --> 00:20:46.609 as far as EMP weaponry goes, either defensively 00:20:46.609 --> 00:20:49.940 or offensively in the next decade? Well, Rod, 00:20:49.980 --> 00:20:52.400 that's a great question you're asking about EMP, 00:20:52.640 --> 00:20:56.960 which stands for electromagnetic pulse. And that's 00:20:56.960 --> 00:20:58.460 something that can happen in a bunch of different 00:20:58.460 --> 00:21:00.839 ways. And in fact, lightning is a problem there 00:21:00.839 --> 00:21:02.799 as well. You'll be glad to know, and you may 00:21:02.799 --> 00:21:06.519 already, of course, that aircraft are what they 00:21:06.519 --> 00:21:11.180 call EMP hardened. So take an aircraft like the 00:21:11.180 --> 00:21:15.779 B -2 stealth bomber. It's built so that its skin 00:21:15.779 --> 00:21:19.549 surface and its flight controls and the cockpit 00:21:19.549 --> 00:21:23.809 glass and most importantly its electronics can 00:21:23.809 --> 00:21:29.250 withstand EMP radiation for example from an enemy 00:21:29.250 --> 00:21:32.109 nuclear weapon or from another big high pulse 00:21:32.109 --> 00:21:35.670 source. So EMP hardening is still certainly a 00:21:35.670 --> 00:21:38.970 part of aircraft design. You're also asking a 00:21:38.970 --> 00:21:41.930 little bit about EMP weapons and let me just 00:21:41.930 --> 00:21:44.910 turn that. to talk for a minute about directed 00:21:44.910 --> 00:21:47.690 energy weapons and we think of that most commonly 00:21:47.690 --> 00:21:53.250 as a laser. I expect that we will see laser weapons 00:21:53.250 --> 00:21:56.490 within the next couple of decades. The Air Force 00:21:56.490 --> 00:21:59.009 developed a system you may be familiar with called 00:21:59.009 --> 00:22:02.250 the airborne laser. It was a chemical, a liquid 00:22:02.250 --> 00:22:05.690 chemical laser. Boeing was the main contractor 00:22:05.690 --> 00:22:10.309 built for a wide body jet and able to use a laser 00:22:10.309 --> 00:22:13.140 to shoot down missiles in flight. They worked 00:22:13.140 --> 00:22:15.180 a long time on the system and made some great 00:22:15.180 --> 00:22:18.460 strides. It was canceled recently because it 00:22:18.460 --> 00:22:21.559 just wasn't quite where they wanted it to be 00:22:21.559 --> 00:22:24.160 and there were some budget issues too. But the 00:22:24.160 --> 00:22:27.200 thing that we want to move to is to look at a 00:22:27.200 --> 00:22:31.000 solid state laser for airborne applications. 00:22:31.539 --> 00:22:33.519 The problem now is that they're at low power, 00:22:33.859 --> 00:22:36.579 but I think the science tells us that we'll see 00:22:36.579 --> 00:22:39.680 higher power output from those solid state lasers 00:22:39.680 --> 00:22:42.750 in the future. And so Bob, if you and I are doing 00:22:42.750 --> 00:22:47.130 this show 20 years from now, Rob can ask us about 00:22:47.130 --> 00:22:49.490 how we think these laser weapons are working 00:22:49.490 --> 00:22:51.529 on in aircraft in the future. So I certainly 00:22:51.529 --> 00:22:54.349 see that, not in the short term, but in the medium 00:22:54.349 --> 00:22:57.769 to longer term. Rob, does that answer your question? 00:22:58.089 --> 00:23:00.390 Yes, it sounds good. And Dr., thank you very 00:23:00.390 --> 00:23:04.650 much. I guess I'm more confident now with the 00:23:04.650 --> 00:23:08.940 rise of Chinese weaponry. that the Air Force 00:23:08.940 --> 00:23:12.119 and the Department of Defense is well aware of 00:23:12.119 --> 00:23:14.539 what's going on there and it's got some plans 00:23:14.539 --> 00:23:18.539 to counteract anything that the Chinese can throw 00:23:18.539 --> 00:23:21.480 at us. So, Dr. Grant, I wish you continued success 00:23:21.480 --> 00:23:23.660 and hope to see you back on Military Channel 00:23:23.660 --> 00:23:26.259 real soon. Great. Thank you so much for your 00:23:26.259 --> 00:23:28.119 call. Thank you for being on the air with us, 00:23:28.319 --> 00:23:30.599 Rod. Sure, Bob. Thank you. Bye -bye. Well, there 00:23:30.599 --> 00:23:32.940 you go, folks. Now, if you have a question for 00:23:32.940 --> 00:23:35.390 Dr. Grant or a comment, Why don't you give us 00:23:35.390 --> 00:23:37.630 a call? It's toll free. Don't cost you nothing. 00:23:37.630 --> 00:23:40.269 That's right. Not too many things today that 00:23:40.269 --> 00:23:43.690 are Gratis that are no cost and you can give 00:23:43.690 --> 00:23:48.150 us a call at eight seven seven five seven three 00:23:48.150 --> 00:23:50.730 seven eight two five That's eight seven seven 00:23:50.730 --> 00:23:53.690 five seven three seven eight two five. We're 00:23:53.690 --> 00:23:58.869 now going to get into stealth How how how did 00:23:58.869 --> 00:24:02.170 that how did that come about the whole technology 00:24:02.170 --> 00:24:05.369 finding out about that was that? Was that something 00:24:05.369 --> 00:24:09.329 that we copied something or a facsimile of something 00:24:09.329 --> 00:24:13.210 that we copied or was it strictly developed by 00:24:13.210 --> 00:24:17.210 the United States engineers? Dr. Grant? I am 00:24:17.210 --> 00:24:20.609 going to call that as strictly a U .S. invention 00:24:20.609 --> 00:24:23.609 and one of our very best. Certainly there were 00:24:23.609 --> 00:24:26.150 some scientific principles and things that we 00:24:26.150 --> 00:24:29.369 learned from long research on electromagnetic 00:24:29.369 --> 00:24:31.269 spectrum, but stealth is something we invented 00:24:31.269 --> 00:24:35.440 here in the U .S. It grew out of early research 00:24:35.440 --> 00:24:40.980 on missile nose cones and by the early 60s there 00:24:40.980 --> 00:24:44.960 were some bright radar engineers who said, wow, 00:24:45.339 --> 00:24:49.240 when that shape is smooth like the front cone 00:24:49.240 --> 00:24:52.480 of a missile, I can hardly see it on my radar. 