Extract the uranium. And open the strait while they are at it. Take kharg too and the oil, to start selling it as American oil ofc. Maybe even do Maduro-style capture the leader too.
why don't they build the entire plane out of SOF?
Compass Cope was the ugliest thing to fly but it was the predecessor to RQ-4. I love it for how ugly it is.
In addition to this, the USAF has far more multi-role aircraft today, a single strike raid in 1989 would have required multiple specific aircraft doing SEAD, DEAD, OCA support in addition to the the strike package itself. This required the USAF to have more aircraft in general vs today.
The US has been at the forefront of innovation on UAS and using drones to support manned craft since the 1960s.
They can probably survive the IAMD threat, but they can't survive the underwater threat (mines). Either way, it isn't a fight you want to be in (due to proximity of fires and risk of saturation).
Zach
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Don't get me wrong, the USAF needs more fighters today no doubt, but the 1989 to 2022 comparison is pretty much apples to oranges. In 2022, the USAF had in excess of 600+ stealth fighters, vs 59 in 1989. And those 59 were doing far more than 59 4th gens would have.
