Chapter 1189: Deploy F22 in Advance (New January, please give me a monthly ticket)

John Jiangpo actually had a bit of a bad taste in his mouth when it came to this last suggestion.

As the Air Force Chief of Staff, he deliberately put forward a plan that was feasible but related to the navy.

Of course, how much resources they can extract from the Minister of Defense by using this as a breakthrough depends on the abilities of our naval colleagues.

In any case, it's better than throwing hundreds of billions of dollars into that outrageous littoral combat ship project.

However, the Minister of Defense sitting opposite did not seem to care about this.

He actually opened his mouth and asked the air force officer in front of him:

"You mean the sea-based Standard Missile 3? But it hasn't been tested yet."

As the head of the military branch in charge of the US military's strategic defense work, Jiang Po is actually not lacking in knowledge about the situation on the navy side.

But he was not prepared to dwell too much on this issue:

"The deployment of the anti-missile interceptor itself can be adjusted based on the specific circumstances of the development schedule, but we can make some gestures in advance."

The admiral shrugged and calmly directed the discussion to the allies:

"For example, we can first sell the open-architecture baseline 7.1C system to the Japanese and Koreans. The key is to provide a sea-based anti-missile interception system (BMD) that supports the Standard Missile 3 launch at the software level. This will at least comfort our two allies and also share some of the pressure of early warning and reconnaissance and surveillance missions..."

"As for Standard 3... it can be used as our next bargaining chip. Whether it is for China or Japan and South Korea, we will decide whether to sell it based on future situations."

Although the original intention was just to change the subject, it has to be said that Jiang Po's suggestion is very feasible.

In particular, the software is provided in stages first, and then the operation of the missile itself is provided, which is almost equivalent to the marketing routine of cumulative recharge to unlock xxx.

It can not only strengthen the control over its allies, but also sell out a wave of teammates when necessary, expressing its sincerity in "easing tensions with China" by taking two steps forward and one step back.

Therefore, although the Minister of Defense sitting opposite did not give direct feedback, the sudden twitching of his facial muscles and the slightly narrowed eyes showed that he was quite interested in this proposal.

Although the SBX radar has impressive performance and is said to be able to monitor a tennis ball in low-Earth orbit, it is too expensive after all. Its deployment in the first island chain has more symbolic significance than practical significance.

Moreover, the first radar is expected to be deployed around Alaska for the most traditional and critical defense in the Arctic direction.

Although allies and overseas bases are important, they are ultimately not as significant as the homeland.

More importantly, the so-called "protecting allies" is just an excuse.

The real purpose is to take the opportunity to form a radar detection network close to the Chinese mainland to obtain China's missile test data and provide reaction time for anti-missile interception in the rear.

If several Aegis ships capable of intervening in the BMD system can be deployed in Japan and South Korea for a long time, combined with the two PAVE PAWS radars sold to a certain region last year, it will basically cover the entire missile testing direction of China.

As for whether Standard 3 is really deployed...

On the contrary it is not the key.

"I would recommend that the White House consider this suggestion."

The Minister of Defense nodded, and his expression gradually eased:

"Well, you two, let's leave this matter here for now... Next, let's talk about our aviation unit."

He said as he took out another document from his desk:

"Lockheed Martin and General Motors have basically confirmed that the development of the F136 engine, the backup power of the JSF project, has been hindered. We are likely to be unable to maintain the dual-engine backup strategy on the F15 and F16..."

This time it was all Jiang Po's old tricks. He didn't even pick up the document:

"The F136's technical route is too radical. In fact, we stopped having expectations for this model a long time ago..."

"The question now is, the vertical take-off and landing versions of the F136 and F135 use the same lift fan, so will the vertical take-off and landing version of the JSF be affected by this?"

When he said the second half of the sentence, the admiral suddenly revealed a smile that seemed to be gloating.

It's so funny. The vertical take-off and landing model is the equipment of the Marine Corps. What does it have to do with our Air Force?

When the JSF was being selected, the Navy and the Air Force strongly opposed the so-called common design for all three services, believing that the Marine Corps model was too different from the other two versions and the equipment quantity was small, which would simply add to the burden.

Now you've been slapped in the face, right? However, Air Force Minister Pete Teeter, who had been silent, suddenly spoke up:

"However, Pratt & Whitney has informed us that the original pre-deformation design of the lift fan has been proven to be completely unable to meet the requirements, so Rolls-Royce's lift fan needs to be significantly modified, which will affect the development progress of the F135 itself."

"?"

For a moment, the smile on Jiang Po's face froze.

Tite showed a helpless expression, and then added:

"The good news is that it is highly unlikely to affect the progress of the first flight, but it may be like the F22. The first two batches of aircraft that roll off the production line will not have complete combat capabilities in terms of hardware and can only be used for training..."

Jiang Po couldn't hold it anymore:

"In this case, can we consider increasing the order of F22 fighter jets?"

“目前F22的预计装备量只有187架，其中还有24架早期的block20……如果JSF不能按照计划在2010年之前服役，那我们的机队更新可能会出现问题。”

He held up two fingers as he spoke:

"The F15C and F16C of many main fighter squadrons have been in service for more than 20 years. Even after upgrading, it is difficult to deal with our main opponents... According to information provided by the intelligence department, the Chinese Air Force has put about third-generation models into service in the past five years. Although there is still a gap in number compared to us, it is no longer inferior in small-scale confrontations and can even suppress the Air Self-Defense Force."

In fact, his statement is somewhat exaggerated.

For a high-tech military branch like the Air Force, it is not enough to just send out fighter jets.

Many Chinese units that have only replaced their equipment in the past two years are still in the equipment adaptation period and have not yet begun to undertake combat readiness tasks.

The ones that were really engaged in fighting in the east and southeast were mainly those old troops.

It is certainly not a one-sided loss like it was ten years ago, but to say that it can suppress the Self-Defense Forces or even the US Air Force is still a bit too far-fetched.

What really worries Jiang Po is this trend of one rising while the other falling.

The inexperienced Tite was obviously a little intimidated and sat in his chair in a daze, unable to speak.

But the Minister of Defense was an old hand after all. He just pushed his glasses and replied calmly:

"Unfortunately, the F22 order cannot be increased any further."

Jiang Po frowned and was about to speak when he saw the other party raise his hand, interrupting his intention to refute:

"This time, it's not... at least it's not entirely about funding."

"Most of the F22's parts suppliers are in China, and their production costs and efficiency are completely out of date..."

"The Accountability Office conducted an investigation at the end of last year, and the results showed that many suppliers have actually gone bankrupt, and the production of parts they are responsible for is also outsourced... In fact, even the production of the current 187 orders is very difficult. It is only because of the reputation of the F22 and Lockheed Martin that the report has not been made public for the time being."

But Jiang Po still didn't want to give up:

"But wouldn't the situation be the same even if we switch to JSF production?"

"of course not……"

The Minister of Defense shook his head:

"JSF is a multinational cooperation project... Many parts are produced by our allies, and the supply chain can maintain normal operations... Of course, the expected cost is much lower than that of the F22."

"As for what you just said, the Chinese Air Force may break the balance of air power in East Asia..."

He thought for a moment:

"Perhaps... we can approve the F22 for an overseas deployment in advance!"