00:24:53.299 --> 00:24:56.599 And from that came the idea of building an aircraft 00:24:56.599 --> 00:25:00.690 that used those smooth and radar controlling 00:25:00.690 --> 00:25:05.230 technologies. Much easier said than done. And 00:25:05.230 --> 00:25:09.190 a key breakthrough came when an engineer named 00:25:09.190 --> 00:25:12.490 Dennis Overholzer, who worked for the Lockheed 00:25:12.490 --> 00:25:14.970 Aircraft Company out in Burbank, California, 00:25:15.950 --> 00:25:18.549 read a paper that had been written by a Russian, 00:25:18.930 --> 00:25:21.589 interestingly enough. But Dennis Overholzer's 00:25:21.589 --> 00:25:24.450 insight was he said, hey, if we made an airplane 00:25:24.450 --> 00:25:30.009 that used facets, diamond shapes, on the outside. 00:25:30.690 --> 00:25:33.410 We could add up all the angles, figure out where 00:25:33.410 --> 00:25:36.849 the radar energy was going, and instead of sending 00:25:36.849 --> 00:25:40.470 that radar energy back to the enemy radar, we 00:25:40.470 --> 00:25:42.410 could send it off and scatter it into space. 00:25:42.769 --> 00:25:47.910 And that became the genesis of the F -117 stealth 00:25:47.910 --> 00:25:51.970 fighter. That breakthrough, a really American 00:25:51.970 --> 00:25:56.430 invention. Is there something else in the coating 00:25:56.430 --> 00:25:59.450 and in the paint that's also radar absorption? 00:26:00.650 --> 00:26:03.210 Absolutely Bob, that's quite right. So the idea 00:26:03.210 --> 00:26:05.849 was with the radar the energy goes out it hits 00:26:05.849 --> 00:26:10.069 a big target like a like a B -52 and it's metal 00:26:10.069 --> 00:26:12.750 and it bounces right back and tells you where 00:26:12.750 --> 00:26:15.470 the aircraft is and where it's heading gives 00:26:15.470 --> 00:26:18.650 you, you know, altitude and asthma. The idea 00:26:18.650 --> 00:26:22.490 of stealth was partly to use the shape of the 00:26:22.490 --> 00:26:24.849 plane to send the radar waves off in a different 00:26:24.849 --> 00:26:27.849 direction, but to help with some of that they 00:26:27.849 --> 00:26:31.430 had to develop radar absorbing material called 00:26:31.430 --> 00:26:34.529 RAM so that some of the radar waves would sink 00:26:34.529 --> 00:26:37.549 in to the skin of the aircraft and again not 00:26:37.549 --> 00:26:40.390 get returned back and give an accurate position 00:26:40.390 --> 00:26:44.509 on the aircraft. RAM was especially important 00:26:44.509 --> 00:26:49.349 early on And the engineers say that you get most 00:26:49.349 --> 00:26:52.130 of your stealth results from the shape, about 00:26:52.130 --> 00:26:54.069 two -thirds or three -quarters, and the rest 00:26:54.069 --> 00:26:57.049 comes from the radar absorbing materials. Luckily 00:26:57.049 --> 00:26:59.049 those have come a long way, but the key breakthrough 00:26:59.049 --> 00:27:02.970 was the development of the F -117. It was developed 00:27:02.970 --> 00:27:07.329 in great secrecy in the late 1970s. And then 00:27:07.329 --> 00:27:11.750 the Air Force produced 59 F -117 aircraft. They 00:27:11.750 --> 00:27:14.589 were built quite quickly in the early 1980s. 00:27:14.650 --> 00:27:18.690 and of course made their great public debut in 00:27:18.690 --> 00:27:22.910 the Gulf War of 1991. Where they were responsible 00:27:22.910 --> 00:27:27.009 for, they flew over a very heavily defended areas 00:27:27.009 --> 00:27:30.849 in Iraq and in Baghdad by themselves and dropped 00:27:30.849 --> 00:27:34.549 bombs on key targets and took out probably about 00:27:34.549 --> 00:27:39.730 40 % of the fixed strategic targets while flying 00:27:39.730 --> 00:27:43.910 only about 2 % of the total aircraft sorties. 00:27:45.269 --> 00:27:49.630 Wow, that was, I have to stop you. We're coming 00:27:49.630 --> 00:27:52.269 up on a break. Take a break yourself, because 00:27:52.269 --> 00:27:54.049 I know you've done a lot of talking. We'll be 00:27:54.049 --> 00:27:56.869 right back, Veterans Radio. Lieutenant Robert 00:27:56.869 --> 00:27:59.190 Nett was seriously wounded during hand -to -hand 00:27:59.190 --> 00:28:02.130 combat, but continued to lead his men. Details 00:28:02.130 --> 00:28:07.130 after this. Nett commanded Company E in an attack 00:28:07.130 --> 00:28:09.910 against a reinforced enemy battalion that had 00:28:09.910 --> 00:28:12.470 held up the American advance for two days from 00:28:12.470 --> 00:28:14.980 its entrenched positions. around a three -story 00:28:14.980 --> 00:28:18.059 concrete building. With another infantry company 00:28:18.059 --> 00:28:20.940 and armored vehicles, Company E advanced against 00:28:20.940 --> 00:28:22.960 heavy machine gun and other automatic weapons 00:28:22.960 --> 00:28:25.779 fire, with Nett spearheading the assault against 00:28:25.779 --> 00:28:28.740 the strong point. During the fierce hand -to 00:28:28.740 --> 00:28:31.700 -hand encounter that ensued, he killed seven 00:28:31.700 --> 00:28:33.940 deeply entrenched Japanese with his rifle and 00:28:33.940 --> 00:28:37.220 bayonet, and, although seriously wounded, continued 00:28:37.220 --> 00:28:39.500 to lead his men forward, refusing to relinquish 00:28:39.500 --> 00:28:42.700 his command. Again, he was severely wounded. 