Missing from the story - how many were originally planned, and how many were actually built.
I don’t care about the overseas sales.. but for the USA to stop producing them.. it is a BIG mistake :/
Although foreign governments have expressed interest in purchasing the F-22, Congress banned its sale overseas out of concerns that the technology it carries is too sensitive to share.”
But we’ll leave the drone in the hands of Iran...oh Doctahhhh.
I think the F-35 will suffer the same fate.
I wonder how much of that high tech is still secure now that Iran has a fully operational copy of our most sophisticated stealth drone.
So, throwing Billions at non-existant “Shovel Ready” jobs is a good use of taxpayer dollars, and cutting national defence contracts on state of the art aircraft, thus causing the layoffs of thousands of technicians, logistics and engineering jobs is something that is a smart thing to do.
I know that Zero is incapable of thinking beyond his next vacation or basketball game; but the skins on these types of aircraft are ‘special’. You don’t develop the skills to make this sort of material overnight, or in a vo-tech school. Those people who developed this ‘art’ are now out of a job, and will have to find a job doing something else. Re-starting production on something like this, isn’t just throwing a switch and saying “Ok, make more”.
BTTT
Soon to be used in controlling public revolts in the U.S.
The product line is being replaced by the less costly F-35 Joint Strike Fighter as concerns arose in Washington that the $153 million F-22 was too costly and too high-tech for its own good.
Cost estimates for the F-35 have risen to $382 billion for 2,443 aircraft, at an average of $156 million each.
Only in Congress is a $156m aircraft les costly then a $153m aircraft.
Both aircraft are useless..
This is a bad decision made for the wrong reasons.