The aircraft that is supposed to replace the F-15 is the F-22. There won't be nearly enough of them. For all intents and purposes, with the exception of the F-16, the fighter branch of the Air Force is effectively hamstrung.
And the F-16 is as old (or nearly as old) as the F-15. What are we replacing that aircraft with?
America's enthrallment with gee-whiz technology and super-expensive manufacturing methods has put us in a pretty bad way. What on earth is our DOD going to do about this mess?
Well... the tinfoil hat gang says that the anit-grav fighter is operational and can beat anything in the sky. The AF is clearly spending money on black programs. There are way to many Generals around to manage the current programs we know about. In addition, the black budget has gone black . You cannot even find references to it in the CBO documents. Did you hear about the $32 million base in Iraq that was never built but paid for?
Let's give the credit where it is due. The bastards in Congress have been screwing with military procurement for years, putting off acquisitions and siphoning off the money for worthless social programs to buy votes.
The bill has finally come due. They squeezed the life out of these airframes and we don't have anything to replace them.
It kind of reminds me of "Atlas Shrugged".