Russia gains air superiority over usa on obama's watch!!!

[Big Fitz]

Yep. Keep the pilots safe at home playing videogames and let a piece of equipment no longer hamstrung by the limits of the human body take over.

Does that mean you AGREE with my assesment? The ONLY risk is making sure NOBODY can take control of an unmanned aircraft. They may end up being AI piloted. A computer can recognise and destroy targets FAR faster than ANY human being is capable of.

Here you go Cold on the UCAV Front...

SAN DIEGO — It will be a much-watched but close-hold event in the Mojave Desert north of Los Angeles in November, when the unmanned bomber drone takes to the air for its first real flight sortie.

That maiden flight of the X-47B at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., will be a key milestone in its test program. Its next critical test will be landing on an aircraft carrier at sea.

The batwing X-47B is Northrop Grumman’s design for a tailless, pilotless autonomous aircraft that can remotely launch and recover aboard aircraft carriers. The aircraft, which Northrop Grumman and the Navy in December unveiled as the UCAS-Demonstrator — short for unmanned combat air system — will go “wheels up” in early November.

Sea trials are planned to begin in 2011 on the East Coast aboard the carriers Harry S. Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower, said Tim Beard, a retired rear admiral and pilot who is leading Northrop Grumman’s X-47B program on carrier integration.

In 2007, Northrop Grumman got a $636 million Navy contract to build a carrier-based aircraft and inherited a UCAS program worth $809 million that “all of a sudden got sea legs,” Beard said.
X-47B scheduled to launch at sea in 2011 - Navy News, news from Iraq - Navy Times


X-47B will operate above 40,000 feet, fly at high subsonic speeds and have a combat radius of 1,500 nautical miles. In addition to capabilities needed for the UCAS Demonstration, X-47B has an internal payload capacity of 4,500 pounds and provisions for a variety of sensors, including EO, IR, SAR, GMTI and ESM.
U.S. Navy's Unmanned Combat Air System Demonstration (UCAS-D) Program

Just think guys. All those years of playing MS Flight Simulator will have paid off.

This is awesome.

 

[Cold Fusion38]

Yep. Keep the pilots safe at home playing videogames and let a piece of equipment no longer hamstrung by the limits of the human body take over.

Does that mean you AGREE with my assesment? The ONLY risk is making sure NOBODY can take control of an unmanned aircraft. They may end up being AI piloted. A computer can recognise and destroy targets FAR faster than ANY human being is capable of.

Not the only risk, but the biggest one yes.

Then again, as an aside, for a science fiction scenario, I've been considering how supreme drones will be in the future. It's incredible when you think about it. Make em small like the predator, or make em full size, they suddenly have a lot more ammo and fuel without the need for a cockpit. The possibilities are amazing.

This is why Boeing is smartly, focusing more on designing drones for future combat.

I THINK I herd about retrofitting F-4 Phantoms to test this concept. Am I wrong or right about this? Do you know?

 

[Cold Fusion38]

Yep. Keep the pilots safe at home playing videogames and let a piece of equipment no longer hamstrung by the limits of the human body take over.

Does that mean you AGREE with my assesment? The ONLY risk is making sure NOBODY can take control of an unmanned aircraft. They may end up being AI piloted. A computer can recognise and destroy targets FAR faster than ANY human being is capable of.

Here you go Cold on the UCAV Front...

SAN DIEGO — It will be a much-watched but close-hold event in the Mojave Desert north of Los Angeles in November, when the unmanned bomber drone takes to the air for its first real flight sortie.

That maiden flight of the X-47B at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., will be a key milestone in its test program. Its next critical test will be landing on an aircraft carrier at sea.

The batwing X-47B is Northrop Grumman’s design for a tailless, pilotless autonomous aircraft that can remotely launch and recover aboard aircraft carriers. The aircraft, which Northrop Grumman and the Navy in December unveiled as the UCAS-Demonstrator — short for unmanned combat air system — will go “wheels up” in early November.

Sea trials are planned to begin in 2011 on the East Coast aboard the carriers Harry S. Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower, said Tim Beard, a retired rear admiral and pilot who is leading Northrop Grumman’s X-47B program on carrier integration.

