Who is going to buy the new fighter? I don't know, and if I did I wouldn't be sitting making the peanuts I do. The French do not have our best interests in mind, they have their own. I can't fault them for that, but I don't trust them either. Remember they were a primary violator of the Food for Oil scam program.
I saw specs on the fighter being developed in an article about scraping the F-22 a while back. It is a better all around aircraft than our older fighters but not as good as the F-22. I agree that many times it will be a one shot one kill type of aerial fight. Do we want to be up there with a loud and very visible aircraft or something that quieter and more stealthy? The winner will most likely be the one who sees the enemy first. It has been proved many times that the technology isn't always the deciding factor in a fight. In this case since were are delving into stealth technology I think it might be a little different.
When the Iraqi soldiers were asked what they feared the most it was the B-52. In the first Iraq War this aircraft was used in areas that had little civilian population. It was used as a traditional carpet bombing aircraft. I have no doubt the B-52 would not be used in a urban environment. It can be used in a higher threat area. If it is, you will see the number of our aircraft being shot down skyrocket. The high threat areas are struck by stealthy B-2's and F-117's and unmanned vehicles.
Each aircraft has a role. The F-22 is an air superiority fighter. Ask any military strategist, who knows what they are talking about, and you will see that taking and holding the high ground in paramount to a successful operation. That is all the fighters are designed to do. If we do not have the technology to accomplish this task then the rest of the spending on the military is wasted money. Ask any grunt, when they are in trouble who do they call for. It isn't more ground pounders. It is artillery, helicopters, fighters, and missiles.