Slate explains “why the Air Force doesn’t need more F-22s“:
Disagree. The Raptor–poor, misunderstood soul that it is–isn’t so much a means of winning a war against Red China as it is a tool for preventing one. China’s subsidization of Russia’s advanced defense sector has allowed the two nations to develop (and field) some particularly nasty fighter aircraft. With U.S. forces spread thin, allowing for Chinese air superiority over the straits of Taiwan would be bad news bears. Airpower is the cornerstone of our strategy to win any state v. state conflict; if China believes that we’re no longer capable of controlling the air (or the sea), our strategy collapses, and we’re up the Yangtze without a paddle. Feel free to insert a “if you want peace, prepare for war” quote at your leisure. The Raptor is expensive, true. It’s a Cold War relic, also true. But if we’re serious about fighting small wars, and remaining strong against peer competitors, we’re going to need advanced platforms like the F-22. It’s the “two-militaries” solution that’s slowly evolving in the post-Rumsfeld Pentagon, a plan that hinges on modernizing the “geriatric” Air Force.
