Absolute power is no fun at all

There was a time when American air superiority was something to be reckon with. A force so deadly it can travel half way around the world to shoot your carrier pegions.

Lets just recall a bit.

In Korea, (1950-1953)

American aviators had a kill ratio of 12 : 1. That is for every 12 Soviet or Chinese Aircraft shot down over the skies of Korea, the Americans lost a single aircraft. A fairly respectable ratio, the Korean war set a benchmark for jet to jet combat.

In Vietnam in the days of Operation Rolling Thunder, (1965-1968)

American Aviators were humiliated with a kill ratio of 1 : 1.1. Which is a disaster for the might and technology of the American air combat machine verses the peasant airforce of the North Vietnamese.

In the Vietnam days of Linebacker and Lineback II, (1972)

American Aviators finally acheived a kill ratio of 13:1 after the bombing halt. With Top Gun and similar fighter weapons school, American aviators finally turned the tide of combat to garner a fairly respectable kill ratio.

Then we go on the the Gulf war, (1991)

American aviators accounted for almost all air combat kills and decapitated the Iraqi air force losing no aircraft in air to air combat.

Look how long ago all those events was. Today, the Americans have redefined air power. The ultimate fighter, the F-22 Raptor is today preserved and perfected through decades of air combat experience. Yet, after almost half a decade in active service, it has yet to see its baptism of fire. And I believe that this might never come at all.

For years, American air power around the world has been and is undisputed. Today, no air force can stand against the might of the United States Air Force and stand a chance. The truth is, there is no air force out there capable of facing the Americans. This provides an interesting food for thought. Lessons of the past are in danger of being forgetten, and American aviators who trained so hard all their lives for an enemy in the sky may find it surprising that their enemy do not exist at all. Like in Iraq in 2003, the only thing with American fighters in the sky were clouds.

Absolute supremecy is no fun at all for an observer like myself. Today, fighters are being converted to bombers, where anything that can fly is an air to ground weapon. To think the peasant air force of the North Vietnamese with their leather caps could stand against the might and power of the F-4 Phantom just over 3 decades ago.

Really, this is no fun at all; seeing 19 year old kids throw themselves onto grenades fighting a civil war.