Originally Posted by
typerated
All true - but very very expensive.
1) We don't have a lot of money at the end of the defence budget after all the fancy toys have been bought, so can only afford a few grunts
2) As we have so few we have to make sure we can deploy them where needed ASAP
3) It cost a lot to have a fancy flying 3 ton truck to deploy them
4) Return to 1
If price was the driver then we should pull all the aircraft out of the boneyard and put them back to work. No matter the obsolescence, no matter the factor newer equipment has in giving the warfighter the best chance of completing the mission and returning safely.
It's just silly to think there a genuine comparison here and base that comparison on price.