00:28:42.890 --> 00:28:45.670 but still unwilling to retire, pressed ahead 00:28:45.670 --> 00:28:47.670 with his troops to assure they'd capture the 00:28:47.670 --> 00:28:51.190 objective. Wounded once more in the final assault, 00:28:51.630 --> 00:28:53.869 he calmly made all arrangements for the resumption 00:28:53.869 --> 00:28:56.329 of the advance, turned over his command to another 00:28:56.329 --> 00:28:59.549 officer, and then walked unaided to the rear 00:28:59.549 --> 00:29:01.809 for medical treatment. The Medal of Honor series 00:29:01.809 --> 00:29:05.509 is a production of Veterans Radio. There we go, 00:29:05.569 --> 00:29:09.450 we're back right now, Veterans Radio, and we're 00:29:09.450 --> 00:29:14.000 talking with Dr. Rebecca Grant. Dr. Grant is 00:29:14.000 --> 00:29:17.799 president of IRIS, Independent Research, a public 00:29:17.799 --> 00:29:21.720 policy research organization located in Washington 00:29:21.720 --> 00:29:24.839 D .C. She's also an active member of the Air 00:29:24.839 --> 00:29:27.559 Force Association. Dr. Grant, I hope you had 00:29:27.559 --> 00:29:31.099 a cup of coffee during that break. I sure did. 00:29:31.339 --> 00:29:33.299 Yes, you did. You really covered a lot of ground. 00:29:33.559 --> 00:29:35.880 By the way, folks, if you have a question for 00:29:35.880 --> 00:29:38.720 Dr. Grant or a comment you want to know more 00:29:38.720 --> 00:29:41.579 about, the defense of the Air Force for the next 00:29:41.579 --> 00:29:43.980 decade or just about any Air Force question, 00:29:44.420 --> 00:29:50.640 you want to call us at 877 -573 -7825. That's 00:29:50.640 --> 00:29:57.240 877 -573 -7825. Dr. Grant, we were talking about 00:29:57.240 --> 00:30:02.240 energy radar absorbing material, paint. We were 00:30:02.240 --> 00:30:05.119 talking about stealth. Now, when I was down in 00:30:05.119 --> 00:30:08.119 Dayton for the Dayton, Ohio Air Show, about three 00:30:08.119 --> 00:30:12.319 years ago. I heard that the F -22 Raptor, the 00:30:12.319 --> 00:30:15.900 Joint Strike Fighter, was going to be the last 00:30:15.900 --> 00:30:20.779 manned fighter, the last one, after all that 00:30:20.779 --> 00:30:26.839 history, T -47s, and the F -16, etc., that the 00:30:26.839 --> 00:30:29.819 F -22 was going to be the last manned fighter. 00:30:30.319 --> 00:30:34.400 How is that all shaping up, Dr. Grant? Well, 00:30:34.819 --> 00:30:37.940 we're actually going to have for sure the F -35. 00:30:38.480 --> 00:30:40.799 So we've been talking about stealth and our two 00:30:40.799 --> 00:30:44.660 new stealth fighters are the F -22. Did you see 00:30:44.660 --> 00:30:47.140 one there in the museum in Dayton when you visited? 00:30:47.619 --> 00:30:49.660 No, I did not. No, they were just going to get 00:30:49.660 --> 00:30:51.740 that when I was down there. That's right. They 00:30:51.740 --> 00:30:54.400 have one now that was actually used in the test 00:30:54.400 --> 00:30:59.420 program. They flew it so hard that they decided 00:30:59.420 --> 00:31:01.240 it probably wasn't safe to fly anymore. It seemed 00:31:01.240 --> 00:31:03.619 to be perfectly fine, but it pulled more Gs, 00:31:03.619 --> 00:31:05.619 or gravitational forces, than they'd ever seen 00:31:05.619 --> 00:31:07.880 pulled in a fighter. So when the test program 00:31:07.880 --> 00:31:10.920 was completed, this one went off to the museum 00:31:10.920 --> 00:31:16.339 in Dayton. Two new South Fighters. F -22 is ending 00:31:16.339 --> 00:31:20.680 production in May. The Air Force has acquired 00:31:20.680 --> 00:31:25.519 183 of those. The big new program that's going 00:31:25.519 --> 00:31:27.819 through production now, just beginning to ramp 00:31:27.819 --> 00:31:31.940 up, is the F -35, and it's the Joint Strike Fighter. 00:31:32.259 --> 00:31:33.839 I want to talk about both of those, if that's 00:31:33.839 --> 00:31:35.279 okay with you, Bob, because they're two pretty 00:31:35.279 --> 00:31:37.940 interesting stories. Oh, fire away, Dr. Grant. 00:31:38.839 --> 00:31:41.259 Well, let's start back with F -22. We had been 00:31:41.259 --> 00:31:43.579 talking about the F -117, and Bob, I don't know 00:31:43.579 --> 00:31:45.619 if you've ever seen a picture of that, but that 00:31:45.619 --> 00:31:48.220 was a pretty funny -looking jet. It had the nickname 00:31:48.220 --> 00:31:50.779 the Cockroach, and people looked at it and said, 00:31:50.920 --> 00:31:53.619 oh, it'll never fly. Well, of course it did, 00:31:53.720 --> 00:31:55.819 and it was a super aircraft, and they're now 00:31:55.819 --> 00:32:00.500 retired. But the F -22 was planned to take all 00:32:00.500 --> 00:32:04.460 the great advantages of a fighter. Supersonic 00:32:04.460 --> 00:32:06.980 speed, flying faster than the speed of sound, 00:32:08.200 --> 00:32:11.200 extreme maneuverability, the ability to pull 00:32:11.200 --> 00:32:15.619 9Gs and put that together with stealth. So it 00:32:15.619 --> 00:32:18.619 required some huge technology breakthroughs. 00:32:18.829 --> 00:32:21.329 And it looks real different. If you look at the 00:32:21.329 --> 00:32:24.490 F -22, which I had the great privilege to do 00:32:24.490 --> 00:32:28.230 last week out in Hawaii, the Hawaii Air National 00:32:28.230 --> 00:32:32.009 Guard has several F -22s and they're building 00:32:32.009 --> 00:32:34.710 up to a full squadron. I got to walk around and 00:32:34.710 --> 00:32:37.869 look at theirs. It's very sleek. All of its surfaces 00:32:37.869 --> 00:32:41.309 are designed for stealth. But in the back are 00:32:41.309 --> 00:32:45.509 two extremely powerful Pratt & Whitney engines. 