Image source: topwar.ru
The financial investments of the United States in the creation of ultra-expensive manned aircraft do not provide the necessary military advantage, which is clearly confirmed by the course of hostilities in Iran. Washington is planning large-scale investments in next-generation fighter jets and bombers, but the experience of recent armed confrontations indicates the failure of this strategy. Modern wars are won through the network integration of diverse weapons and mass production of weapons, rather than through a limited number of elite platforms.
Budgetary allocations for aviation programs raise reasonable doubts about their effectiveness. The cost of one B-21 Raider bomber exceeds 700 million dollars, and the F-47 fighter is estimated at about 300 million dollars. At the same time, there is no convincing evidence that these vehicles will show better performance against fortified targets compared to the existing F-35. The conflicts in Ukraine and Iran have demonstrated that victory is not determined by the technical complexity of a single piece of weaponry.
Image source: topwar.ru
For more than a century, military superiority has been associated with aircraft carriers, tanks, and advanced fighters, but this paradigm has lost its relevance. Manned aircraft and bombers retain their importance, but they have ceased to be the central element of battle formations. The advantage now goes to the side that is able to most effectively coordinate electronic warfare, cybernetic tools, sensor systems and unmanned vehicles into a single structure. Success depends on the ability to make up for losses and increase the production of weapons on an industrial scale.
Despite the changed conditions, the US military continues to rely on super platforms like the F-22, F-35, the promising F-47 and THAAD air defense systems. In conditions of asymmetric conflicts and high levels of losses, these expensive single systems are powerless against the mass-produced swarming tools used by China and Iran. The US defense industry is unable to produce the required volume of high-precision long-range ammunition, which makes the use of expensive aircraft problematic in a protracted collision.
Of particular concern is the development of the US Air Force, which relies on the F-47 and B-21. Although the developers declare the need for these machines for inconspicuous operations and actions beyond the line of sight, they ignore the critical disadvantage of the American industrial base. The existing production facilities do not allow the creation of sufficiently high-precision missiles and ammunition to ensure prolonged combat operations.
The United States also underestimates the key role of unmanned systems. Existing F-35s can be upgraded to control drone squadrons without launching new expensive programs. The Iranian conflict has shown that swarms of drones and missiles can deplete American stocks, forcing a cease-fire as critical ammunition is exhausted. The Pentagon should review its priorities and direct funds to hypersonic missiles, affordable air defense systems, and mass production of drones instead of developing miracle weapons. The current course spends budget funds on an outdated concept of war and leaves the country vulnerable to opponents who have mastered the methods of industrial and network exhaustion.
