“Wait until Gates stops future f22 procurement. … Combination of smaller air forces flying the latest Russian jets will beat us.”

Except that Secy. Gates is right. Manned fighter aircraft are obsolete.

If we can run Predator UAVs in Iraq from Nevada, we can run fighter UAVs as well. They might have to be run from closer. But so what?

Imagine, if you will, a UAV capable of Mach 4 and 15G turns. Being unmanned it does not need life support or emergency escape systems. Unmanned the craft can therefore be lighter and smaller. It is not limited by the ability of flesh and blood to survive the G’s pulled except by the strength of titanium. It can run higher temperatures. Nobody has to run a copter behind enemy lines to pick up a downed flier. Another considerable saving.

The mother ship could be something like a J-Star which could stand back a couple of hundred miles. Or the UAVs could be run by a ship with the assistance of a Global Hawk as the relay and reconnaissance.

BTW Aircraft Carriers are obsolete as well, at least ones of the Nimitz class. Flight decks could be much smaller. And crews less numerous.

The most important airplane will be the C-17.