Re: Big Al still couldn't afford one of these!
 

Also, thanks for the discussion to all, excellent points and thoughts.

Reminds me where at least a couple of China's tanks ended up - Tienanmen Sq.

Our ability for open discussion and debate is certainly worth defending, no question about that!

Re: Big Al still couldn't afford one of these!
 

[quote=CRedskinsRule;777919]Our ability for open discussion and debate is certainly worth defending, no question about that![/quote]And give me some F-35s and A-10s to defend it....YEEE-HAAAWWWW!!!!

Re: Big Al still couldn't afford one of these!
 

You can not run a functional defense department that awards contracts only for the contracted company to turn around and revise their cost because their initial bid were massaged to make their bid more appealing (i.e. SS33's reference to 4% of GDP).

In the age of nuclear ICBM and dirty bombs F-35's won't make you more secure but it will drain your treasury. Suckers!

Re: Big Al still couldn't afford one of these!
 

Just a quick follow-up, not F-35 program info, but great progress from a DoD R & D program.

[url=http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/01/20/raygun-breakthrough-revolutionize-naval-power/?test=faces]Breakthrough Raygun Could Revolutionize Navy's Weaponry - FoxNews.com[/url]

Re: Big Al still couldn't afford one of these!
 

Raygun?
.......THAT'S what I'm talking bout'

Re: Big Al still couldn't afford one of these!
 

[quote=Slingin Sammy 33;779279]Just a quick follow-up, not F-35 program info, but great progress from a DoD R & D program.

[url=http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/01/20/raygun-breakthrough-revolutionize-naval-power/?test=faces]Breakthrough Raygun Could Revolutionize Navy's Weaponry - FoxNews.com[/url][/quote]

Cool stuff. I would wonder (star trek nerd talking now) if that same tech could be used to form a defensive ionized shielding around a ship. Shields up on the USS Enterprise. (also star wars in terms of the shield generators) Sci Fi leads the way!!!

Anyone click on the link about invisible tanks. Again thinking about movies and reality. In the Chicken Little movie, the aliens used paneling that mimicked the sky to hide their ships. Amazing that the exact same tech is being talked about for real life combat equipment. Wild!

Re: Big Al still couldn't afford one of these!
 

[quote=CRedskinsRule;779363]Cool stuff. I would wonder (star trek nerd talking now) if that same tech could be used to form a defensive ionized shielding around a ship. Shields up on the USS Enterprise. (also star wars in terms of the shield generators) Sci Fi leads the way!!!

[B]Anyone click on the link about invisible tanks[/B]. Again thinking about movies and reality. In the Chicken Little movie, the aliens used paneling that mimicked the sky to hide their ships. Amazing that the exact same tech is being talked about for real life combat equipment. Wild![/quote]Again, more cool stuff that will keep us decades ahead of the "bad guys". Kudos to DoD R & D.

Re: Big Al still couldn't afford one of these!
 

[quote=Slingin Sammy 33;779383]Again, more cool stuff that will keep us decades ahead of the "bad guys". Kudos to DoD R & D.[/quote]
The invisible tanks actually are British/Swedish design. I certainly could see the Swedes wanting an invisible tank battalion. The thought of an invisible warthog though, awesome!

Re: Big Al still couldn't afford one of these!
 

[quote=CRedskinsRule;779390]The invisible tanks actually are British/Swedish design. I certainly could see the Swedes wanting an invisible tank battalion. The thought of an[B] invisible warthog[/B] though, awesome![/quote]And if they could find a way to make it stealth too.....that would be cooler than anything Tony Stark has.

Re: Big Al still couldn't afford one of these!
 

China employs TopGun strategy in defense announcement:

[URL="http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thecutline/20110131/ts_yblog_thecutline/chinese-air-force-drill-looks-awfully-similar-to-top-gun"]Chinese Air Defense Tests - WSJ[/URL]

Watch the WSJ side by side video. It's pretty astounding.

Re: Big Al still couldn't afford one of these!
 

For those that always like to "cut the Dept. of Defense":

[URL="http://www.military.com/news/article/af-to-cut-2300-officers-from-rolls.html?ESRC=airforce.nl"]AF to Cut 2,300 Officers From Rolls[/URL]

Here in Hampton Roads JFCOM is being eliminated.....now how about the Obama administration and Dems work to bring SS & Medicare under control, cut back on the many departments of redundant departments on the civilian side, eliminating NPR, and pulling back the over-regulation for a start.

Re: Big Al still couldn't afford one of these!
 

Well that cut in officers is because retention rates were higher than allotted. It's not the same as "true" cuts.

That said, the republicans are trying to come to agreement on what cuts they are going to try to push through:
[url=http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/142723-paul-ryan-id-like-to-exceed-the-32b-in-cuts-i-proposed]Paul Ryan: I'd like to 'exceed' the $32B in cuts I proposed - The Hill's Blog Briefing Room[/url]