In the battle to save the F/A-22, the Air Force and Army are squared off against the Marine Corps and Navy. The Marine Corps is the big opponent. It wants F/A-22 money for its own use, and now, said an insider. The Navy, though less overt, sees F/A-22 as a rival to carrier air, especially in a China scenario. The Army, meanwhile, has come to regard USAF as a reliable battlefield partner, one which does not leave engaged Army units without air cover.
In the face of Chinese war plans to disrupt U.S. command-and-control networks in the event of a conflict, the Air Force needs to focus less on its “connect everything” efforts and prepare its combat aviators to fight without a constant connection to higher-ups, according to a new report from AFA’s…