00:32:45.670 --> 00:32:49.859 And these engines just make this the best fighter 00:32:49.859 --> 00:32:53.680 ever designed or flown. And pilots say it almost 00:32:53.680 --> 00:32:55.799 flies itself. It's really different from the 00:32:55.799 --> 00:32:58.140 A -10. We were talking about the A -10 earlier, 00:32:58.359 --> 00:33:00.920 Bob, and how it's really a stick and rudder aircraft. 00:33:01.740 --> 00:33:03.619 Of course, there's still those features in the 00:33:03.619 --> 00:33:07.299 F -22, but the computer integration with the 00:33:07.299 --> 00:33:11.279 F -22 is just superb. So it is our high -end 00:33:11.279 --> 00:33:13.579 stealth fighter. It's better than anything else 00:33:13.579 --> 00:33:16.059 in the entire world. I'm not boasting. This is 00:33:16.059 --> 00:33:20.240 just fact. it can go faster than the speed of 00:33:20.240 --> 00:33:23.779 sound without using afterburner. Do you know 00:33:23.779 --> 00:33:26.720 what afterburner is, Bob? Yes, I do. Yeah, it's 00:33:26.720 --> 00:33:28.980 when, and you see it, you know, you see a lot, 00:33:29.059 --> 00:33:30.880 like when a carrier aircraft takes off and you 00:33:30.880 --> 00:33:32.900 see that big flame, you know, the flare coming 00:33:32.900 --> 00:33:35.839 out the back, that gives it that speed for takeoff. 00:33:36.259 --> 00:33:38.680 Well, the F -22 can go faster than the speed 00:33:38.680 --> 00:33:42.000 of sound without using that, which is tremendous 00:33:42.000 --> 00:33:45.119 in fuel efficiency and also in helping it stay 00:33:45.119 --> 00:33:47.779 stealthier. It's extremely maneuverable, so it 00:33:47.779 --> 00:33:51.339 is really the top end. It's there in case we 00:33:51.339 --> 00:33:56.319 need to win air superiority against a peer competitor, 00:33:56.519 --> 00:33:59.700 a country like China with a big air force. If 00:33:59.700 --> 00:34:02.660 we need to gain control of the skies in that 00:34:02.660 --> 00:34:04.519 situation, we're going to need the F -22 for 00:34:04.519 --> 00:34:08.159 the future. The program, the other one I want 00:34:08.159 --> 00:34:11.920 to talk about, of course, is the F -35. And it 00:34:11.920 --> 00:34:15.619 is the reason that F -22 is not the last. banned 00:34:15.619 --> 00:34:19.960 fighter. So seeing the success of the 117 and 00:34:19.960 --> 00:34:24.699 also of the F -22, the decision was made by the 00:34:24.699 --> 00:34:30.239 Navy and the Air Force and the Marine Corps and 00:34:30.239 --> 00:34:35.000 Britain's Royal Air Force to get together on 00:34:35.000 --> 00:34:38.179 a stealth fighter program. They started this 00:34:38.179 --> 00:34:42.380 research back in the 90s and the result is Lockheed 00:34:42.380 --> 00:34:46.099 Martin's F -35. And there are three types of 00:34:46.099 --> 00:34:49.260 F -35s. They're very similar, not exactly alike, 00:34:49.820 --> 00:34:53.320 but they're very similar. There's the F -35A, 00:34:53.619 --> 00:34:56.639 and that's regular runway takeoff. The Air Force 00:34:56.639 --> 00:34:59.900 is buying that version as are several of our 00:34:59.900 --> 00:35:02.320 top allies. It's scheduled to buy it as well. 00:35:03.179 --> 00:35:06.619 Then there is, bear with me here, there is the 00:35:06.619 --> 00:35:12.260 F -35B, and that is the Marine Corps version. 00:35:13.330 --> 00:35:17.469 actually one of the first ones to go into test. 00:35:18.030 --> 00:35:20.610 And so the Marines are pretty far down the road 00:35:20.610 --> 00:35:23.530 in having that capability developed and ready 00:35:23.530 --> 00:35:27.789 to go. The unique thing about F -35B is it can 00:35:27.789 --> 00:35:32.309 take off vertically. So it's what they call STOVOL, 00:35:32.670 --> 00:35:37.489 long acronym, stands for short takeoff and vertical 00:35:37.489 --> 00:35:40.920 landing. So that's, do you know the Harrier, 00:35:41.119 --> 00:35:43.880 the AV -8 Harrier that goes up and down? Yes. 00:35:44.039 --> 00:35:46.539 The F -35B is the replacement for the Harrier. 00:35:47.039 --> 00:35:50.579 Now that was British, right? The Harrier? That's 00:35:50.579 --> 00:35:53.099 right. The Harrier was a British design. Fabulous 00:35:53.099 --> 00:35:56.880 aircraft, really tricky to fly. And there's some 00:35:56.880 --> 00:35:59.659 real combat losses from the Harriers. But the 00:35:59.659 --> 00:36:02.380 Marine Corps bought them so that they could do 00:36:02.380 --> 00:36:05.900 expeditionary operations. And so they can operate 00:36:05.900 --> 00:36:09.929 off amphibious ships. which to you and me, Bob, 00:36:10.030 --> 00:36:12.590 would look like smaller aircraft carriers. They 00:36:12.590 --> 00:36:15.610 wouldn't to a Navy man or woman, but to us they 00:36:15.610 --> 00:36:18.170 look like small aircraft carriers. So that's 00:36:18.170 --> 00:36:20.769 the F -35B, and the Marine Corps will be buying 00:36:20.769 --> 00:36:24.070 that variant. They are completely committed to 00:36:24.070 --> 00:36:27.230 it as being part of their aviation modernization. 