The USAF's Worst Nightmare...

Those of you who already know US military service politics are either cringing, or grinning devilishly at this image.

For those who do not, the significance of a US Army-operated Blitzfighter cannot be overstated. There are five reasons for this.

First, the USAF took-away the US Army's fixed-wing combat aircraft in the 1947 Key West Agreement, and since then almost exclusively developed aircraft unsuitable for Close Air Support. This was NOT part of that agreement, and many ugly incidents involving fighter jets that can't flow low or slow enough to provide CAS --- either missing their targets, killing US Army troops instead, or both --- are burned into the Army's institutional memory.

Second, the USAF sought to control ALL fixed-wing air operations. The rationale was to remove any possible challenges from the other services to it's budget, philosophies, and modus operandi. The notion of the Army using aircraft other than helicopters is an anathema to the USAF. They have a long and sordid history of abusing the Key West Agreement to strong-arm aircraft away from the Army (The F-5A Tiger II, OV-1 Mowhawk, O-2 Skymaster, CV-2 Caribou, AH-56 Cheyanne, S-67 Blackhawk --- despite the latter two being helicopters with wings --- and just recently, the C-27J Spartan). The (Br)asshats in Blue running the show are OCD with a vengeance about keeping the Army from using anything with wings, to the detriment of the US military's overall combat potential.

Third, as you may remember from the description of my VB-100 Blitzfighter schematic, the USAF (Br)asshats despise the Blitzfighter with a passion. They hate it because it's inexpensive, and won't move cash fast enough, to enough contractors or enough Congressional districts. They hate it because it's not supersonic. They hate it because it flies low. They hate it because it has no sensors. They hate it because it's built around a gun. They hate it because it uses no missiles. They hate it because of the large numbers that would fill the sky, robbing the smaller fighter pilot force of the image of being "the few, the proud" that they project. But most of all, they hate it because it's cost-effectiveness sheds light on the vacancy of good judgement in USAF policy planning, and all those involved in it.

Fourth (and this is the most important of all), the Key West Agreement has a fascinating loophole. It turns out that the language of the document allows the US Army to operate armed fixed-wing weighing less than 10000lbs. Recall that the Maximum Take-Off Weight of the VB-100 Blitzfighter is only 8368lbs. This makes it obvious why this fact was never mentioned in the Blitzfighter debate --- it would expose this loophole to Congress, the media, and the public, who would force the USAF to own-up to their own agreement, and let the Army have Blitzfighters. Words cannot stress the extent of the catastrophe this would be for the (Br)asshats, in terms of face, power, prestige, budget, and the liklihood of getting promoted again, or transferred to a favorable post and/or command.