Why not bring the F-22 back into production, drop the F-35, and build some more A-10’s?
I believe Lockheed could reopen the F-22A production line fairly quickly. However, you can forget about building new A-10’s—the production jigs are long, long gone.
The Navy doesn’t fly A-10s or F-22s. They need a carrier capable aircraft. The Marines need a VTOL to replace the Harrier.
Trump is asking Boeing to price out new F-18s. This addresses the carrier aircraft but not the VTOL. Unless the Marines get the VTOL variant of the F-35.
Whatever they decide, the days of manned air combat aircraft are limited. Drones will be the next generation. Why waste trillions on obsolete technology?
The F-35 just like the USS USELESS ZIMWALT are PORK PROJECTS. Military didn’t ask for them had no need of them. Some congress critter brought home the Bacon to his/her district to a favored contractor. Who then donated to them.
Old article but you can see where the waste in the Military is, even during a government SHUT DOWN. Military Waste and Fraud Continue In the Middle of the Government Shutdown
http://www.washingtonsblog.com/201
The F-22: They could but it would not be fun. There were several articles which appeared here and elsewhere on the subject.
While the tooling and dies are thought to still exist and all the steps necessary to make another assembly line were videotaped, the skills needed to make it happen are found only with people now in retirement homes at best.
You would have to retrain an entire workforce. The result would take many years and be very expensive, let alone the costs of producing an actual plane.
China’s J-20 (the supposed F-22 clone) would be an operational antique by then.
Who knows about the A-10.
The F22 would need a new avionics package that would give it networking ability like the F35.
Build more F-22s instead for the USAF and seek a purpose designed replacement for the F-15 and F-16 fleet.
I'll let the navy types make their own recommendations but it looks like a variant of the F/A-18 is the only option near term.
The F22 is not a carrier capable fighter
The only version of the F-35 that is problematic is is the B version that is VSTOL