In 2007, Northrop Grumman got a $636 million Navy contract to build a carrier-based aircraft and inherited a UCAS program worth $809 million that “all of a sudden got sea legs,” Beard said.
X-47B scheduled to launch at sea in 2011 - Navy News, news from Iraq - Navy Times


X-47B will operate above 40,000 feet, fly at high subsonic speeds and have a combat radius of 1,500 nautical miles. In addition to capabilities needed for the UCAS Demonstration, X-47B has an internal payload capacity of 4,500 pounds and provisions for a variety of sensors, including EO, IR, SAR, GMTI and ESM.
U.S. Navy's Unmanned Combat Air System Demonstration (UCAS-D) Program

Thank you for the info you are OBVIOUSLY way more informed about it than I am but I REALLY want you take on UCAV to eventually COMPLETELY replace manned aircraft. Even retrofitting some of the best fourth gen aircraft for unmanned capablilities. Like I said earlier I don't think it is the airframe that prevents higher G turns but the HUMAN physiology.

 

[Navy1960]

We're not building F-18 Hornets, F-16 Falcons, or F-15 Eagles if that's what you're thinking. Hell, the B-52 was supposed to be gone 10 years ago, but they're still flying. Our military force is becoming like our Navy was at the start of WW2, Mothball relics and obsolete antiques.

SO of course P-BO wants to shut down their replacements. He probably dreams of the day China or Russia invade so he can quickly surrender.

No we're not. We're building F-135's. A much better, more cost effective, airplane for what we need today. The F-22 is the plane for the war that was never fought.

Yes, I know that about the F22 being canceled by the military. But I was hearing rumors of the F35 also having problems being put into production. That was my only reason for concern. A gap in replacement technology.

As for the Warthog and B 52, I know they're being kept around because they're still effective. But, the airframes are hitting the wall, unless we're still building em.

Regardless, P-BO could give a shit about our national security except in how it reflects on his legacy.

Fitz the F-35 is a disaster of an aircraft and the DoD recently announced that it is slowing down the implementation of the F-35 and calling for more flight testing. The US Navy along with a few nations are having considerable problems trying to justify this aircraft and I agree with them.

The study, by the Navy’s aviation arm, says the cost to buy and operate that service’s version of the F-35 will be dramatically higher than predicted — 40 percent more than existing aircraft — and will put a serious squeeze on future budgets.

The report follows continued reports of F-35 development delays. It was also reported Jan. 6 that the 2011 Pentagon budget, set for release Feb. 1, will cut planned F-35 purchases.

The validity and accuracy of the Navy’s cost analysis is open to debate. Navy officials did not comment or elaborate on the study, but several veteran defense observers said it was a sign that many in the naval aviation ranks remain less than committed to buying the sea service’s version of the F-35.

By allowing the cost study to leak widely, "the Navy seems to be putting a log on the fire and prepping the battlefield to bail out" of the F-35 program, said Winslow Wheeler, director of the Strauss Military Reform Project and former longtime Senate defense staff member.
Navy F-35 study has fueled new speculation in the defense industry | Business | Dallas B...

In fact the F-35 was designed originally as a compliment to the F-22 not as a stand-alone system to work in all envelopes as the DoD is trying to make it work. It would be WELL worth the effort to actually let the services decide which is best for them rather than forcing this aircraft down their throats.

In July, Davis accused Boeing outright of spreading lies and half-truths about the F-35 in order to bolster the international sales campaign for the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet. He specifically called out Boeing for publicly predicting future cost overruns and delays for the F-35. Boeing responded: “People with greater insight [into the F-35 programme] than I are looking at the offerings available. Let people draw their own conclusions about why.”
More recently, a commentary written by Pierre Sprey, widely considered the conceptual father of the Lockheed F-16, claimed the F-35 would be an aerodynamic “dog” and outclassed in combat by the fighters it is replacing.
Davis shot back that the F-35’s turn-rate and manoeuvring is no different than the F-16, and the latter has stealth and far more advanced sensor fusion capability.
Another article appearing in the Australian press claimed the F-35 was “clubbed like a baby seal” in a classified US Air Force exercise.
Davis replied that the “basic wargame did not even involve an air-to-air scenario.” Some “excursion” scenarios did involve F-22s, but the F-35 was mentioned only tangentially.
F-35 programme officials bash critics, suspect hidden agenda-22/09/2008-Washington DC-Flightglobal.com

I guess a lot depends on what you want to believe in this, however the last time something like this was tried it was the F-111 which turned out to be a disaster for the US Navy and a good overall aircraft because it suited the mission for the USAF but not the Navy. The Navy eventually went with another aircraft called the F-14 which most know its long and storied history. In short this one size fits all solution like the F-35 is a VERY bad solution.

