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Originally Posted by Ducimus
AF' does alot of weird, unfathomable stuff. If i were to make a guess, i think the real reason is they have to cut funds somwhere so the fighter mafia can have its new toy.
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Well, we needed that new fighter. I am not so sure we need F-35 as much as we need F-22, but that is another debate.
The F-117's stealth is even compromised by wet weather, so you can see why they don't care too much about it. Even in Kosovo when one finially was shot down, the US didn't even waste a sortie on it to blow up the crash site! That shows you they have no care for it anymore and it is no longer a high value asset. They even knew RUssian engineers were on the way to analyze it and they still didn't even bother to blow up the crash site.
My thoughts - F-22 + Switchblade are the current front line tech. If anyone is wondering what switchblade is, Lockheed filed a patent back around 2000 for a fighter design that can change shape from a Delta wing, to a 45 degree forward sweep, to a straight wing design. Last time I checked, you had to have a working prototype to get a patent! This is probably the famed Aurora though.
-S