"William Black" wrote in
:

[snip]

Given current wars they'd be better off buying a load of Douglas A-1
Skyraiders and a few WWII twin engined bombers.

Rubbish.

What they need is something very reliable that lugs a largish bombload
around and can absorb ground fire while dropping it in smallish
quantities with great precision.

Evidently you've missed the point that PGMs can be delivered
from altitudes where the carrier is largely immune from ground
fire of the kind asshats have available.

What they don't need right now is large complex jet fighter/bombers
that are designed to fight a major European war.

Which would neatly rob us of the ability to deal with a war
of that kind. You may think thats wise but most folks don't.

IBM