I can certainly buy the narrative that the military is spending too much money or designing weapons for the 'last war'. Yet I have a nagging suspicion that this

I can certainly buy the narrative that the military is spending too much money or designing weapons for the 'last war'. Yet I have a nagging suspicion that this is like the business users complaining that IT won't just buy everyone $200 laptops to save money. Devil's advocate: what could the Airforce's rationale be? I hate to write off the professionals so quickly. If you need a turboprop attack plane to deal with a specific threat, you can fast track something cheaply because it's a widely known/used technology. The converse isn't true. You can't go back and decide you need a top tier $trillion fighter in a month. Loiter time is important. Yet most military engagements in history are decided by speed and firepower.