That’s true, but they us the Russian RD-180 for 1st stage boost,so it’s not even US technology lifting it off the pad.
Once again, what’s NASA done with it’s mandate to develop space flight technology... Out sourced it.. Blue Origin will have a large boost engine available in a few years.. 550,000 lbs of thrust or so, or about 1/3 of a Saturn F1 engine, which NASA lost the plans to. Sorry I showed my ignorance, that of a former Pratt engineer in the experimental airfoils group, oh and BTW our airfoils weren’t wings but compressor and turbine blades and vanes used for everything up to the Improved shuttle engines.
"Surely Nasa and the Air Force could have come up with better launch vehicles in 47 yrs."
Well, yes they (or rather their contractors) have come up with better launch vehicles. Antares, Atlas V, Delta II & IV, Falcon 9, others are big improvements over their predecessors.
As for the F1 engine:
1) Shame on NASA for losing the drawings. Those would be really useful when we decide we need an 1.75 million pound thrust engine. Like, maybe, if we ever find our balls again and decide to go back to the Moon.
2) Until then, not sure what use an F1 class engine would be good for. USAF dropped development of it back when, for lack of a requirement.
As for your alleged experience ...
< shrug >
BFD. You're not the only real live engineer around here.