(Air Force Times) Backtalk: New aircraft required for ‘peer’ war

[unhappycamper]

New aircraft required for ‘peer’ war
By Robert F. Dorr

What kind of war will we be fighting next?

Will it be big or small?

Will it be like our global campaign against terrorists or our effort against pirates off the Horn of Africa?

Will it be an “insurgency” — the Pentagon’s term — like those in Iraq and Afghanistan?

~snip~

Let’s not be surprised by our next war. Let’s be prepared for a peer war — and we can do that by getting more F-22 Raptors, a new bomber and training our troops better for conventional warfare.


Rest of article at: http://airforcetimes.com/community/opinion/airforce_backtalk_peer_030209/%2e

[Sherman A1]

1. Which begs the question....

who exactly would be the "peers" in their estimation? Is it China still modernizing out of the 1960's with a interesting assortment of ships & aircraft (btw, still unable to project power anywhere in the world)? Is it Russia that might be able to get a few things running from time to time but I wouldn't count on being able to stage a protracted war that involved power projection off the European land mass. Or the Somali Pirates who actually seem to be pretty disruptive to things but hardly require an F22 to bring them down?