High anxiety: Welcome to Buncombe County’s new mascot

LAND OF THE SKY RULERS? The amazing F-35 Lightning fighter plane. Photo by Getty Images

BY BILL BRANYON

Thanks to a recent vote by our Board of Commissioners, Buncombe County will soon have a new mascot: the fantastic F-35 Lightning II family of fighter planes. The unanimous vote awarded $27 million worth of economic development incentives to Pratt & Whitney to ensure that they’d site an aircraft engine component factory here. That bundle of money comes on top of the $15 million in incentives already promised by the state and the 100 acres of land deeded to the company for $1 by Biltmore Farms CEO Jack Cecil.

And while P&W rep Dan Field told the commissioners that 80% of the local facility’s output will be for commercial aircraft, the airfoils made here will also power the F-35, ensuring that county taxpayers will be getting a lot of bang for our millions of incentive bucks. For, according to The National Interest website, our plane is intended to “rule the skies until 2070.”

The jet’s own website, f35.com, claims, “Missions traditionally performed by specialized aircraft — air-to-air combat, air-to-ground strikes, electronic attack, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance — can now all be executed by a squadron of F-35s.” In other words, the manufacturer believes the plane will make many other jets and weapons systems redundant at best.

Bill Branyon

What’s more, according to Field, our new factory will pay salaries averaging about $68,000: great news for the roughly 800 Buncombe residents lucky enough to snare jobs there.

The jet’s website provides dramatic videos and detailed descriptions of the plane’s capabilities: For instance, one version, the F-35B, can speed to a battlefield at 1,200 mph, stop in midair and fire 55 nearly beer-bottle-size rounds a second at enemy planes or ground troops, and then descend like a helicopter onto an aircraft carrier deck — or into Asheville’s City/County Plaza.

The jet can also sneak up on other aircraft, thanks to radar and radar-jamming systems immensely more powerful than those of previous-generation planes, and thus will fight most of its battles beyond visual range. It can launch a superintelligent, $1 million AMRAAM missile and be speeding back to base while the fire-and-forget projectile finds and obliterates, say, Russian MiGs or Chinese Vigorous Dragons before they even know the Lightning is in their vicinity.

In addition to carrying Sidewinder missiles and two guided bombs, the Lightning may soon be able discharge a devastating fiber laser.

Of course, the F-35 is also the most expensive weapons system ever built, according to numerous sources. The Nation pegged the program’s lifetime cost at $1.5 trillion. Thus, the jet is where a significant chunk of our federal tax dollars will be going for a long, long time.

Real virtual reality

Part of what makes the plane’s stealth technology so effective is its confoundingly, aerodynamically elegant shape: If the F-35 even registers on enemy radar, Wikipedia says it might look like “a metal golf ball.” Its potentially radar-alerting weapons are hidden inside the aircraft till they’re needed; its supersmooth shape scatters and deflects radar, while its high-tech skin absorbs it. Thus, the Lightning can literally “hide in the skies,” rendering both the enemy’s radar and their human eyes obsolete.

Meanwhile, the eyes of a Lightning pilot are dazzlingly up to date, because they’re following the enemy’s movements on their $400,000 helmet’s visor. The smart device displays information provided by the plane’s core processor, which can complete 400 billion operations per second, f35.com reports.

This means the pilot doesn’t even need to look at the instrument panel, as they have to do in every other plane ever made. It’s similar to looking through a virtual reality headset, except that what you’re seeing is a real-time display that factors in the radar that’s tracking the enemy planes as well as any bullets, missiles or radar coming either from them or from ground sources. What’s more, the visor instantly coordinates its info with data coming from every other American or allied plane, ship, ground vehicle or command center within range.

According to Aviation Week, Asheville’s contribution to this spectacular plane will be part of a Pratt & Whitney F135 engine that generates roughly one-quarter the thrust of Elon Musk’s SpaceX rocket.

Knowing that we have such brilliant skin in the game could boost Buncombe residents’ interest in and unquestioning support for any future wars America might fight — and perhaps also our contempt for those pesky peaceniks who clog Asheville’s streets whenever their thin skin gets rankled. And if a Lightning ever is shot down, we’ll have the satisfaction of knowing we’re helping make replacements, while generating additional income for some county residents.

