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The principal function of all of these 'big ticket' weapons systems (note they are systems which sounds so much more forceful than just fighter plane or bomber) is their cost. the higher the cost the more effective because destroying the enemy is not their primary function. That is the justification for providing billions of dollars of corporate welfare. Weapons procurement is the only large scale way of transferring government money (taxed, borrowed or just printed) from one part of the economy to another. Mostly this is the productive part that creates things that are used a tool to help create more wealth like machine tools, control electronics and transportation to the sector that absorbs wealth like military spending. Building weapons instead of machine tools wastes money in both ways.
I am not by any means a pacifist. I believe we need an effective military armed with effective weapons. More enemy have been killed with a $5,000 Barrett rifle than with a 35 million dollar F-35. Our current military is not doing this because the big ticket items like the F-35 waste money that should be used to build a 21st century A-10 for close air support. Not to just pick on the Air Force I believe spending 2 billion dollars on an Navy Aircraft Carrier is just providing an enemy with 21st century air breathing submarines with a Big Fat Target.
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