F-22 production could be brought back when obama gets booted out, but it will be difficult. Restarting a production line after it has been stopped is difficult, and very expensive. You can see how hard Lockheed and Boeing have been trying to keep the F-16 and F-15 lines open, because closing the lines effectively ends production for good.

The F-22 is not perfect. It has problems with its RAM coating. I’ve seen several that have it peeled back from the leading edges after flying through a heavy cloud. It is maintenance intensive – many more man hours per flight hour than was predicted. It still lacks a critical component that allows it to integrate its systems in real time with other aircraft – a capability that was planned to be added post-production, but funding was cut.

However, it is the most advanced and most capable fighter in the world. You’ll get some arguments from a few who think that Europe’s offerings (Eurofighter, Rafale, Griffin) are direct competitors. Also, some think that the latest Russian and Chinese offerings would hold their own against it. Well, you have to think of the entire equation when comparing them. The aircraft itself … the training … the command and control … the tactics … the maintenance … How many times have we seen Russian jets being put through their paces at airshows, only to end up digging fiery holes?

I for one would not want to go up against one of the Raptors in anything (if I was indeed Joe Fighter pilot).

BTW – for those of you ‘not in the know’, Outlaw13 flies the Army’s equivalent of the F-22 – the AH-64D Longbow Apache is the most advanced, badass helicopter in the world!

Each additional plane purchased now costs far less than the first lot because all the major money items have already been paid for. The secret, of course, is that there’s less payola to spread around in political districts at that point, which may give you some notion what what the process is actually about – and it isn’t about producing the most efficient military machine possible.