Bush plans 'space bomber'

[shiner]

<< we ALREADY have that capability >>



With nukes yes, but they are a last resort. This thing looks to be armed with conventional weapons.

 

[Moonbeam]

I sure wouldn't attack the US if I knew I'd be killed in a half hour. Now if I had, say 24hrs of course, why that would be a completely different matter and I wouldn't hesitate at all.

(This one's for Elledan )

 

[michaelh20]

<< God forbid we build something to actually defend ourselves and make people thinks twice about screwing with us. Jeez what an evil nation we are. >>

Methinks this is kind of a wacked out kind of thing. So we're going to lop the nose off a 747 (or whatever), stick a huge laser on, be in just the right spot to burn a hole in a missle when it happens to be just lifting off... can anyone say... yeah, right?.. For how many billion?

What happens when they bring in the suitcase nuke?
What happens when they *don't* use an ICBM/missle?

 

[Red Dawn]

<< Bush plans 'space bomber' >>

I thought the Texas Twit stopped drinking and doing drugs a while ago!

 

[Martin]

<<

<< we ALREADY have that capability >>



With nukes yes, but they are a last resort. This thing looks to be armed with conventional weapons. >>



You must be truly paranoid. You seriously believe that some small, weak and poor country like North Korea or Iraq will attack the US when they already have nukes?

 

[Martin]

<<
If the US has no one to hold an arms race against, they hold one against their paranoia.
>>



I love that quote, its going in my sig!

 

[SSP]

As Eric Cartman would say -- Thats fscking weak dude!!!

 

[Antoneo]

This is old news...

 

[AndrewR]

I love when people who have absolutely no clue about defense strategy start postulating about the efficacy of a weapon system.

Why would this bomber be useful to the US military? Instead of having to launch B-2s from the United States to travel twelve hours before reaching the target, this plane could launch from the United States and be on target in under two hours. Pilot fatigue is not a factor which means that fewer air crews will be lost to stupid mistakes. Plus, given the operational ceiling, it doesn't seem like ANY planes could be lost to hostile fire. Again, greater survivability for the pilots and a better chance for the mission to succeed.

Of course, liberal bastards would only be entirely happy to watch &quot;war mongering Republican military personnel&quot; die in flames because they don't live in the drug-induced happy state which exists only in liberal minds. Since I have friends flying combat aircraft, I'd rather see the air crews come home while maintaining, even improving, our ability to wreak havoc on an enemy.

For those who continually cry that there are no enemies to fight, no one foresaw Saddam's invasion of Kuwait a year or two before it happened. Since weapons are not created or produced overnight, wouldn't it be a BIT wise to plan that such an eventuality will arise again? Or, shall we draw down our military as was done after WWI and WWII and be as surprised and unprepared as we were for WWII and Korea? Many men were killed in both of those wars who might be alive today had we maintained a proper national defense.

No, let's fly biplanes and use rubber bullets because everyone loves the United States. Amazing.

BTW, it will be manned. They've been saying that all combat aircraft will be unmanned since the end of WWII. Recce flights are one thing (short range recce flights, that is), but bombing missions are something else entirely.

 

[AndrewR]

<< ...JSF...those plans would recoup their costs as practical multi-role fighters >>


Incidentally, the JSF is NOT a multi-role fighter. Multi-role fighters are not highly regarded for the effectiveness in any role because you have to make comprises to shoe-horn them into the &quot;role-of-the-day&quot;. Dedicated aircraft (F-22 for air superiority, JSF for ground attack) work much better. They are also more expensive, but pilots are even more costly.

 

[chuckieland]

who knows, all the investment into weapon will be good torward to alien invasion

 

[AndrewR]

WTF is this crap about aliens? The basic concept for this aircraft has been in development since the '80s but was placed on the backburner for awhile. The original intention was to develop a near-space passenger liner to go from New York to Tokyo in two hours (makes the Concorde seem like a snail!). Of course, since the US government was funding it, the capabilities were not lost on the US military.

Space is ALREADY MILITARIZED -- ever hear of spy satellites? Get over it.

 

[dyqith]

is it just me or does it seem like we're preparing for war ?

I would have thought the U.S. would have more sense to be seen as the &quot;friendly&quot; neighbor rather than as the &quot;war monger&quot;

It's a great day for technology but a sad day for humanity

 

[sandorski]

All the money Dubyah is spending on questionable weapons systems would have easily allowed the US to achieve the goals of the Kyoto Treaty. This is just another foreign relations Wonder Blunder.

 

[UberNeuman]

It's under construction at the moment. Eat our shorts, Sadamn!!!