00:36:27.389 --> 00:36:30.050 They've waited and put off purchases of other 00:36:30.050 --> 00:36:32.269 aircraft they might have bought in order to get 00:36:32.269 --> 00:36:36.550 F -35B. Wow, that's not it. There's a third variant 00:36:36.550 --> 00:36:38.690 as well, which I can tell you about. That's going 00:36:38.690 --> 00:36:42.030 to that. Oh, yes, go ahead, please. OK, so remember 00:36:42.030 --> 00:36:45.329 I said the other big partner here was the United 00:36:45.329 --> 00:36:48.590 States Navy. And of course, they do carrier operations, 00:36:48.869 --> 00:36:51.610 big deck carriers. When I was in Hawaii last 00:36:51.610 --> 00:36:54.969 week, I was I was at Pearl Harbor, Joint Base 00:36:54.969 --> 00:36:57.190 Pearl Harbor, it's called now, together with 00:36:57.190 --> 00:37:00.349 Hickam Airfield, both so historic. And I happened 00:37:00.349 --> 00:37:04.800 to be driving right along the channel. when an 00:37:04.800 --> 00:37:06.820 aircraft carrier came in. It was the USS Stennis 00:37:06.820 --> 00:37:09.119 coming back from a long deployment. And it just 00:37:09.119 --> 00:37:11.699 was so moving to see all the sailors in their 00:37:11.699 --> 00:37:14.440 whites lined up along the flight deck, returning 00:37:14.440 --> 00:37:17.400 from several months out in Central Command and 00:37:17.400 --> 00:37:20.579 out in the Pacific. So future for naval aviation, 00:37:21.159 --> 00:37:26.559 F -35C or Charlie, the C variant. It looks a 00:37:26.559 --> 00:37:29.760 lot like the other two, but its wing area is 00:37:29.760 --> 00:37:32.280 a little bit bigger. And of course, it's been 00:37:32.280 --> 00:37:36.239 made more rugged so that it can take the stress 00:37:36.239 --> 00:37:39.599 of carrier landings. And it has a tail hook, 00:37:40.199 --> 00:37:44.380 still the system that naval aviators use to catch 00:37:44.380 --> 00:37:47.619 a wire stretched across the flight deck. And 00:37:47.619 --> 00:37:49.340 that's what slows them down and brings them to 00:37:49.340 --> 00:37:51.599 the stop on the deck. And you've got to have 00:37:51.599 --> 00:37:58.699 a pilot to do that, folks. Well. We think about 00:37:58.699 --> 00:38:01.840 unmanned planes and they are great. We think 00:38:01.840 --> 00:38:04.920 about Predator or the Reaper, which is a slightly 00:38:04.920 --> 00:38:07.800 heavier version of Predator. But, you know, the 00:38:07.800 --> 00:38:11.559 aircraft weight of those is very light. A Predator 00:38:11.559 --> 00:38:17.039 weighs about 2 ,000 pounds versus a Beastie 2, 00:38:17.139 --> 00:38:19.719 which weighs so much more. Even when you look 00:38:19.719 --> 00:38:24.079 at a fighter like an F -15, empty weight of an 00:38:24.079 --> 00:38:28.510 F -15 is, you know, 30, 40 ,000 pounds. So in 00:38:28.510 --> 00:38:31.630 a light aircraft like Predator, which is used 00:38:31.630 --> 00:38:33.590 for reconnaissance, it's really nice not to have 00:38:33.590 --> 00:38:36.570 to put the weight of a pilot in. In a bigger 00:38:36.570 --> 00:38:39.389 aircraft that's carrying a lot of fuel and weapons 00:38:39.389 --> 00:38:42.969 and bombs, the weight of the pilot isn't as important 00:38:42.969 --> 00:38:45.769 anymore. And what is important is the brains 00:38:45.769 --> 00:38:49.969 of that pilot and their ability to get the mission 00:38:49.969 --> 00:38:53.309 done. So that's why pilots are still pretty important 00:38:53.309 --> 00:38:56.820 to these aircraft. Now, if you want to know more 00:38:56.820 --> 00:38:59.159 about this, my listeners out there to Veterans 00:38:59.159 --> 00:39:03.099 Radio, Dr. Grant wrote a paper on that. Dr. Grant, 00:39:03.219 --> 00:39:04.980 would you tell us very quickly, we've got about 00:39:04.980 --> 00:39:07.199 a minute before the next break, how can they 00:39:07.199 --> 00:39:10.099 read your paper, what do they have to do? Sure, 00:39:10.239 --> 00:39:12.900 this paper in particular is the case for a new 00:39:12.900 --> 00:39:16.039 stealth bomber and it's available at the website 00:39:16.039 --> 00:39:21.480 www .irisresearch .com, I -R -I -S research. 00:39:21.639 --> 00:39:24.320 And you'll find it under the blog called All 00:39:24.320 --> 00:39:28.239 Things Pentagon. Case for the new stealth bomber. 00:39:28.940 --> 00:39:31.059 Okay, folks. You've heard it right here. We're 00:39:31.059 --> 00:39:33.260 going to go to our next break, our last break 00:39:33.260 --> 00:39:35.360 in the program. If you have a question for Dr. 00:39:35.539 --> 00:39:41.780 Grant, give us a call at 877 -573 -7825. That's 00:39:41.780 --> 00:39:47.000 877 -573 -7825. When we come back with Dr. Grant, 00:39:47.320 --> 00:39:50.599 we're going to talk about Airpower in the Pacific. 00:39:51.019 --> 00:39:52.980 We talked a little bit about China and I know 00:39:52.980 --> 00:39:56.239 at the last program she Mentioned that on China. 00:39:56.500 --> 00:39:59.239 So you're gonna stick around here and get all 00:39:59.239 --> 00:40:04.039 that information. We'll be right back Yeah, there 00:40:04.039 --> 00:40:07.239 it is the Air Force song off we go into the wild 00:40:07.239 --> 00:40:10.400 blue yonder We've got our last segment here at 00:40:10.400 --> 00:40:13.260 veterans radio If you have a question for dr. 00:40:13.539 --> 00:40:16.639 Grant regarding Air Force power in the next decade 00:40:16.909 --> 00:40:24.369 Call us toll free at 877 -573 -7825. 