Some reference. Let’s look back to 2008…

Gates: F-22 Has No Role in War on Terror

The Air Force’s battle for more F-22s is not looking good. Defense Secretary Robert Gates was about as blunt as he could be in his assessment of the F-22 during his congressional testimony, basically saying the obvious: it ain’t too useful for the war on terror. As Defense Daily reports:

“The reality is we are fighting two wars, in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the F-22 has not performed a single mission in either theater. So it is principally for use against a near peer in a conflict, and I think we all know who that is,” Gates said. “And looking at what I regard as the level of risk of conflict with one of those near peers over the next four or five years until the Joint Strike Fighter comes along, I think that something along the lines of 183 is a reasonable buy.”