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I like the F-22. I think they should develop zeppelins.

Don't laugh--DARPA is looking into Zeppelin technology.

Question: What happens when you don't build a new fighter for 30+ years?

Answer: Not much--you've likely lost your industrial base.

Zeppelins are cool.

I like the F-22. I think they should develop zeppelins.

Hmmm, how about huge Zeppelin aircraft carriers? Sort of like in the movie "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow" although I rememer seeing a similar idea used in one of the 1960's era "Spiderman" TV episodes. It was where an old World War I German Ace went around with such a thing where he would use it to launch his fleet of biplanes armed with lasers to terrorize 1960's era New York City. I always found Zeppelins to be cool in an "alternate history, Steampunkish way," but I know in reality, they would make great targets although they are still used to patrol the sea lanes for drug smugglers and make excellent radar platforms. I guess my role playing "geekness" is showing. B-)

Seriously, we do need to stay in the forefront of technology. If a jet fighter was a like a car to me, I would take anything that "has four wheels and runs" or in the case of the subject, "a jet engine or two and some weapons." I think we can spare some cash to outfit some units with F-22's, God knows what can happen in the future although I'd still keep the F-15's, 16's, and 18's flying as well as if we get in a crunch to bring back even older planes like the F-4's out of the boneyard with more updated electronics as a cost saving measure. I think tere is such a plan if the worst would happen.

Still though, we need to keep up with the rest of the world, I'm sure the F-15 can handle the newest the Russians and the French would have but we need to keep that edge too. One of my favorite planes in history was the Avro Arrow, for the late 1950's, it was 30 years ahead of its time in some cases but the Canadian government blew it. The Raptor is one fine plane from what I know about it but we can't ignore the hefty price tag either but I don't want us to fall down the same path as the Canadians did with the Arrow 40 years ago either. So until we see how things begin to gel out, we need to take a middle of the road approach.