>Hear, hear! I've been biting my tongue over this B-2 stuff. I do not mean
>disrespect for those who appreciate the sophistication of this aircraft.

>However, having worked with the buisness end of these things, I've
>come to realize that they are one of the most deadly machines ever made
>by mankind. The intent of their design, and deployment, is to deliver
>nuclear weapons; lot's of them.

Yeah. I appreciate the esthetics of some of our military aircraft, but
also realize that it would not only be safer for the world, but a hell
of a lot cheaper if the government just designed and built great
planes for airshows and left out the billions spent on the weapons
and countermeasures one sees on operational warplanes...

For years, the Thunderbirds flew a supersonic trainer rather than a
front-line fighter.

I mean, the B-2 would be just as beautiful if it weren't stealthy,
were missing a bomb-bay, and no target-aquisition software. It would be
a hell of a lot cheaper, and we'd only need a couple to make the
rounds of airshows rather than the hundreds that the Pentagon claims
we need to bomb Russia back to the stone age.

Or is it Saddam we're defending ourselves against with these things?


- Don Baccus, Portland OR <donb at rational.com>
Nature photos, on-line guides, at http://www.xxxpdx.com/~dhogaza