Nuclear Pentecost

Hopefully the mere possession of such an awesome fighting machine will deter other countries from doing things that might impel America to bomb or invade them. If they persist in impelling us, however, the hate and violence could escalate till we find ourselves embroiled in yet another no-holds-barred conflict: World War III. Yet even then, our Lightning would not have to bow before the majesty of the intercontinental ballistic missiles that would be used in such a war, for this stunning jet can also deliver B61 nuclear bombs.

The “primary thermonuclear gravity bomb” in the American arsenal, according to the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, this formidable ordnance costs $28 million apiece to produce and offers “dial-a-yield” options ranging from 0.3 to 340 kilotons. Theoretically, a 340-kiloton setting could annihilate about 22 times the approximately 200,000 people killed by Little Boy, the roughly 15-kiloton bomb dropped on Hiroshima. That estimated death toll includes both the corpses left behind by the initial explosion and the subsequent fatalities from radiation poisoning.

Projections like these should always be taken with a grain of SALT. Still, a B61 dialed to 340 kilotons could conceivably eliminate 4.4 million people, at a cost of only about $6.36 per corpse! And that incomprehensible devastation would stem from just one bomb dropped by a single plane, proudly powered by the engine our factory helped produce. By that logic, the planned U.S. fleet of 2,456 Lightnings, each carrying one nuclear bomb, could collectively kill about 10.8 billion people. But since there are only about 7.8 billion people worldwide, the F-35s could theoretically, without the help of land-, submarine- or other bomber-based nuclear weapons, kill everyone on Earth — and 3 billion of them twice!

Knowing that, should nuclear holocaust ever become necessary, county residents will help provide the power to deliver those Armageddon bombs is simply mind-boggling. We could play a vital role in ending history! And in the meantime, we’ll get 800 well-paying factory jobs.

Buncombe is already home to two other arms manufacturers, Kearfott and General Electric. The county seat also sponsors the USS Asheville, a nuclear attack submarine. Isn’t it time we jettisoned effete epithets like Paris of the South, San Fran of the East and Beer City USA in favor of such macho monikers as Land of the Sky Rulers, World War III City — or, with a nod to a term that was widely used in connection with the U.S. Senate’s 1930s-era Nye Committee, The Merchants of Death Metropolis?

Books by freelance historian Bill Branyon are available on Amazon or branyonsultimatefreethinking.com.

 

SHARE

Thanks for reading through to the end…

We share your inclination to get the whole story. For the past 25 years, Xpress has been committed to in-depth, balanced reporting about the greater Asheville area. We want everyone to have access to our stories. That’s a big part of why we've never charged for the paper or put up a paywall.

We’re pretty sure that you know journalism faces big challenges these days. Advertising no longer pays the whole cost. Media outlets around the country are asking their readers to chip in. Xpress needs help, too. We hope you’ll consider signing up to be a member of Xpress. For as little as $5 a month — the cost of a craft beer or kombucha — you can help keep local journalism strong. It only takes a moment.

Before you comment

The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.

12 thoughts on “High anxiety: Welcome to Buncombe County’s new mascot

  1. Enlightened Enigma

    hmm, wondering if the the writer has watched ‘Riding the Red Dragon’ on Youtube ? It’s a 53 min account of the Biden family Chinese connection … cold blooded info.

    1
    2
  2. Jon King

    NC-11 elected Madison Cawthorn to be our Representative. We re-elected Thom Tillis to the Senate. I’ve seen a lot of letters complaining about Pratt & Whitney. I’ve seen precious little energy toward representing ourselves with people who might actually curtail our American War Machine. Pratt & Whitney is a symptom of all our Pentagon spending.

    3
    1
    • Great point. AVL Dems, Libs and Progs need to face a harsh reality. Just outside of town, things turn really “Red” in a hurry. Opposition to war-funded meal tickets harder to come by. Some common sense approaches needed to bring over some right-of-center voters. Cringe-worthy Cawthorn won some counties in our district by over 70% YIKES! Maybe back away from “Defund the Police” and pay a bit less lip service to the tatto / vape “Freedom of Screech” crowd?

