How's that "invisible to radar" A-12 working out for your Navy?
Talk about something that got bad press with a lot of misinformation. The project was killed because of cost overruns, but what nobody ever mentions is that the specs on the fuselage and wing from the government changed 12 months into the project without any adjustment in the contract. The contractor had to start over and had to start over again 6 months later when the government changed the specs in the cockpit. That's called setting the contractor up to fail. Said contractor was sued by the AIR FORCE (not the Navy) and successfully defended the suit twice in claiming breach of contract by the AIR FORCE.
The AF is plain and simply top heavy, really political and all the way around plays favorites. It's been that way for decades and it's in the culture. There is no way in the real world that Lockheed would ever have won the F-22. There was an F-23 prototype ready to fly and Lockheed asked for more time - twice - and they get the contract? Huh?
I have a relative in a squadron where the birds are Vietnam-era and they are canabalizing half the birds to repair the other half because the parts aren't made anymore. Plain and simply, it's time for some major investment in equipment WITHOUT the politics and with no thought as to who's district said equipment is made.