877 -573 00:40:24.369 --> 00:40:27.849 -7825. Our operators are standing by to take 00:40:27.849 --> 00:40:31.789 your call. All the lines are open at 877 -573 00:40:31.789 --> 00:40:35.289 -7825. Also, I want to get in that today's program, 00:40:35.469 --> 00:40:38.550 of course, the Marine Scholars Program at Ave 00:40:38.550 --> 00:40:41.650 Maria University. Getting back with Dr. Grant, 00:40:42.449 --> 00:40:44.530 last time you were on the program you talked 00:40:44.530 --> 00:40:48.340 about China. We didn't get into that as much 00:40:48.340 --> 00:40:50.860 as I would have liked to. No, we're not. They're 00:40:50.860 --> 00:40:53.320 not enemies. Whatever, folks. This is not it. 00:40:53.599 --> 00:40:55.980 But we don't ever want to get our knickers down 00:40:55.980 --> 00:40:58.780 like we did over at Pearl Harbor. So we have 00:40:58.780 --> 00:41:01.900 to be prepared for that. And right now I'd like 00:41:01.900 --> 00:41:05.159 Dr. Grant to talk about air power in the Pacific, 00:41:05.440 --> 00:41:08.480 which I'm sure will include China. Dr. Grant, 00:41:08.760 --> 00:41:13.260 take over. Absolutely. Here's a key event of 00:41:13.260 --> 00:41:17.639 2012, and that was the January release of a new 00:41:17.639 --> 00:41:20.420 strategy affecting, you know, and it's called 00:41:20.420 --> 00:41:22.739 Sustaining U .S. Global Leadership Priorities 00:41:22.739 --> 00:41:25.260 for 21st Century Defense, released by the White 00:41:25.260 --> 00:41:29.119 House. And it specifically says that we need, 00:41:29.139 --> 00:41:31.519 of course, to continue with the counterterrorism 00:41:31.519 --> 00:41:32.980 work that we're doing, that we've been doing 00:41:32.980 --> 00:41:35.619 for 10 years, but that our focus for the future 00:41:35.619 --> 00:41:38.800 is increasingly on Asia. And there are two pieces 00:41:38.800 --> 00:41:42.949 to this. One, quite frankly, is countering the 00:41:42.949 --> 00:41:45.489 rise of Chinese military power, which has gone 00:41:45.489 --> 00:41:49.989 up a lot over the last 15 years. And the second 00:41:49.989 --> 00:41:54.230 piece intertwined is strengthening our relationships 00:41:54.230 --> 00:41:57.010 with our many partners and allies in the region. 00:41:57.550 --> 00:42:01.610 That starts with allies like Japan, Australia, 00:42:02.210 --> 00:42:04.989 and moves right on through to nations that are 00:42:04.989 --> 00:42:07.650 allies and partners. And that Pacific Theater 00:42:07.650 --> 00:42:10.269 is really all about doing that. There's another 00:42:10.269 --> 00:42:12.429 piece of it, too, I want to mention right up 00:42:12.429 --> 00:42:16.170 front, and that is responding to natural disasters. 00:42:16.670 --> 00:42:20.469 It's been just about a year since the tsunami 00:42:20.469 --> 00:42:23.869 and nuclear disasters in Japan. And we carried 00:42:23.869 --> 00:42:26.550 out what is called Operation Tomodachi. There 00:42:26.550 --> 00:42:29.449 was assistance from the Navy and from the Air 00:42:29.449 --> 00:42:33.230 Force in that. Our Air Force commander in the 00:42:33.230 --> 00:42:36.190 Pacific who is a four -star general named Gary 00:42:36.190 --> 00:42:40.010 Norris, he likes to say that mother nature can 00:42:40.010 --> 00:42:43.829 rear her head more quickly than any enemy and 00:42:43.829 --> 00:42:46.809 often cause more devastation. So part of our 00:42:46.809 --> 00:42:50.010 military power there is to be able to respond 00:42:50.010 --> 00:42:53.789 to disasters and in so doing help to build up 00:42:53.789 --> 00:42:56.750 our relationships with those in the region. But 00:42:56.750 --> 00:42:59.409 the other big piece of this frankly is getting 00:42:59.409 --> 00:43:04.820 us into a posture where we can effectively deter 00:43:04.820 --> 00:43:08.980 the rise of Chinese military power. We know China 00:43:08.980 --> 00:43:11.340 is an economic powerhouse, but they've matched 00:43:11.340 --> 00:43:15.340 that in the last 15 years with great improvements 00:43:15.340 --> 00:43:19.860 in their Navy, in their Air Forces, in their 00:43:19.860 --> 00:43:25.320 cyberspace capabilities. They knocked a satellite 00:43:25.320 --> 00:43:28.820 out of orbit back in 2007. It was one of their 00:43:28.820 --> 00:43:32.119 own. but it was widely seen as a demonstration 00:43:32.119 --> 00:43:34.599 of their extremely sophisticated capabilities. 00:43:35.119 --> 00:43:37.880 We know they have plans for activities related 00:43:37.880 --> 00:43:40.860 to the moon and certainly they are asserting 00:43:40.860 --> 00:43:43.199 their dominance in the Pacific. What we want 00:43:43.199 --> 00:43:46.420 to do there I think as a nation is balance that. 00:43:47.179 --> 00:43:50.820 I foresee decades of us maintaining military 00:43:50.820 --> 00:43:54.400 power that matches and that frankly that overmatches 00:43:54.400 --> 00:43:57.420 China's so that there's no question about China 00:43:57.420 --> 00:44:00.440 being able to expand its influence beyond where 00:44:00.440 --> 00:44:04.039 we and our allies would like it to go. So to 00:44:04.039 --> 00:44:07.019 do that, just think of the map of Asia. It is 00:44:07.019 --> 00:44:09.960 such a huge region. That is really an air power 00:44:09.960 --> 00:44:13.480 theater. Naval force is very important as well. 00:44:13.800 --> 00:44:16.639 But as we look at deterring potential Chinese 00:44:16.639 --> 00:44:19.760 missile threats or aircraft, it really comes 00:44:19.760 --> 00:44:24.780 down to our bombers, our fighters, our satellites, 00:44:24.840 --> 00:44:27.269 and our command and control network. And most 00:44:27.269 --> 00:44:30.530 of all, our deployable air power to be able to 00:44:30.530 --> 00:44:34.349 maintain U .S. interests out in the Pacific region. 