When you split up a team and send them to the four winds then brain drain happens. Yeah many are still around... but many aren’t. I work in the industry and know some that worked on that plane... but remember that was TWENTY years ago. The guys that were senior back then are gone. Fully Retired and some even dead by now. The guys that were middle of the pack, some are around but if they have not been doing aerospace in 15 years then you don’t want them back. Then young guys from then... yeah we are still around but we did not know the intimate details, the whys and what for’s of what was going on. We were just learning back then and the reasons for decisions weren’t obvious to us until later in our careers. I am nearly 40 and the F-22 development was before my time. I was just an intern when they were putting the finishing touches on the F-22 design. Anyone that was ‘senior’ then... well there aren’t many left and few would be willing to work on things.
Anyone that was my age in the mid-late 90s is by dad’s age now and he is retired from the industry now. Off doing other stuff. No intention to ever go back to a big aerospace company.
There is going to be a lot of rework when the start the line up again. Which isn’t all bad. The F-22 could use some updates. But shutting down production has consequences.
You seem to forget the phases of design/redesign of this and other legacy aircraft. What started 20 years ago, was a new challenge 10 years ago, and was supplemented with experience from the F-16 and F-35 at the same Lockheed facilities, people and specialties were shuttled between projects. It is an immature outlook to think these talents were somehow diluted by working on other projects (gone to the 4 winds) the exact opposite is true, Experience and exposure to new technologies coupled with experience from previous assignments create innovation and smoothing of the design experience. The reason the Japanese revere their old is because of the invaluable treasure they are to the young. It is a lesson we could all learn. In my experience, I work over and over with previous colleagues and it is old home week when we meet and for the most part a positive experience. This will prove itself out in the next 4 years, hopefully.