re: #374 Rightwingconspirator

The F-15 was expensive per unit as compared to other planes of that generation, but it has managed to become a platform for air to ground, which was something not envisioned, allowing it to keep around. The F-16 was a far cheaper plane, and does things that no other plane in the US inventory can do, including the F-15 or F-18.

Stealth bombers are still a boondoggle because they don’t have the carrying capacity of the B-52, and standoff weapons means that the B-52 can lob more at a target from greater range, than a B-2 could - all while keeping the crew at a safer distance. The cost remains eye-popping per unit for the B-2.

UAVs are starting to do the jobs of the bombers and long range attack fighters, meaning that for a fraction of the cost, you can get a UAV to do deep strike missions that would otherwise be carried out by a F-35 or F-22.

That’s the biggest criticism of the F-35 and F-22; they may indeed be the last manned fighters given the way that UAVs have proliferated in fighting in Afghanistan and elsewhere. Though, there’s a counter-criticism that manned fighters will always be needed to handle complex missions, or to avert a possible cyber attack that might cripple a UAV networked fighter system.