00:44:35.969 --> 00:44:39.610 Now, you talk about an air -sea battle, a five 00:44:39.610 --> 00:44:42.150 -year effort by the Air Force. Why don't you 00:44:42.150 --> 00:44:44.429 talk a little, and the Navy to share the tactics, 00:44:44.929 --> 00:44:46.710 talk a little bit more about that. Have you covered 00:44:46.710 --> 00:44:48.190 that or do you have something else you could 00:44:48.190 --> 00:44:51.190 add? Oh, well, let me add, that's a great question, 00:44:51.309 --> 00:44:55.190 Bob. Air -sea battle, big effort by the Navy 00:44:55.190 --> 00:44:58.199 and the Air Force. Everybody knows it's not always 00:44:58.199 --> 00:45:01.179 easy for two services to get together and really 00:45:01.179 --> 00:45:03.860 seriously work on this. I give a lot of credit 00:45:03.860 --> 00:45:06.699 to the Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Gary 00:45:06.699 --> 00:45:08.699 Ruffhead, who just retired. Admiral Jonathan 00:45:08.699 --> 00:45:11.860 Greenert has continued that, the new CNO, and 00:45:11.860 --> 00:45:14.260 to Air Force Chief of Staff, Norton Schwartz. 00:45:14.639 --> 00:45:17.139 They have gotten together themselves, they've 00:45:17.139 --> 00:45:19.739 gotten their staff together, and the whole point 00:45:19.739 --> 00:45:22.260 is to say, all right, Navy, what do you have 00:45:22.260 --> 00:45:24.920 out in the Pacific and Air Force? What do you 00:45:24.920 --> 00:45:27.940 have in... in planes, in weapons, in command 00:45:27.940 --> 00:45:30.880 and control, in maintaining missile warning, 00:45:31.360 --> 00:45:34.679 in cyberspace and the connectivity. So they are 00:45:34.679 --> 00:45:37.659 working very hard to make sure that they can 00:45:37.659 --> 00:45:40.619 share their budget responsibilities and come 00:45:40.619 --> 00:45:43.980 up with the concept that ensures that China can't 00:45:43.980 --> 00:45:46.619 steal one over on us out in the Pacific. So Air 00:45:46.619 --> 00:45:48.880 -Sea Battle, very big, very real initiative, 00:45:49.599 --> 00:45:53.619 really shows the need to cooperate. There are 00:45:53.619 --> 00:45:56.280 a lot of logistical challenges in the Pacific 00:45:56.280 --> 00:46:01.659 moving around people, planes, fuel, etc. and 00:46:01.659 --> 00:46:03.579 it's going to take full cooperation from the 00:46:03.579 --> 00:46:06.579 Air Force and the Navy. The fact that the head 00:46:06.579 --> 00:46:09.920 of those two services are working closely together 00:46:09.920 --> 00:46:13.539 should tell us all how seriously they take this 00:46:13.539 --> 00:46:16.920 problem. Now, this is great because they call 00:46:16.920 --> 00:46:19.860 this a segue in the radio business. You talked 00:46:19.860 --> 00:46:25.139 about fuel. These Weapons have to be refueled, 00:46:25.159 --> 00:46:27.760 and you've got here on your little email that 00:46:27.760 --> 00:46:31.119 you sent to me about a new tanker being developed, 00:46:31.699 --> 00:46:35.659 the KC -46. It's designed by Boeing. Tell us 00:46:35.659 --> 00:46:39.599 about that. Oh, this is what makes air power 00:46:39.599 --> 00:46:42.400 global. It's the ability to refuel in the air. 00:46:42.650 --> 00:46:46.769 and the current fleet is pretty old. KC -135 00:46:46.769 --> 00:46:50.230 tankers, they're the same age as those B -52s 00:46:50.230 --> 00:46:53.309 and U -2s we talked about earlier. So just a 00:46:53.309 --> 00:46:56.690 year ago, Boeing won the contract. After lots 00:46:56.690 --> 00:46:58.730 of delays and questions, everyone in Washington 00:46:58.730 --> 00:47:01.789 was really glad to see this move forward because 00:47:01.789 --> 00:47:04.809 Boeing is now getting right into the detailed 00:47:04.809 --> 00:47:09.070 design work on the new KC -46. It'll take a 767 00:47:09.070 --> 00:47:10.929 airliner, which you've probably flown in lots 00:47:10.929 --> 00:47:15.019 of times, and convert that to carry fuel and 00:47:15.019 --> 00:47:17.659 also to carry some cargo and passengers and do 00:47:17.659 --> 00:47:21.139 medical evacuation. But the main purpose of this 00:47:21.139 --> 00:47:25.960 tanker is to provide fuel in the air to our reconnaissance 00:47:25.960 --> 00:47:29.800 and our combat aircraft. You just can't fly a 00:47:29.800 --> 00:47:34.320 bomber or especially a fighter out in the Pacific 00:47:34.320 --> 00:47:38.360 without that air refueling available. They'll 00:47:38.360 --> 00:47:40.000 need it if they're going into a strike mission, 00:47:40.019 --> 00:47:42.320 they need it right before the strike. They really 00:47:42.320 --> 00:47:45.139 need it right after the strike. And it's air 00:47:45.139 --> 00:47:47.920 refueling that gives us that global power. Absolutely 00:47:47.920 --> 00:47:50.119 essential and great to see that program going 00:47:50.119 --> 00:47:53.119 forward so that we can keep that reach out in 00:47:53.119 --> 00:47:56.440 the Pacific. Now, of course it is. You're running 00:47:56.440 --> 00:47:58.280 out of fuel, you've got to find yourself a way 00:47:58.280 --> 00:48:04.860 back. I'm trying to picture this C -46. How much 00:48:04.860 --> 00:48:10.360 larger is it in the KC -135? It is quite a bit 00:48:10.360 --> 00:48:14.019 bigger because the KC -135 is built off a 707, 00:48:14.099 --> 00:48:16.739 a little narrow body, very elegant, very efficient 00:48:16.739 --> 00:48:19.880 aircraft. But the KC -46 will carry quite a bit 00:48:19.880 --> 00:48:22.159 more fuel and you're really going to need that 00:48:22.159 --> 00:48:25.639 on Pacific where every aircraft needs the fuel 00:48:25.639 --> 00:48:29.400 that the tanker itself will be air refuelable. 