 

[Cold Fusion38]

Does that mean you AGREE with my assesment? The ONLY risk is making sure NOBODY can take control of an unmanned aircraft. They may end up being AI piloted. A computer can recognise and destroy targets FAR faster than ANY human being is capable of.

Here you go Cold on the UCAV Front...

SAN DIEGO — It will be a much-watched but close-hold event in the Mojave Desert north of Los Angeles in November, when the unmanned bomber drone takes to the air for its first real flight sortie.

That maiden flight of the X-47B at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., will be a key milestone in its test program. Its next critical test will be landing on an aircraft carrier at sea.

The batwing X-47B is Northrop Grumman’s design for a tailless, pilotless autonomous aircraft that can remotely launch and recover aboard aircraft carriers. The aircraft, which Northrop Grumman and the Navy in December unveiled as the UCAS-Demonstrator — short for unmanned combat air system — will go “wheels up” in early November.

Sea trials are planned to begin in 2011 on the East Coast aboard the carriers Harry S. Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower, said Tim Beard, a retired rear admiral and pilot who is leading Northrop Grumman’s X-47B program on carrier integration.

In 2007, Northrop Grumman got a $636 million Navy contract to build a carrier-based aircraft and inherited a UCAS program worth $809 million that “all of a sudden got sea legs,” Beard said.
X-47B scheduled to launch at sea in 2011 - Navy News, news from Iraq - Navy Times


X-47B will operate above 40,000 feet, fly at high subsonic speeds and have a combat radius of 1,500 nautical miles. In addition to capabilities needed for the UCAS Demonstration, X-47B has an internal payload capacity of 4,500 pounds and provisions for a variety of sensors, including EO, IR, SAR, GMTI and ESM.
U.S. Navy's Unmanned Combat Air System Demonstration (UCAS-D) Program

Just think guys. All those years of playing MS Flight Simulator will have paid off.

This is awesome.

I think the kids with X-Boxes and PS-III will be the guys at the helm. The only worry I have is having our OWN jets hi-jacked electronically. Can we do enough to prevent that or should we be looking into AI type craft?

Either way it seems like the OBVIOUS choice for future aircraft. Like I said before NO ROOM needed for an unmanned aircraft and higher G turns.

 

[Cold Fusion38]

The F-35 is VTOL correct? I see virtually ZERO need for VTOL fighter jets. At least as long as we are the ONLY nation with SuperCarriers.

 

[Navy1960]

Does that mean you AGREE with my assesment? The ONLY risk is making sure NOBODY can take control of an unmanned aircraft. They may end up being AI piloted. A computer can recognise and destroy targets FAR faster than ANY human being is capable of.

Not the only risk, but the biggest one yes.

Then again, as an aside, for a science fiction scenario, I've been considering how supreme drones will be in the future. It's incredible when you think about it. Make em small like the predator, or make em full size, they suddenly have a lot more ammo and fuel without the need for a cockpit. The possibilities are amazing.

This is why Boeing is smartly, focusing more on designing drones for future combat.

I THINK I herd about retrofitting F-4 Phantoms to test this concept. Am I wrong or right about this? Do you know?

The supersonic QF-4 is a reusable full-scale target drone modified from the F-4 Phantom. The QF-4 provides a realistic full-scale target for air-to-air weapons system evaluation, development and testing at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., and Holloman AFB, N.M.

Features
The QF-4 is a remotely controlled target, which simulates enemy aircraft maneuvers. The drone can be flown by remote control or with a safety pilot to monitor its performance. The drone is flown unmanned when missiles are fired at it, and only in specific over-water airspace authorized for unmanned flight. When flown unmanned, an explosive device is placed in the QF-4 to destroy the aircraft if it inadvertently becomes uncontrollable.

