>>But the F-22 can't do what Rutan's civilian SpaceShipOne can do. It can't go as high as Rutan and it can't go as fast. Rutan's machine carries up to 3 people and costs only $10 million. The F-22 can't touch that, even though we're spending more than a Billion Dollars per Raptor right now.
What are you smoking? The F-22 can't make toast either. In fact, to my knowledge, no current US fighter aircraft can, so I guess we might as well just give up on them. SpaceShipOne is designed for a completely different purpose than a fighter aircraft, it has no attack or defense capabilities of any kind, nor could they easily be added.
And yet, if I described a Russian fighter that could outrun our fighters and go sub-orbital, you'd scream that we were behind the Russians in aviation technology (and in that scenario, you'd be correct).
I've said it before on this thread and I'll say it again: Rutan's SpaceShipOne is important to illustrate that a technological milestone has been crossed. Civilian aircraft are now flying at Mach 6 and going sub-orbital.
If you think that the entire military world is going to miss the importance of this new paradigm shift then you are in the wrong line of analysis.