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Air Power Abandoned: Robert Gates, the F-22 Raptor and the Betrayal of America's Air Force Kindle Edition

4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 82 ratings

In dwindling numbers, with aging equipment, America's airmen may no longer be able to win a near-peer war with a hostile nation-state like North Korea. The shrinking of U.S. air power is nothing new but the Air Force hoped to compensate with advanced technology. With the F-22 Raptor superfighter as its flagship, the Air Force was going to enter a new era when sensors, digital technology and connectivity would make up for declining numbers. In this new world with its new way of waging war, the F-22 would be out in front.

That was the plan before Robert Gates became Secretary of Defense in 2006.

In this close-up look at how Gates killed the F-22, author Robert F. Dorr argues that the Pentagon chief, who served under presidents of both parties, harmed the nation when he fired the Air Force's top leaders and terminated the F-22.

Why did Gates really sack Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne and chief of staff General T. Michael "Buzz" Moseley? Why did Gates cancel the world's most capable warplane? Are we defenseless today because the Defense Secretary wanted to prepare for the wrong war at the wrong time?

The answers will surprise you.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B013CJEBP0
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Robert F. Dorr (August 2, 2015)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ August 2, 2015
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 2925 KB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 176 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 82 ratings

About the author

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Robert F. Dorr
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Robert F. Dorr, 71, is an author (1955- ); an Air Force veteran (1957-60); and a retired senior Foreign Service officer (a diplomat; 1964-89). He has three books currently in print. The newest is "MISSION TO BERLIN,":about the Americans who fought in one of the largest aerial battles of World War II.

He is the author of 70 books and thousands of magazine articles about the Air Force, aviation and military affairs. He writes a weekly opinion column for Air Force Times, monthly columns for Combat Aircraft, Air International and Aerospace America magazines, and a quarterly column for Air Power History, which he helped create. His first paid magazine article was in the November 1955 Air Force magazine when he was fifteen. He wrote 1,700 history columns for all four Military Times newspapers from 2000 to 2009.

Bob Dorr's other books in print are "HELL HAWKS,"" co-authored with Thomas D. Jones, a history of a P-47 Thunderbolt fighter group in World War II and "AIR FORCE ONE," a history of presidential aircraft.

He is a private pilot and parachutist and has flown aboard most current Air Force aircraft. Bob Dorr lives in Oakton, Virginia with his wife Young Soon, a career government worker, and their Labrador retriever, Autumn. They have two grown sons with families.

Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5 stars
4.1 out of 5
82 global ratings

Customers say

Customers find the book has excellent information on the F-22 program. Opinions are mixed on the reading experience, with some finding it a good review while others say it's not worth reading. Readers also comment that the book is well-written and sobering, while others find it skipping around from chapter to chapter.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

7 customers mention "Content"7 positive0 negative

Customers find the book's content excellent, well-developed, and reasoned. They also say it's a well-researched, factual account of the rise and fall of a dictatorship.

"...The authors knowledge and experience are exhaustively evidenced—focusing primarily on the impacts and implications of the Gates-era defense strategy..." Read more

"...The book is most useful for the statements he got from major players in the termination of the F-22 program...." Read more

"...This book has a lot of great information and I think the author draws many of the right conclusions...." Read more

"This book is excellent in the sense that it gives great insight as to why the F-22 Program was shut down prematurely and how that impacts the United..." Read more

7 customers mention "Reading experience"3 positive4 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the book. Some find it a fairly good review, while others say it's not worth reading.

"...I'm giving it three stars not because it's not worth reading but because you will have a headache when you are done." Read more

"...22 program that extends beyond commonl Resources, this book is an excellent sortie that covers the program, the politics, and the authors opinion...." Read more

"...Like any serious study, the book doesn't read like a novel; it's based on facts...." Read more

"A fairly good review of how the F-22 was sidelined in favor of the F-35. The author's personal biases played into it a little more than I would like...." Read more

6 customers mention "Reading quality"3 positive3 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the reading quality of the book. Some find it well-written and sobering, while others say it doesn't read well and the author skips around from chapter to chapter without much consistency as to where the narrative is.

"This book is a well-written and very sobering survey of the current status and future outlook of the U.S. Air Force...." Read more

"...Although I found the prose somewhat awkward at times, this in no way detracted from what was an exceptional report, merging raw data, analysis,..." Read more

"...This is a very good read." Read more

"...That being said it must be some of the most dyslexic writing I have ever seen...." Read more

Scathing Review of a program that should’ve continued!
5 Stars
Scathing Review of a program that should’ve continued!
This book was amazing and terrible all at the same time. It illustrates the malicious intent of Robert Gates to kill the best fighter program in US history since the F-15. It’s upsetting to read for fans of the F-22 when you realize it was prejudice more than money that caused the cancellation of the F-22!
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Top reviews from the United States

Reviewed in the United States on October 9, 2018
An excellent explanation, analysis, and editorial of America’s national security shortcomings, told through the lens of the F-22.

