Both the USAF and the US Navy's Air Force are run by fighter jocks. To them, the ONLY real aircraft are fighters. Same with aircraft carriers. They are the ONLY real ships. Mine warfare, patrol aviation, rotary wing aviation, etc., are always at the bottom of the money barrel. Not surprisingly, all three are being killed slowly so more money is available to more Sierra Hotel stuff (The P-8 is already on life support as there will be insufficient funding to produce a meaningful number of aircraft; a UCAV will take its place). It is a truism that all militaries tend to plan to refight the last war, not the next war. Third World fourth generation AIP submarines are going to neutralize our carrier battle groups come the next war. War in Third World hell holes will be largely immune to the F-22 because no one will challenge them and enemy stuff will be deep underground. The armed forces are reluctantly dealing with this by working on improved unmanned combat aerial vehicles, to the choking horror of today's military fliers who are the last flightcrews that we will ever have. Third World nukes will stalemate even small military responses from the U.S.
I agree with what you say. Many of us would like to support the F-22 because of its current superior stealth and supercruise technology, but how difficult is it to envision some foreign power churning out UAV's, even supersonic and stealthy ones, like french fries, over which even a CAP of Raptors has little dominance.
There is a point where we have to trust to the vision of more informed imaginative technical minds. In other words decisions above, at least, my pay grade. I would think, since it's already in place, at least a reduced production line be maintained for its readiness and learning.
But what I do know is that the Obama administration does not consist of more informed imaginative minds but rather abysmally obtuse and bigoted ones. The mediocrity of the ones at the top, Obama and Emmanuel, only results in the even worse than mediocrity of a Sibelius, and Napolitano. Thus, all of us, are plunged into an abyss of ignorance and bias. Kind of like modern journalism.
This is the way Ego and Narcissism work: only those who are dull can we permit decisions, so that we, ourselves, are not exposed.
I take your point. About 25 years ago I had a conversation with a Brit who had served in WWII as a lad. It was his opinion that the Cruise missles were a bigger threat to the Russians than bombers or rockets conventionally armed. This was, I think, after that small plane pilot penetrated Soviet air defenses and landed in Moscow. To the Brit it meant that cruise missles could flood the Soviet defenses and disrupt them very much. As for the jet jockies, yes, there was a reaL pecking order, They were” of” afraid the guys in charge of the air rockets, and of course, they don’t like the unmanned aircraft. It amuses me to recall that during the First World War, NCOs were the first to fly the planes. Then as it was discovered they were real weapons, all of a sudden there were officers at the controls .