Because procurement policy for a leading-edge fighter which will probably still be in service decades from now needs to take into account more than simply the needs of the absolute present. The F-15 first flew in 1972 and the F-18 in 1979: what will we do for air superiority 10-20 years from now, when the F-15 is obsolete and the F-18 obsolescent? At that time, our F-22's will be filling the role that the F-18's are now, as the now second-line fighter.
It is much more expensive to start and stop and start a production line than it is to keep it running. 145 F-22's will probably not be enough for the long run, and so we will either have to restart the production line in 2013 or so, when we have a real President again, or start the line on an entirely new fighter, which won't be airworthy until the late 2010's. (The F-35 is more of a fighter-bomber than an air superiority fighter: it can't fill the same role.)
Obama has done something which looks thrifty, but is liable to cost us more, in both gold and blood, before the story's over.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2009-11-05 06:41 am (UTC)Because procurement policy for a leading-edge fighter which will probably still be in service decades from now needs to take into account more than simply the needs of the absolute present. The F-15 first flew in 1972 and the F-18 in 1979: what will we do for air superiority 10-20 years from now, when the F-15 is obsolete and the F-18 obsolescent? At that time, our F-22's will be filling the role that the F-18's are now, as the now second-line fighter.
It is much more expensive to start and stop and start a production line than it is to keep it running. 145 F-22's will probably not be enough for the long run, and so we will either have to restart the production line in 2013 or so, when we have a real President again, or start the line on an entirely new fighter, which won't be airworthy until the late 2010's. (The F-35 is more of a fighter-bomber than an air superiority fighter: it can't fill the same role.)
Obama has done something which looks thrifty, but is liable to cost us more, in both gold and blood, before the story's over.