F-22 Raptors flying near a U.S. air base in Arizona. United States Air Force, via Bloomberg NewsBoom Times In Warplane Industry Fade Into History -- New York Times
At the height of the Cold War, the Paris and Farnborough Air Shows could usually be relied on to produce new military products every year. It was a boom period for prime contractors in the field and for their legions of suppliers and parts manufacturers. A number of programs started in that period, like the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor, the EADS Typhoon Eurofighter, Dassault’s Rafale and the Saab Gripen, continue to come off the assembly line.
But their days are numbered (F-22 production is due to end within a year or two) and successors are scarcely to be seen outside of China and Russia.
Read more ....
My Comment: What does not help the situation is when you have marketing people who are not interested in promoting your product, and when you have the cream of your Air Force fleet grounded.