The QF-4 is equipped to carry electronic and infrared countermeasures to fully evaluate fighters and weapons flown and fired against it. Full-scale drone aircraft can be flown totally by computer using the Gulf Range Drone Control System, or controlled manually during takeoff and landing using a mobile control station located at the drone runway. As a safety precaution, a chase plane trails the drone during critical periods of flight.
Factsheets : QF-4 Drone

Actually Cold these dones have been around for a LONG LONG time they have been taking them from the boneyard down here in Tucson and refitting them as targets for years to test missile systems and ACM for aviators. The experience gained in that I am sure has been transffered to the X-47B.

 

[Navy1960]

The F-35 is VTOL correct? I see virtually ZERO need for VTOL fighter jets. At least as long as we are the ONLY nation with SuperCarriers.

Only the Marine Corps and the UK version are the USAF and Navy version are conventional versions.

Bachmann’s first flight was in F-35 AA-1, a conventional takeoff and landing variant with controls and flying qualities essentially identical to the short takeoff/vertical landing (STOVL) F-35B. The F-35B will replace Marine Corps AV-8B STOVL fighters and F/A-18 strike fighters. It will be the Marines’ primary fighter, and will provide a unique combination of capabilities: stealth, supersonic speed, STOVL basing flexibility and network-enabled mission systems.

Bachmann is the second active-duty service member to fly the F-35. U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. James "Flipper" Kromberg first piloted the Lightning II on Jan. 30, 2008. Bachmann has more than 2,000 hours of flight time in more than 30 different types of aircraft and is currently qualified in the F/A-18 A-F.

http://www.lockheedmartin.com/news/press_releases/2009/090319ae_f35b_marine-flight.html

 

[NYcarbineer]

I think getting into another good old fashioned arms race with the Russians would be a great idea.

I mean, we're swimming in cash and really don't have anything important to spend it on...

 

[Navy1960]

Here you go Cold on the UCAV Front...

SAN DIEGO — It will be a much-watched but close-hold event in the Mojave Desert north of Los Angeles in November, when the unmanned bomber drone takes to the air for its first real flight sortie.

That maiden flight of the X-47B at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., will be a key milestone in its test program. Its next critical test will be landing on an aircraft carrier at sea.

The batwing X-47B is Northrop Grumman’s design for a tailless, pilotless autonomous aircraft that can remotely launch and recover aboard aircraft carriers. The aircraft, which Northrop Grumman and the Navy in December unveiled as the UCAS-Demonstrator — short for unmanned combat air system — will go “wheels up” in early November.

Sea trials are planned to begin in 2011 on the East Coast aboard the carriers Harry S. Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower, said Tim Beard, a retired rear admiral and pilot who is leading Northrop Grumman’s X-47B program on carrier integration.

In 2007, Northrop Grumman got a $636 million Navy contract to build a carrier-based aircraft and inherited a UCAS program worth $809 million that “all of a sudden got sea legs,” Beard said.
X-47B scheduled to launch at sea in 2011 - Navy News, news from Iraq - Navy Times


X-47B will operate above 40,000 feet, fly at high subsonic speeds and have a combat radius of 1,500 nautical miles. In addition to capabilities needed for the UCAS Demonstration, X-47B has an internal payload capacity of 4,500 pounds and provisions for a variety of sensors, including EO, IR, SAR, GMTI and ESM.
U.S. Navy's Unmanned Combat Air System Demonstration (UCAS-D) Program

Just think guys. All those years of playing MS Flight Simulator will have paid off.

This is awesome.

I think the kids with X-Boxes and PS-III will be the guys at the helm. The only worry I have is having our OWN jets hi-jacked electronically. Can we do enough to prevent that or should we be looking into AI type craft?

Either way it seems like the OBVIOUS choice for future aircraft. Like I said before NO ROOM needed for an unmanned aircraft and higher G turns.

WASHINGTON -- Militants in Iraq have used $26 off-the-shelf software to intercept live video feeds from U.S. Predator drones, potentially providing them with information they need to evade or monitor U.S. military operations.

Senior defense and intelligence officials said Iranian-backed insurgents intercepted the video feeds by taking advantage of an unprotected communications link in some of the remotely flown planes' systems. Shiite fighters in Iraq used software programs such as SkyGrabber -- available for as little as $25.95 on the Internet -- to regularly capture drone video feeds, according to a person familiar with reports on the matter.
Insurgents Hack U.S. Drones - WSJ.com


This is an issue that came into focus last year and was an encryption problem that appears to have been overlooked on the Predator and the Reaper drone. The DoD claims that these problems have all been fixed but it does show that these systems are able to be hacked and leads to the bigger question of an over commitment of unmanned systems.