  3. AVLENG

    Bill, you said: “our new factory will pay salaries averaging about $68,000: great news for the roughly 800 Buncombe residents lucky enough to snare jobs there.” That works out to be about $54 MILLION a year coming into the county. I doubt those 800 people are going to eat the money or hide it in a can in the backyard. Rather, they will most likely use it to eat out more and/or to buy a new(er) home, a new car, a new TV, art, non-essential items, invest it (e.g., savings, IRA), etc. In other words, they will be employing the services of people who provide all those things. And then there’s the sales tax and income tax revenue that the federal, state, county, and municipal governments will get, which can be used to fund infrastructure and charitable efforts. That all sounds good to me. You also said: “should nuclear holocaust ever become necessary, county residents will help provide the power to deliver those Armageddon bombs is simply mind-boggling. We could play a vital role in ending history!” Here is a reality check for you: there ARE evil people in the world who would very much like to destroy or enslave you, and your best hope for survival is that they know they will surely die if they attack you. Your picture suggests that you are likely old enough to remember the U.S.-U.S.S.R. animosity of the 60s and 70s and the concept of MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction). The leaders of the U.S.S.R., although clearly evil, did not particularly want to die so, much as they hated us, there was no nuclear war. MAD still works if the other side prefers to live, although maybe not so well if the other side thinks that dying is a good thing. Nonetheless, the ability of an opponent to mount a fatally destructive counterattack is probably a good deterrent to an initial attack. One can wonder whether Hitler would have launched his first attack if he had thought that he would eventually be overwhelmed and reduced to suicide in a bunker. Stalemate may not be particularly desirable in chess (although better than losing), but it may be an acceptable result in the real world.

    • This “Trickle-down” effect of military spending is a common theme. Always employed by 20-something lazy journalists when a base closing story comes up. “…but …but…HAIRCUTS!”. Mr. Bill is correct, why not attract OTHER types of manufacturing to our area to provide the same miracles? Say . . hiking boots or river gear. These items are made in China and V-nam and sold at high prices. The profit margins are obscene.

      As for external threats, you warn of: “. .evil people in the world who would very much like to destroy or enslave you . . “ Really, now. Maybe if we stop making enemies faster than we can kill them? Imagine threats everywhere if you like but our friends on the Outer Banks have YET to spot the ISIS aircraft carrier or Al Shabob amphibious landing squad. Is this part of the Nine-Eleven hangover? At some point, the endless cycle of finding “better” weapons to protect against Evil Forces or worse, Uhmurrikkan Interests – over THERE, of course, has to end. Our credit line with the Chinese bond-buyers will reach it’s end eventually. Been to Russia and Nicaragua 3 times, Cuba twice. Ronnie Ray-Gun told me these were horrible death camps and vital threats. Add to that, E. Germany and Czech under communism plus recent trips to left-of center Uruguay and Bolivia. Wanted to see for myself and you know what, we were LIED to. Problems yes, mortal enemies, not so much.

  4. MEREDITH HUNT

    $27 million. Derived by robbing the citizens of this county through property taxes. I’d rather initiate my own economic incentive plan. With the county government’s so-called incentives, the rich get richer and the working poor live in single wides. I’ve got nothing against the F-35. One of my children worked on perfecting it on a carrier in the Pacific.

    • indy499

      You’ve been sold a line. Property taxes forgiven cost you absolutely zero. Without the incentives the company wouldn’t be here. Thet in essence create their own incentives.

      • Enlightened Enigma

        I would say the lion’s share of the incentive comes from Biltmore Farms. Remember DJT never started any wars and brought many troops home.
        How many wars will Biden/Harris enter?

        • bsummers

          Remember DJT never started any wars

          You mean besides the war on a functioning constitutional republic here at home. Other than that, how many international messes has DJT left behind to fester? Hard to tell what we will get dragged into thanks to “DJT”.

  5. Roger E

    To this reader, Branson is doing the best job on the planet of reincarnating the mojo of Mark Twain and Kurt Vonnegut at a time when it’s sorely needed. His deep grounding in Appalachian history and current controversy is a big bonus! I can’t wait for whatever he writes next!

Leave a Reply

To leave a reply you may Login with your Mountain Xpress account, connect socially or enter your name and e-mail. Your e-mail address will not be published. All fields are required.