Replies to post #940 on Foreign Correspondence

[Amaunet]

You know weaponry far better than I. This I can add. We probably spent a bundle on the F-117 which brings up a disconcerting point. The United States by far has the largest military budget followed by Russia then China. This is deceptive in that we pay much more for our research and weapons, thus Russia and China are getting more bang for their ‘bucks’. The difference in spending is not quite as lopsided as one would believe.

Not sure if you were foolin about the pilots. I remember reading yesterday they are already in South Korea.

I would give points to the most innovative and creative country. Even though still behind, right now I learn toward Russia followed by China. China is adaptable but I would like to see more of their home-produced inventiveness.

Holloman airmen arrive in South Korea

Thursday, July 1, 2004

Laura Cruz
El Paso Times
About 300 members of Holloman Air Force Base's 49th Fighter Wing, who deployed June 25, arrived at Kunan Air Base in South Korea earlier this week, Air Force officials said.

The airmen, along with a squadron of F-117A Nighthawk stealth fighters, are supporting the United States' "national defense objectives in the Western Pacific region," officials said. The airmen and other U.S. forces are expected to be deployed until September for training.

http://www.borderlandnews.com/stories/borderland/20040701-137481.shtml

[sarals]

Despite the billions of dollars paid for these high tech weapons, they don't always perform as advertised. I recently heard on the radio that the Patriot missle was used 12 times during the Iraq war. It hit 12 targets, sadly three of the 12 were friendly aircraft. The problem has been known for over 10 years and was not fixed... gee, it might have cut into profits :(

As for picking up the pilots, they find them via sattelite... this I know from a friend of mine that use to work on sattelites at an aerospace company.

[edit] it's alot like software... they ship things with known flaws with the attitude they'll fix it later... but too often it never gets fixed... but all they care about is making the sale