This sort of reminds me of the Germans' "Tiger Tank" and the Sherman M-4. The Germans had the best, bar none tank in the world..firepower, armor....that could cut a swath through the enemy easily....What they did not expect, though, was the NUMBER of Sherman M-4s that the US could produce, nor the number of T-39s that the Russians could produce. What they lacked in armor and firepower, they made up with speed and numbers, pure and simple.
The Raptor IS probably the best, but we don't have enough and can't afford what we'll need....
The "Tiger Tank" analogy is not a good one. The Tiger had a major defect: it wasn't mechanically reliable. It was best used on the defensive as a kind of Tank Destroyer. Out in open country it was slow and suseptible to breakdowns. Not a very good offensive tank.
One of the features of these modern aircraft is the lower maintenance hours per flight hour. The "Up Time" on these planes is going to be one of their strongest features.