Your feature on the US Marine Corps' planned investments in future aviation capabilities (Flight International, 14-20 January) rightly focuses on a critical national security problem. This is the need of all the services to revitalise ageing portions of their force structure, particularly air fleets.
Nowhere is that problem more acute than in the USMC. The marines has the oldest fleet of aircraft of all the services. In part, this reflected a scarcity of modernisation funds in the 1990s, but it also chose to wait for the right replacements such as the Bell Boeing MV-22 Osprey and the short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) version of the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), rather than opt for interim solutions that would have siphoned off funding for more advanced capabilities. It also decided to refurbish its Bell H-1 gunship and utility helicopters.
Critics disparaged the decision. They questioned the value of acquiring another STOVL aircraft beyond the Boeing/BAE Systems AV-8B Harrier. They trashed the V-22 after its two tragic mishaps, claiming it was inherently unstable. They questioned the value of the H-1 upgrade programme.
The critics were wrong and the USMC was right. The test programme for the V-22 is meeting all its objectives. The H-1 programme has succeeded. The JSF is likely to be more capable than first thought.
Recent operational and strategic developments have proven the wisdom of its choices. Your article refers to the contribution of the AH-1W and the Harrier in Afghanistan. The US Navy's new strategic concept, Sea Power 21, focuses on distributing firepower more broadly among navy/marine assets and operating further from shore - as can the long-range, more capable MV-22 and STOVL JSF.
Dr Daniel Goure, vice-president
The Lexington Institute Washington DC, USA
Source: Flight International
