Dont get me wrong, I'm happy to see the new birds coming. I mean, 18 F-22's is like, 10% of their operational birds I think. Plus we just got the C-17's last month, so thats alot of big money rolling into the bases here. Add to that another sub in our pens, and promises of a new carrier strike force sometime in the next decade, thats making alot of people here happy. There's alot of details to work out before that last one can happen, but the rest is already here or on its way. Financially I'm glad to see it. And I'm not above being jazzed at seeing one fly overhead and thinking about all the cool gadgets and gizmos in one of those things. I'm gonna miss seeing those F-15's flying over though. I still think one of my favorite memories is standing in Lambert Airport in St Louis back in the late 70's or early 80's and watching an F-15 roll out of the McDonnell Douglas facility and take off straight up from the runway standing on its tail like a rocket launching.
Its a good point though, just because I'm reading published data on the F-22, who's to say its right? These guys just publish what the military issues them.
I am curious though, what the maintenance costs would be of a brand new F-15 or F-14 vs a F-22?