People who have been following events lately know there are other, deeper reasons for this.
- The AF leadership pursued an almost myopic view towards modernization, to wit - they wanted more F-22 fighters, and they wanted them badly. In fact, the Air Force has been cutting to the bone (including throwing thousands out of the service involuntarily) to help pay for the F-22. Gates protested, and told leaders the F-22 had "no role in the current war on terror."
My old boss, Gen Carlson, said in February the AF intended to purchase even more of them (despite was the SECDEF and White House had said). Gates called it "borderline insubordination."
- Last month, Gates publicly chastised the Air Force as not doing enough for the WOT, and specifically his request to get more UAVs was "like pulling teeth." The very same day he publicly spanked the Air Force, Gates went to the US Army military academy at West Point and broke down in tears thanking the Army. The signal was lost on AF leaders.
- The AF has been telling Congress the real threats were China and Russia in the future, because this strategy gave them leverage to purchase new and expensive weapons. Gates was furious, and told them to fight the 2 wars on hand we have now.
In short, the F-22 (and to a lesser extent the F-36) caused tunnel vision for the Air Force. The E-ring at the Air Force section of the Pentagon is run by the fighter guys. They could not see the forest for the trees, and now they are paying a price.
The nuke and fuse scandal did contribute to this, but there were many other factors at play.