For the USAF, cost considerations rule out massive swarms of aircraft these days. In addition, our adversaries are more certain to be deterred by a USAF that has combat aircraft with unique, near unbeatable capabilities than by one that instead attempts to rely on overwhelming numbers.
“cost considerations”
No, POLITICAL considerations that jacked up the costs.
F-22 production “supported over 1,000 subcontractors and suppliers from 46 states and up to 95,000 jobs, and spanned 15 years at a peak rate of roughly two airplanes per month.”
That’s insane. They made this part in this state, that part in that state, and spread everything out as much as possible, with assembly in yet another state, to make it so you’d have to vote against your own state’s economics interests to vote against the aircraft. Your car would cost $250,000 if they produced it the same way they did this aircraft.
The F-22 would have cost a FRACTION of what it did if you streamlined production and assembly, but the Pentagon went with the strategy of playing to the politicians. If Congress had any damn patriots left, they would have demanded the production and assembly be streamlined from the beginning and then FULLY FUNDED the original request for 750.