On 22 Feb 2004 14:00:17 -0800,
Henry J. Cobb wrote:
http://www.newhousenews.com/archive/wood021204.html
The Air Force has spent $32 billion on its new F-22 supersonic stealth
fighter. Twenty aircraft have come off the production line and
hundreds more are planned.
...
But rigorous, independent field testing -- to find out if the F-22
actually works -- hasn't yet begun.


To conduct rigorous, independent field testing you need planes to test
and it is a unfortunate part of the arms business that it costs money
to design, build, test and field the things.

Imagine the same conversation has occurred over and over going back to the
invention of the sharp stick.