The Right Tool For The Job
In my rant about the F-22 Raptor jet fighter I noted that the aircraft would be too fast to actually engage in a dog fight with the majority current fighter aircraft.
The recent Cessna 150 that wandered into restricted airspace was a prime example of the problem: the F-16s couldn’t slow down and escort or communicate with the Cessna. The F-16s are fine for jet transports, but most general aviation aircraft are designed to fly low and slow with unpressurized cabins and piston engines turning propellers. The military needs different aircraft, and fortunately the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum has such military aircraft from the Wright Flyer through the X-15.
Perhaps the military should have a few fighters built that could actually match speeds with small aircraft escort them away from sensitive areas. They could send in the F-16 to identify the threat and then launch a Sopwith Camel or P-51 Mustang as required to deal with it. More radically they could ask a talented aircraft designer like Burt Rutan to build them a few copies of a low speed aircraft capable of staying airborne for an extended period as well as carrying weapons.
This won’t work, of course, because it would be too cheap.
Edit: Corrected the name of the F-22 – I plead Freudian slip.
