It is remotely possible that the Federales have decided that the future does not lie with manned aircraft and "next big thing" will be some UAVs that make all manned aircraft obsolete.
But that is probably outrageous optimism.
Not that outrageous - the Navy's taken the lead on UCAVs of late.
I *still* don't like the fact that we're also retiring the AIM-54 Phoenix AAM with the F-14 platform (the F-18 E/F can't carry it) but we haven't made any in almost 20 years and the missiles are starting to get unstable.
However, a stealthy UCAV loitering 50-100 miles away from the fleet as CAP loaded with a 20 pack of Slammers would probably do just as well.
From FAS.org:
"With the end of the Cold War there was a general recognition that the outer air battle -- the battle against Soviet naval aviation bombers -- was significantly reduced in importance. While AAAM was seen as the best defense against the Soviet naval air arm, the future threat would consist of Third World fighter-bomber or diesel-electric submarine. This changing security environment doomed this Phoenix missile successor [as well as the associated F-14D Super Tomcat upgrades], and the Advanced Air-to-Air Missile program was cancelled in 1992."
It's true that the people making these decisions have access to more information than we do. There may well be black programs maturing that will cover the bases that look abandoned at the moment. I would not be surprised to discover that a UCAV platform was part of the solution.
Plus, products like the Sniper targeting pod are really boosting our stand-off capabilities. Well, for the Air Force, at least. The Navy went another route, which isn't working out so well. (You don't see Navy planes flying sorties in Iraq's interior, and there's a reason.)
The UAV hasn't been invented yet that can outthink a human being. AI is still a distant pipe dream (thank God). And sever the datalink with the UAV and what have you got?
Isolate an Eagle driver from his base, and he'll still kick your ass.