“If they can be put back into production, we could use more!”
I have been part of restarting production for weapons that are out of production. It is extremely difficult and expensive. The designs are frozen long before the original production began, meaning that components that were in production when the design was created are often no longer in production when the product is actually being produced. In many ways it is easier to redesign new subsystems than it is to restart, potentially, dozens of production lines at as many companies. The requirement for the weapons system are so tiny that it usually makes no sense for, say, a chip manufacturer to restart an obsolete line. Often, the equipment the chip manufacturer would need is long gone.
I suspect what’s happening here is Trump is offering them a few of the only F22’s produced as we are probably ready with the F22’s replacement.
In any case, maintaining the F22’s is going to be challenging. More so than, say, creating a new plane altogether.
Please see Post 12:
Not true
Its all in the software
And the Manufacturing Equipment is still in operation cranking out chips on those big 12 inch diameter wafers....as well as being improved in terms of chip density (linewidth) and reliability.
I think you are right. I saw articles about a Skunkworks like project that has designed a 6th gen stealth fighter that blows the doors off of any 5th gen system, at least on paper.
Sell our 5th gen pinnacle to our strongest allies to finance the acquisition of a 6th gen system. I suspect some will go to Japan as well. SK, the Brits and UA are likely not to get any as they are not strong Trumpians.
Its like the auto company execs who get the big discount and sell their cars for a profit once the new car smell starts to fade a tiny bit and get the latest and greatest. They rinse and repeat about every 6 months or so.
Business like thinking. Sounds very Trumpian.
Hell, if I think outside the box, this could be the stopgap for the defense industry to give them something to keep the doors open while they work on asteroid/lunar mining tech. I am going to make a crazy prediction. We will be mining off planet within 5 years.