However, Gates conveniently omitted the fact that he had fired Air Force leaders who opposed termination of the F-22, and that dozens of studies conducted inside and outside the Air Force had found a need for more than the 187 planes he decided to buy (the independent study his office commissioned to make the case for early termination recommended 260 planes, so it was quietly shelved).

FORBES: Inside Pentagon, Growing Alarm Over China's Military Prowess