While reading up on the F-35 program and the similar competing programs in Russia and China in making 5th generation fighters, I am a bit reminded of battleships.
A battleship was a must-have item for any nation who wanted to be counted as a power.
They were eye wateringly expensive.
They became so expensive that there appeared to be a great reluctance to put them where another battleship could shoot at them.
They were also scary enough to the other side that much planning and effort went into neutralizing them.
I wonder if we're seeing something of a rhyming repeat here.
A battleship was a must-have item for any nation who wanted to be counted as a power.
They were eye wateringly expensive.
They became so expensive that there appeared to be a great reluctance to put them where another battleship could shoot at them.
They were also scary enough to the other side that much planning and effort went into neutralizing them.
I wonder if we're seeing something of a rhyming repeat here.