I don't know how old these photos may be and I don't care—seeing a MiG-29 in various states of assembly, and attended by a fine-looking team of hard-working babushkas, is awesome. Bless our comrades at English Russia, where you can see more. [English Russia]

Each F-22 costs $143 million, and at stake is a $9 billion proposal to build 60 more Raptors over the next three years. Defense Secretary Robert Gates is fine with axing the program (as was the Bush administration, who has of course deferred the decision), favoring instead the development of unmanned UAVs that are more adept at the reconnaissance and surgical strikes used in fighting terrorists, not the air-to-air dogfights that would have been expected when facing up to a Soviet superpower with its own modern air force. The L.A. Times cites one such unmanned project as "a small blimp equipped with an automated high-powered sniper rifle that could provide a form of inexpensive but effective air support for platoons in Afghanistan."

The decision is a dicey one, because while saving money in the Pentagon's budget, a decision to axe the F-22 would mean a loss of jobs and defense contracts for U.S. workers. Unsurprisingly, the F-22's most vocal supporters are in Congress; the jet uses parts from 1,000 suppliers spread across 44 states. That's a lot of pork, and if we know there's one way to make someone sad, it's take away their pork. The NYTimes quotes Democratic congressman Norman Dicks saying “I think we’re going to keep the F-22 going, that’s my gut instinct." Someone tell this dude that "following your gut" is so over! [NYTimes, LA Times]

Science, of course! H211 LLC uses many of its jets for NASA-sponsored experiments, since they operate primarily out of Moffett field, a NASA-controlled airstrip that's conveniently located right next to Google's Mountain View HQ. The jet was acquired to carry scientific instruments that could not be rigged up to Boeing 757/767 and Gulfstream jets the company already operates, some of which were used to monitor the re-entry of the ESA's Jules Verne satellite. So other tech companies probably don't need to worry about an escalating proliferation of military hardware in preparation for a Silicon Vallery air superiority battle just yet. Détente! [">Mountain View Voice, NYTimes]

Yes, this is a Caterpillar quickly reducing one of the most groundbreaking fighter aircraft the world has seen to a smoking heap of scrap. Because while they will always look like they're from the future, the Nighthawk's facet-based stealth tech has its origins in the 1970s, and will be replaced by the F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning's more advanced systems, which are also cheaper to maintain. What is it about seeing stealth aircraft in a less-than-together state? Reassuring to know such scary-good tech is human, after all? [Ares]

Lockheed Martin sheepishly admits that fixes are on the way, scheduled for the 2008 to 2013 timeframe. Meanwhile, those pilots better learn to talk fast. Maybe they could go to a school for auctioneers. – Charlie White

Fixing the Raptor [Defense Tech]