While the US Air Force wants to retire 33 F-22 Raptors unfit for combat, Congress wants to modernize them

It is common for the United States Congress, which, let us remember, has the last word in matters of military planning across the Atlantic, to play the role of moderator when faced with the demands of the American armies, which are often quick to make radical decisions in terms of format. Thus, in recent years, Congress has consistently rejected requests from the US Air Force to withdraw its fleet of A-10s, the latter deeming them unsuitable for modern high-intensity combat. For the American parliamentarians, on the other hand, there is no question of reducing the size of the forces without being able to put a coherent recapitalization in the face. This is how, in recent weeks, the latter have rejected the US Navy's request to withdraw the cruiser Vicksburg and 4 LHDs from service and that of 5 of the 9 LCS, asking the US Navy to solve their propulsion problems in order to eventually transfer them to allied navies if necessary. The same logic applies for the US Air Force, which sees its request to withdraw from service the 33 F-22 Raptor Block 20 currently employed for pilot training, US parliamentarians considering it preferable to modernize them to the Block 30/35 standard fit for combat.

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