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OK, I'd spin down the gloom and doom just a little.

FWIW, the current program doesn't meet the future mission plan. Doesn't say that the current program wasn;t going well.

"... an air-to-air refueling capability and "more options for payloads and distance." ..."

Look at the future of the USAF, manned/piloted weapons platforms in general, and integrated inter-service informations environments and you might discern some reasons to 'restructure' the program for an amended mission.

Are there politics involved in this? Sure. There were politics involved in the original program. Deal with it.

To me, there's a good chance that the F-22 and the JSF will be the LAST piloted strike aircraft. (We'll always need humans in the cockpit for CAS and fur-balls.)

Surely the B-2 is the last piloted 'strategic' bomber. <-- just my opinion.

o me, there's a good chance that the F-22 and the JSF will be the LAST piloted strike aircraft.

I keep seeing this opinion being forwarded, and I still don't understand what you folks are basing it on. It is just a ridiculous notion.

IIRC, the same article in Inside the Air Force that said they were bailing from JUCAS also stated that the USAF was pulling to the left (starting sooner) its medium manned bomber replacement