For anyone with an interest in the F 22 program that extends beyond commonl Resources, this book is an excellent sortie that covers the program, the politics, and the authors opinion. The authors knowledge and experience are exhaustively evidenced—focusing primarily on the impacts and implications of the Gates-era defense strategy, there is still a fair amount of technical data on the Raptor, as well as other platforms (namely the F-15, F-16, F-18, and F-35). Also discussed are the F-14 and other retired systems, though to a much lesser and only “contextual” extent.

From the title alone, one should expect a fair amount of opinion on the part of the author, this said, every argument is well developed and reasoned, and this book never was intended as an impartial evaluation. I appreciate the inclusion of recommendations as well as suggestions and methods, logically available, for funding them.
Although I disagree with the author’s position in its entirety, this has no bearing on a rating; and, this aside, the majority of this authors observations are valid (albeit alarming).

If I were to add anything, it would be a deeper dive into the solutions that come at the books conclusion. Although I found the prose somewhat awkward at times, this in no way detracted from what was an exceptional report, merging raw data, analysis, opinion and editorial. This is difficult with the most entertaining of subjects The author should be applauded here. In-depth analysis at this level seldom ascends to the “readable” domain, but here the author excels.

This book is not for those unfamiliar to the topic, but for those who are, I highly recommend it.
Reviewed in the United States on December 22, 2018
Dorr reminds us of the importance of being able to keep control of airspace against peer competitors. The book is most useful for the statements he got from major players in the termination of the F-22 program. It makes clear that a big story remains to be written about the politics of defense contracting, the F-22, air superiority, and generation-long consequences of Bob Gates choosing to fund wars in the near-term that the US would lose over funding capabilities for winning. a war in the future that the US would have to win. An incomplete book but recommended. Also, publicists for the late Robert F. Dorr need to highlight his 25 years in the State Department more; I thought he was just a buff book writer.
Reviewed in the United States on August 6, 2015
Robert F. Dorr warns America that its domination of the air is in peril because the United States Air Force is running out of fighter aircraft. “Legacy fighters” are the F-15 Eagle and F-16 Falcon—and those airframes are wearing out. No more “obsolete” F-15 or F-16 are being authorized by Congress. The two aircraft that were to replace the F-15 and F-16 were the F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II. The Raptor program was gutted—Dorr gives a minimum number of F-22 airframes required for an effective Air Force that is far above the 187 currently authorized—381 to equip ten Air Expeditionary Forces. He quotes others who say that at least 600 F-22 Raptors are needed. The F-22 production lines are shut down. As for the F-35 program—Dorr pronounces it a failure. The author carefully explains his position.

Robert F. Dorr offers several solutions—including one on where to get the money to modernize the Air Force. One solution to the fighter shortage: put F/A-18F Super Hornets in the Air National Guard. Another is scrapping the B-2 program entirely.

“Air Power Abandoned” credits one person with destroying the United States Air Force: Robert Gates, Secretary of Defense. Gates took office 18 December 2006, but dismantling the Air Force began in 1991 with the “end” of the Cold War. Slashed were the new long-range bomber, a new tanker aircraft, a combat rescue helicopters—and the F-22 Raptor program (except for those aircraft already constructed). This was accomplished while fighting two major counter-insurgencies—Iraq and Afghanistan—plus the other dozen or so low-intensity conflicts world-wide that usually stay off the front page of your newspaper.

I recommend this book because the issues raised are important. The air-to-air refueling tanker KC-135 made the B-52 bomber an intercontinental weapon, but those old airplanes were designed at the end of the Forties and first flew during the early Fifties. The “replacement” DC-10 tankers are wearing out because of their dual-purpose cargo and tanker roles, which keeps these planes in constant use. The need for a tanker is key to the Seversky-style Air Force that Dorr endorses: an Air Force with primary bases in CONUS and no vulnerable over-seas bases. Door recommends the Airbus A330-200 tanker, a proven and reliable platform already in use by six air forces.

Today's Department of Defense focuses on the threat from international terrorism and from Anthropogenic Climate Change—ignoring incidents such as Russian bombers off the coast of California. Climate Change is where the money is today. Drones are the wave of the future—but not quite ready for prime time due to control lag and lack of situational awareness. Even drones need tanker aircraft to reach their targets—or else vulnerable forward air fields.
21 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on August 19, 2015
This is the first time I've written a review on Amazon but I felt the need to do so. This book has a lot of great information and I think the author draws many of the right conclusions. That being said it must be some of the most dyslexic writing I have ever seen. Either his editor didn't pay attention or he didn't have an editor at all. The book wanders from one subject to another and goes backwards and forwards in time. I'm giving it three stars not because it's not worth reading but because you will have a headache when you are done.
4 people found this helpful
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