[optik_b]

"No great loss.

I have inside information that the F-22 is already obsolete.

The next generation fighter is taking two steps forward.

An advance akin to the stealth technology, but in speed and maueuverability."

The only people hurt by the loss of the F22 is the lucrative defense contracts and the army of lobbyists for the program. IMO F-22 is a cold war style program that will do very little to improve our chances against the 21st century terrorist foe. More money should go into unmanned aerial vehicles.

[CROSSHIGHWAYMAN]

More money should go into unmanned aerial vehicles.

Bingo!

Imagine a swarm of Mach 3 unmanned 20G-turning unmanned stealth fighters controlled by a teenage joystick-junkie phenom.

A great part of the cost of a modern fighter is to sustain life support for the human pilot.

Technology is now a commodity which may push pilots into forced obsolescence.

[RightWhale]

will do very little to improve our chances against the 21st century terrorist

Right, but in case of a real war over Taiwan or Korea or Paris, real weapons might be useful.

[Army Air Corps]

"More money should go into unmanned aerial vehicles."

That is only part of it. The A-10 needs to be retained until we have a genuine replacement for this fine, deadly CAS platform. CAS is what is needed most in war against the terrorist. As for the coming war with China, we will need to increase the lethality of our aircraft due to the numbers of the PLAAF.

[xkaydet65]

Many agree with you, but I do not. We could face nations in the near future with access to modern Russian airframes. As hard as it is today to believe, the most recent production models of the Mikoyan and Sukhoi design bureaus well exceed the powerplants and aeronautics of the F15s and 16s. These aircraft are 30 years old in design.

The fact that we're not going to fight the Russians does not mean we will not face their designs. Putin's gov't. will sell these aircraft to any nation with hard currency.

Ours is a miitary that bases its doctrine on aerial supremacy over the battlefield. The F22 insures that supremacy anywhere it can be deployed against any forseeable opponent's aircraft. The Eagles and Falcons no longer carry that assurance.