But you'd also have to account for the difference in optics and relative military importance between a frigate (a relatively less important platform) for the USN which is already huge and pretty much uncontested especially for anti-sub. Compare that to the invincible and unsurpassable aura the USAF has especially with fielding next generation platforms. This isn't a hypersonic missile gap where the relative urgency depends on the military posture and doctrine.
In terms of needs, the Constellation class is possibly more important than the F-47. Currently, the US has no frigates as the Oliver Perrys have been retired and the LCS ships are inadequate (for just about everything). What this means is that the USN doesn't have any dedicated ASW vessels, and the last of their dedicated minesweepers are supposed to be decommisioned by 2027. Without a proper frigate, the USN will have to use their Burkes to hunt down submarines and they'll have to use the nearly useless LCS ships for mine operations. In comparison, the USAF will at least be able to make do with F-35s until the F-47s are ready.
As for the F-47 itself, remember that the person with the final say on it was Trump so bear in mind what his personality is like. The Americans only ever said that the first flight of the plane was going to be sometime during his administration. That period ends in 2029 so what this tells us is that 1. they don't think it's going to happen in the next couple of years, and 2. that it's not going to be operational until after Trump's term. Circling back to Trump's personality, does he seem to be the kind of person
who gives a flip about any kind of optics after he's out of office?
With China keep developing new platforms and different variants, the US is going to have a difficult time keeping up. US has to spend alot more money to develop a comparable or variant platform compared to China. And U.S has to sacrifice or diverting funds from point A to point B. U.S wants to be a jack of all trade but they no longer can do that.
We see the example of diverting F35 procurement funds to use on other projects. Procuring 24 F35 is a joke. In their mind, they want 100 B-21, but I think they will build way less than that.
It's not even a matter of money. The reason the US wanted to axe the F/A-XX was because they didn't think they had the
people to design both it and the F-47 at the same time.