00:48:29.610 --> 00:48:31.929 Our current tankers aren't, except for a handful. 00:48:32.110 --> 00:48:34.690 These tankers, so if one tanker is ready to go 00:48:34.690 --> 00:48:37.190 off station, it can take the rest of its fuel 00:48:37.190 --> 00:48:40.170 and put it into a tanker that's staying on station. 00:48:40.389 --> 00:48:42.869 And if you believe it, those were some lessons 00:48:42.869 --> 00:48:45.650 that were learned on long missions in Afghanistan. 00:48:46.449 --> 00:48:48.309 There were some missions up there where it's 00:48:48.309 --> 00:48:51.789 winter time and the weather's terrible and aircraft 00:48:51.789 --> 00:48:54.150 are several hundred miles from their bases and 00:48:54.150 --> 00:48:56.690 they absolutely have to have fuel to get back 00:48:56.690 --> 00:48:59.639 safely, to get back at all. and so they would 00:48:59.639 --> 00:49:01.780 actually try to, you know, they need to transfer 00:49:01.780 --> 00:49:04.539 fuel from tanker to tanker. They also refuel 00:49:04.539 --> 00:49:07.719 some of the big planes like the AWACS, which 00:49:07.719 --> 00:49:11.760 is an airborne radar surveillance plane. Basically 00:49:11.760 --> 00:49:15.719 every combat aircraft out there needs fuel and 00:49:15.719 --> 00:49:17.860 it's not just Air Force planes. The Navy relies 00:49:17.860 --> 00:49:20.980 on big Air Force tankers. Our allies rely on 00:49:20.980 --> 00:49:23.480 them as well. So they are absolutely essential. 00:49:23.539 --> 00:49:26.650 We just don't have the ability to Strike and 00:49:26.650 --> 00:49:29.630 deter and hold targets at risk without a tanker 00:49:29.630 --> 00:49:32.309 tanker has to go forward and it is Thank You. 00:49:32.409 --> 00:49:34.929 Dr. Grant. I do have another listener gave us 00:49:34.929 --> 00:49:39.070 a call that's Fred from flip and he has a question 00:49:39.070 --> 00:49:42.369 for dr. Grant regarding certain models of planes 00:49:42.369 --> 00:49:46.349 and Recent missile launch. We've got about two 00:49:46.349 --> 00:49:50.030 and a half minutes Fred Welcome to veterans radio 00:49:50.030 --> 00:49:56.559 Thank you. Good morning. Pepper five Wondering 00:49:56.559 --> 00:49:59.219 if you could tell the audience, whatever happened 00:49:59.219 --> 00:50:04.920 to the YF -22 fighter jet, and also the complementary 00:50:04.920 --> 00:50:10.679 various jets I have learned. Much of it is foreign 00:50:10.679 --> 00:50:14.619 made, including communist China. And last question, 00:50:14.739 --> 00:50:17.500 there was a missile launch, last year I believe 00:50:17.500 --> 00:50:22.760 it was, last summer maybe, that was supposedly 00:50:22.760 --> 00:50:27.219 a visual mirage. out tongue -in -cheek joke. 00:50:27.719 --> 00:50:30.460 But it was eyewitnesses said it was a missile 00:50:30.460 --> 00:50:36.480 launch off the California coast. Dr. Grant? Fred, 00:50:36.639 --> 00:50:38.579 absolutely. Let me take that last one first. 00:50:38.860 --> 00:50:40.480 I remember... We only have a minute and a half. 00:50:40.699 --> 00:50:43.739 We got to do this quick. Okay. I read the reports 00:50:43.739 --> 00:50:47.420 like you did on the TV stuff on the LA, whatever 00:50:47.420 --> 00:50:49.699 it was. I don't know anything more than you do. 00:50:49.980 --> 00:50:54.599 So let me get into YF -22. YF -22 was the technology 00:50:54.599 --> 00:50:57.179 demonstrator that won the competition for Lockheed, 00:50:57.400 --> 00:50:59.860 and it became the F -22. There were some changes 00:50:59.860 --> 00:51:02.760 made to it, but it became the F -22, so that's 00:51:02.760 --> 00:51:06.900 what happened with it. Fred, you asked, are there 00:51:06.900 --> 00:51:10.179 foreign -made components in U .S. aircraft like 00:51:10.179 --> 00:51:12.099 some of the fighters? And the answer in some 00:51:12.099 --> 00:51:15.070 cases is yes, but... Remember, the program managers 00:51:15.070 --> 00:51:18.369 tightly control and are not allowed to use foreign 00:51:18.369 --> 00:51:21.449 components in some key technology areas. So rest 00:51:21.449 --> 00:51:24.849 assured that they watch that pretty closely and 00:51:24.849 --> 00:51:27.949 know very well and do the really sensitive stuff. 00:51:27.969 --> 00:51:32.269 That is all done with U .S. sourcing. Well, okay. 00:51:32.690 --> 00:51:36.230 Well, thank you, Fred, from Flint. Boy, what 00:51:36.230 --> 00:51:38.690 an exciting program. And we've come to the end 00:51:38.690 --> 00:51:40.650 again. Dr. Grant, would you please come back 00:51:40.650 --> 00:51:44.079 on the program? I certainly will, Bob. I love 00:51:44.079 --> 00:51:45.940 Veterans Radio and I enjoy talking to the listeners 00:51:45.940 --> 00:51:47.699 today. Well, thank you very much. And if you 00:51:47.699 --> 00:51:49.980 want to know more from Dr. Grant, you want to 00:51:49.980 --> 00:52:01.900 go to www .irisresearch .com. Dr. Grant, you 00:52:01.900 --> 00:52:04.840 have yourself a blessed day and we'll talk to 00:52:04.840 --> 00:52:07.480 you soon. You're listening to Veterans Radio. 00:52:07.820 --> 00:52:20.650 You are dismissed. All views and opinions expressed 00:52:20.650 --> 00:52:23.170 in this program are not necessarily of Veterans 00:52:23.170 --> 00:52:26.510 Radio or this station. Veterans Radio is a production 00:52:26.510 --> 00:52:28.570 of Veterans Radio LLC.