The F-22 was designed for air dominance/supremacy against it’s then (Soviet) 5th Gen. counterpart and late evolutions of Fulcrum/Flanker operated by not-so-friendly potential adversaries- in which function it succeeds- ’till at least 2020.
In fact, you could argue the F-22 murdered the MiG 1.44 on ‘the drawing board’ as not fit for purpose and facilitated a re-assesment of the PAK-FA tender in 2003, which, flex, is like the F-22- a military necessity, not an expensive luxury.
However, flex, Iraq/Afghanistan don’t render the Raptor redundant- just the wrong tool for the job. In fact, you could argue that it’s been a victim of its own success, but the ‘money’s no object’ bench-mark setting warplane can simply no longer justify its cost- LRIP simply raises unit costs and export orders (if Congress agrees) will require an ‘export version’ to be developed.
I’m also sceptical of certain future strike capabilities of the F-22, which would require a 2nd crew member for the workload- such as manned leader target hand-off to UCAVs, besides then why is the USAF ordering a brand-new manned intermediate stealth bomber?
As for US ground forces, a friend of mine (in the Gurkhas) has trained with them and claims they are lavishly equipped compared to the UK army- where radios don’t work, Land-Rover armour is a joke- oh, and at least USAF C-130s have flame-retardant foam in their wings- and the Britishers still don’t- Poor, very poor.
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