i know the difference between airworthiness status and mission ready status, even with the few things left to sort out, the sprites were mission capable. of the armament they can carry, all but one system was 100% ready. being public forum, im not going to discuss mission capabilities or the issues for that side of things with anyone.
as for the F22, its not a case of not being able to afford the capability, but a case of you cannot buy what is Not for sale.
regardless of who was responsible, the decision has sadly been made...
what will be replacing the Sprites is 10 more Seahawks and a rumored increase in the order of the MRH90