 

[Cold Fusion38]

Just think guys. All those years of playing MS Flight Simulator will have paid off.

This is awesome.

I think the kids with X-Boxes and PS-III will be the guys at the helm. The only worry I have is having our OWN jets hi-jacked electronically. Can we do enough to prevent that or should we be looking into AI type craft?

Either way it seems like the OBVIOUS choice for future aircraft. Like I said before NO ROOM needed for an unmanned aircraft and higher G turns.

WASHINGTON -- Militants in Iraq have used $26 off-the-shelf software to intercept live video feeds from U.S. Predator drones, potentially providing them with information they need to evade or monitor U.S. military operations.

Senior defense and intelligence officials said Iranian-backed insurgents intercepted the video feeds by taking advantage of an unprotected communications link in some of the remotely flown planes' systems. Shiite fighters in Iraq used software programs such as SkyGrabber -- available for as little as $25.95 on the Internet -- to regularly capture drone video feeds, according to a person familiar with reports on the matter.
Insurgents Hack U.S. Drones - WSJ.com


This is an issue that came into focus last year and was an encryption problem that appears to have been overlooked on the Predator and the Reaper drone. The DoD claims that these problems have all been fixed but it does show that these systems are able to be hacked and leads to the bigger question of an over commitment of unmanned systems.

Yeah that is REALLY SCARY!! I seem to remember the first X-Box and PSII being illegal to send over seas because of their encryption. I could be wrong but I SEEM to recall it.

 

[Cold Fusion38]

That's why I wonder if AI aircraft may not be the future. Sorry X-Box geeks.

 

[Big Fitz]

I think the kids with X-Boxes and PS-III will be the guys at the helm. The only worry I have is having our OWN jets hi-jacked electronically. Can we do enough to prevent that or should we be looking into AI type craft?

Either way it seems like the OBVIOUS choice for future aircraft. Like I said before NO ROOM needed for an unmanned aircraft and higher G turns.

WASHINGTON -- Militants in Iraq have used $26 off-the-shelf software to intercept live video feeds from U.S. Predator drones, potentially providing them with information they need to evade or monitor U.S. military operations.

Senior defense and intelligence officials said Iranian-backed insurgents intercepted the video feeds by taking advantage of an unprotected communications link in some of the remotely flown planes' systems. Shiite fighters in Iraq used software programs such as SkyGrabber -- available for as little as $25.95 on the Internet -- to regularly capture drone video feeds, according to a person familiar with reports on the matter.
Insurgents Hack U.S. Drones - WSJ.com


This is an issue that came into focus last year and was an encryption problem that appears to have been overlooked on the Predator and the Reaper drone. The DoD claims that these problems have all been fixed but it does show that these systems are able to be hacked and leads to the bigger question of an over commitment of unmanned systems.

Yeah that is REALLY SCARY!! I seem to remember the first X-Box and PSII being illegal to send over seas because of their encryption. I could be wrong but I SEEM to recall it.

Ever see the movie "Toys"?

All nice and cute till later in the movie, and you see a real sinister prediction of things to come. Robin Williams and Joan Cusack are good. It's the second movie Robin Wright made but the two scene stealers are Michael Gambon and LL Cool J who play the villains, Leiland and Leslie Zevo.

Great film if you look for something more than Robin's shenanigans.

 

[DiveCon]

I wonder if the new Russian jet requires 18 hours of maintenance for every one hour of flight time like our F-22?

Thanks, the F-22 was being manufactured for no other reason to give jobs to a bunch of states. Basically it's useless.

We better hope the Russians NEVER develop the AK-47 of the Air Superiority fighter jet. Cheap, capable, AND easy to maintain. We would be seriously screwed. This aircraft is NOTHING but OLD avionics and OLD engines put in an airframe that looks like WE built it. I just LOVE to shred people with their OWN sources. If you actually READ his source you will find his OP is FANTASTICALY FLAWED! I mean I don't think I have seen an OP that is SO flawed as this one is.

its just that, a new "looking" airframe, but has nothing to actually compare with the F-22
in a dogfight, the F-22 would blow it out of the sky before the russian pilot ever knew there was an F-22 in the sky against him
the Russian avionics are that far behind ours

 

[L.K.Eder]

 

[DiveCon]

No we're not. We're building F-135's. A much better, more cost effective, airplane for what we need today. The F-22 is the plane for the war that was never fought.

