The Rand corporation, which a few weeks ago said that the 4th generation fighters would club the F-35 Lightning II like a baby seal, is now saying that the USAF’s reliance on extremely high tech cutting edge aircraft is unlikely to work in a real war, and are failing now:

The Rand and CSIS reports both deliver sharply critical outlooks for the future of US airpower. The first suggests that the superior technology of next-generation US fighters are no match for superior numbers and geographic advantage. The second, entitled America’s Self-Destroying Airpower, concludes failures of strategy and planning have made the US military-industrial complex its own worst enemy.

The reports go on to describe, “widespread breakdowns across the US military’s acquisition system for developing and fielding modern combat aircraft.”

Speaking from my personal experience working on the Army’s Future Combat System, it ain’t limited to aircraft.

At its core is the problem that systems are too damn expensive.

Neither aircraft offers a meaningful increase in performance in current deployments, just added costs.