Serial Warriors- By 2020 the US is projected to have nearly 2,500 manned combat aircraft

[Orwellian_Ghost]

Here's part of the way that Secretary of Defense Robert Gates recently defended his decision to stop production of the F-22 Raptor, the U.S. Air Force's giant boondoggle of a fighter jet. "Consider," the secretary of defense said,

"that by 2020, the United States is projected to have nearly 2,500 manned combat aircraft of all kinds. Of those, nearly 1,100 will be the most advanced fifth generation F-35s and F-22s. China, by contrast, is projected to have no fifth generation aircraft by 2020. And by 2025, the gap only widens. The U.S. will have approximately 1,700 of the most advanced fifth generation fighters versus a handful of comparable aircraft for the Chinese…Only in the parallel universe that is Washington, D.C., would that be considered 'gutting' defense."

http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/175098/david_bromwich_america_s_serial_warriors