re: #370 Targetpractice, Worst of Both Worlds

We sank a great deal into the Crusader program, the Comanche program, the Future Combat Systems program…well, the list goes on and on. And each one, canceled simply because there was no way they were going to meet design objectives without a great deal more money and time sank into them.

We kept getting told that ending the F-22 program after the Cold War would be a mistake, because future wars would depend on such a high-tech plane. Now? It’s a show piece, something that the Air Force ships around to airshows. The only way it’s going to see war is if we sell it to Israel.

The Israelis don’t want the F-22. It’s a hanger queen. A classic example of when the tech hasn’t matured but is slapped into a weapons system anyway. The problem is the anechoic coating that sheathes the fuselage. It’s just dandy, unless there is any precipitation. Or ice. Or clouds. Or dust.

Since the airplanes’ air superiority depends on its relative invisibility, no skin = just another 4th generation fighter. And there are plenty of those.