A Higher Class of Propaganda (Threats to Air Supremacy)

Watch the rest of the video here.

Kudos to the AFA for turning out such a well-produced segment. Even though it's a blatant attempt to justify additional F-22 production, the threat assessments presented were very accessible and convincing. The video did a particularly smart job of emphasizing the proliferation of these air denial systems while using the Taiwan Straits as a primary scenario illustration (a clever sleigh of hand).

F-22 production aside (and I'm a bit torn on that point), my reaction to this video is to emphasize the value of ECM, Allied SAM technology, and UCAVs. The impetus to control program goals and spending has never been greater.

Perhaps, though, the modern challenge is one of personal influence. Those legacy fighters rendered obsolete in the AFA video owed their era of dominance to organizational renegades like the late Colonel John Boyd. We don't need a next generation of fighters as badly as we need a new generation of men to guide their development.