A Wall Street Journal editorial provides a cogent analysis of the situation facing the nation—not just the Air Force—with the extended grounding of the F-15 Eagle fleet. In discussion of the potential increase in orders for F-22s, the WSJ’s bottom line: “We think it’s an investment worth making.” But isn’t it too expensive? No, says WSJ, noting that oft publicized dollar figures include R&D costs and declaring, “We have a long way to go before any weapons systems is more than the US can really afford.” There is no way to predict what adversaries of the future will field, but expensive and highly advanced systems are possible. WSJ concludes, “Replacing our faltering Eagles with additional Raptors may be expensive, but allowing our neglect to be exploited by those who wish us harm would be ruinous.” Well said.
Anduril and General Atomics will develop their Collaborative Combat Aircraft for the Air Force, beating out Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman, the service announced on April 24. But any of the non-selected companies can compete to actually manufacture the eventual design, the Air Force said.