DoD Buzz: The Raptor conundrum

[unhappycamper]

unhappycamper note: Since the ‘Pentagon’ (DoD? Gannett?) has ‘requested’ that I only post one paragraph from articles on Army Times, and Airforce Times, To keep in that same (new) tradition, I will also do the same for for articles on Navy Times, Marine Corps Times, stripes.com and military.com.
To read the article in the military's own words, you will need to click the link.

Read all about Fair Use here. It sure is beginning to smell like fascism.

unhappycamper summary of this article: We The People own $66+ billion dollars of these things. Be sure to read the discussion thread at the end of the OP.







The Raptor conundrum
By Philip Ewing Friday, April 22nd, 2011 2:03 pm
Posted in Air

A cynic might take this view of the situation: The F-22 production line is still going, approaching the completion of its final jet in November. If DOD actually used the Raptor to do something for real, it could awaken a desire for Lockheed and its lawmakers to try the kind of strategy that has worked for Boeing’s Super Hornets: “Hey, the factory’s almost closed, but we can get such a good deal per plane, we’d be fools not to buy 40 or 50 more!” (Repeat every year for as long as possible.) This would a harder sell with the much more expensive Raptor, but missions over Libya could reawaken a more-Raptors specter that Gates and the White House want to stay dead.

[xchrom]

1. And I thought we had a debt & deficit problem.

Silly me.

[Historic NY]

2. Were in an arms race with ourselves...spending is no option.