I agree the F-22 is a legit fighter. The F-35 has a slightly different role and is similar (not as good though) but has been designed to sell to allies as well, since we do not want to sell them the F-22 technology.
I agree unmanned is not going to happen overnight, but the future will be in unmanned in my opinion and not in airplanes such as the F-22. One major concern of mine as well is our nuclear force. We are faced with an aging force structure and we are banning ourselves from testing new warheads, or even building new warheads, which I think we will need.
Cyber security is going to be a major problem. However, the best computers in the world will be rendered totally useless by an EMP attack. China is weaponizing EMP today that is non-nuclear. If they have this capability, they could detonate an EMP (or multiple) in space to eliminate our satellite technology, rendering us almost powerless. I think an over-reliance on computers, especially as China pursues that option, is a mistake. I think in this regard we need to establish a declaratory policy that we will view the use of EMP as a nuclear first strike, requiring a full retaliation as such.
I do not really buy into the economic dependency theory personally. I would argue that if you look back in history, especially in Europe, economies were often heavily connected and still massive wars still occurred. For example, look at the 30 years war. I would argue before this war, the economies of Europe were as connected as they have been in modern times, and yet massive war still erupted.
As you point out, we cannot bank on this, and we must prepare for the worst.
