Every time we see this trend, the military has to cut spares, modernization, and advanced programs to meet the budget for fighting the wars. It takes 10 years to get the programs back where they were. You can't just increase the number of recruits and make up for the loss of huge numbers of NCOs and mid-level officers. Programs like the F-22 that are being cut are critical to the Air Superiority mission and the lack of assets will create problems years down the road.
Air Superiority is a key to the strategy of all the services. You can't effectively conduct ground operations if you don't control the sky over the battle field. Iraq found that out during Desert Storm. Every time they tried to mass their forces for an attack, the US would hit them from the air and destroy them. That's what would happen to us without Air Superiority.
Flying Billion Dollar Stealth Bombers 14,000 miles to bomb people living in mud huts and caves whose most sophisticated air grid at this time consists of a Mosquito Net over their Straw Cot..
Is Moronic at best in truth Malfeasant or worse.
Every time you see 3-4 flying Jihadis after a Hellfire or JDAM at $100k a pop plus the cost of the Aircraft realize that they are winning.. If there are only 3 Million active Jihadis (out of three billion) in the world.. we will be long broke at that rate before they are anywhere close to being dissuaded or defeated. W