I'm obviously missing something

So. A few months ago, to great fanfare, the administration cut off further production of the F-22 Raptor fighter aircraft. The system was deemed a Cold War relic, unnecessary in this age of no peer competitors (this aircraft, conveniently, hadn't made its media debut yet). Instead of buying more expensive, more capable Raptors, the Defense Department would focus instead on buying larger numbers of less expensive F-35 Joint Strike Fighters.

Trouble is, just as the F-22 -- the only other game in town -- was canceled, the cost of that 'less expensive option' went through the roof... or at least the Nunn-McCurdy limits:

The cost of each next-generation F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) aircraft has ballooned from $50 million per craft in 2001 to more than $113 million in 2010.

Before anyone says "well, that's still $30 million less than a Raptor," Remember that air superiority is the Air Force's raison d'etre. The Raptor was designed for that role. The JSF was not... it was intended to operate in an environment where superiority already exists. And now that the JSF operational timetable has slipped (again), there's plenty of time to close that $30 million per copy gap. Meanwhile, the much-smaller-than-planned fleet of F-22s will continue to age, perhaps reaching the latter stages of their useful lifespan before the first operational F-35 ever hits the pavement.

Better "fly the friendly skies" while you still can...