Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Do you want to know how many errors there are in this story? 1st, they are not all retired yet, that won't happen until 22 April. 2nd, none are at Wright Pat, they are all going back to Tonapah Test Range, to the same hangers they first flew out of. 3rd, the Raptor doesn't do the same mission as the F-117 -- the 117 is a deep interdiction small bomber. The Raptor is an Air superiority and Destruction of enemy air defenses platform -- it is not now and never will be equipped for interdiction. To answer some of the above comments, yes it is still more advanced than anything the enemies have, and yes, some of our enemies have jets that are near peers for the F-22 in many respects in it's air superiority mission, but nothing that can do what a 117 does. Incidentally, the military doesn't sell weapons overseas, congress does. The 117 was never meant to go fast -- that is not a skill needed for it's mission. The raptor is actually quite a bit more expensive to operate, BTW. The 117s are not being kept operationally ready -- they are in "recallable status". All that means is they are being preserved. The wings are being removed in order to pack them into hangers closer together. At least 3 stealths are going on static display -- two in california and one at Holloman AFB. And finally, the versions of jets that are sold overseas do not have all of the electronics and other classified gizmos that make the difference between 1st place and also ran. They get an airframe that they have to "dress up" on their own.