Yes, I know that about the F22 being canceled by the military. But I was hearing rumors of the F35 also having problems being put into production. That was my only reason for concern. A gap in replacement technology.

As for the Warthog and B 52, I know they're being kept around because they're still effective. But, the airframes are hitting the wall, unless we're still building em.

Regardless, P-BO could give a shit about our national security except in how it reflects on his legacy.

Fitz the F-35 is a disaster of an aircraft and the DoD recently announced that it is slowing down the implementation of the F-35 and calling for more flight testing. The US Navy along with a few nations are having considerable problems trying to justify this aircraft and I agree with them.

The study, by the Navy’s aviation arm, says the cost to buy and operate that service’s version of the F-35 will be dramatically higher than predicted — 40 percent more than existing aircraft — and will put a serious squeeze on future budgets.

The report follows continued reports of F-35 development delays. It was also reported Jan. 6 that the 2011 Pentagon budget, set for release Feb. 1, will cut planned F-35 purchases.

The validity and accuracy of the Navy’s cost analysis is open to debate. Navy officials did not comment or elaborate on the study, but several veteran defense observers said it was a sign that many in the naval aviation ranks remain less than committed to buying the sea service’s version of the F-35.

By allowing the cost study to leak widely, "the Navy seems to be putting a log on the fire and prepping the battlefield to bail out" of the F-35 program, said Winslow Wheeler, director of the Strauss Military Reform Project and former longtime Senate defense staff member.
Navy F-35 study has fueled new speculation in the defense industry | Business | Dallas B...

In fact the F-35 was designed originally as a compliment to the F-22 not as a stand-alone system to work in all envelopes as the DoD is trying to make it work. It would be WELL worth the effort to actually let the services decide which is best for them rather than forcing this aircraft down their throats.

In July, Davis accused Boeing outright of spreading lies and half-truths about the F-35 in order to bolster the international sales campaign for the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet. He specifically called out Boeing for publicly predicting future cost overruns and delays for the F-35. Boeing responded: “People with greater insight [into the F-35 programme] than I are looking at the offerings available. Let people draw their own conclusions about why.”
More recently, a commentary written by Pierre Sprey, widely considered the conceptual father of the Lockheed F-16, claimed the F-35 would be an aerodynamic “dog” and outclassed in combat by the fighters it is replacing.
Davis shot back that the F-35’s turn-rate and manoeuvring is no different than the F-16, and the latter has stealth and far more advanced sensor fusion capability.
Another article appearing in the Australian press claimed the F-35 was “clubbed like a baby seal” in a classified US Air Force exercise.
Davis replied that the “basic wargame did not even involve an air-to-air scenario.” Some “excursion” scenarios did involve F-22s, but the F-35 was mentioned only tangentially.
F-35 programme officials bash critics, suspect hidden agenda-22/09/2008-Washington DC-Flightglobal.com

I guess a lot depends on what you want to believe in this, however the last time something like this was tried it was the F-111 which turned out to be a disaster for the US Navy and a good overall aircraft because it suited the mission for the USAF but not the Navy. The Navy eventually went with another aircraft called the F-14 which most know its long and storied history. In short this one size fits all solution like the F-35 is a VERY bad solution.

they tried to cram too many missions onto a single airframe
i said this way back when they first started to develop it

 

[Big Fitz]

I wondered about that too Navy1960. Thanks for the info.

thanks Dive for the error correction.

 

[DiveCon]

I wondered about that too Dive. Thanks for the info.

thank Navy1960 for the info, i just posted my opinion

 

[Political Junky]

I thought the Cold War was over, and Ronald Reagan won it. I guess that was more rightwing horseshit.

Yep

 

[Samson]

Thanks, the F-22 was being manufactured for no other reason to give jobs to a bunch of states. Basically it's useless.

No, the jobs were given to Lockheed-Martin, Boeing, General Motors, General Electric and all their suppliers.

There's a Military Industrial Complex that needs business opportunity, regardless of how imaginary the adversary becomes.

The F-22 is far from useless.