Yep. More coffee.
Certifications have some politics in them, I believe since there is always some corruption if a competitor can influence a certifying entity.
Foreign or domestic.
I could see a post certification failure be reversed if offers come in down the road following good news in actual combat over time.
Thought we might some day be able to restart the F22 but seemed to remember reports that the manufacturing infrastructures eere intentionally displaced permanently. Maybe its entire stock of secrets is now taught in Chinese AF war colleges.
I think restarting the F-22 has been looked at 3 ways to Sunday and is too expensive to restart the lines (let alone the cost of the plane itself) and some of the tooling and blueprints may be gone. Besides, autonomous drone swarms or loyal wing-man drones are in favor.
Someone said the F-22 successor is already flying some where hidden like Groom Lake