The F-22s cost 142 million a piece. If you factor in sunken costs like R&D, you get the $360 million figure.

Then just buy 480 more F-18E/Fs and save even more money.

I just crunched some numbers.

Let's say that F-35s will cost $112 million per unit, which means another $273 billion.

Now, lets say that the Air Force buys 200 more F-22s ($142 million unit) and 1,413 F-16s ($50 million unit.

Let's say that the Navy buys 480 navalized F-22s, and that they cost $170 million unit, and the Marines buy 350 new AV-8s at $70 million unit.

That would be $205 billion.

If we alter this scenario so that the Navy buys 120 F-22s and 360 F-18s, then we're looking at $162 billion, and the Navy gets full blown air superiority back!

Here's the spreadsheet that I used:
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AjAFj01_LejfdFRVamZLdW03dkVhb2FldERONWN4b3c&hl=en

"And flush ALL those dollars already spent down the toilet"

Those dollars are a sunken cost and are not retrievable. They should never be factored into decision making. If the program is no longer a good value, then continuing to fund it is simply throwing good money after bad.

"Then, what do we buy?
For the Air Force, more F-22s and more F-16s. That's a real high/low mix. We need more than 187 air superiority fighters, so building more F-22s, especially now that they cost not much more than an F-35, is obvious. The F-16 is still very capable, especially with modern avionics, and maybe even an F119 engine thrown in.

For the Navy, more F-18s, perhaps with more fuel efficient engines. Let's face it, the F-18 may not be a credible air superiority fighter, but neither is the F-35.

For the Marines, build new AV-8Bs.

For the DoD, a lesson not to ever pull an F-111/F-35 again.

For Lockheed Martin, a lesson that taxpayers will not continue throw money at their mismanagement.

As of February 2008, it was about $30 billion according to this article: http://www.slate.com/id/2183592/pagenum/all/

Let China have Taiwan.

What is holding China together is a highly centralized government. If Taiwan becomes part of the PRC, the economic power center of China will become less centered. Taiwan, as well as Taiwanese firms and affluent individuals, will exert influence from within. China, in my opinion, will begin to fracture, and eventually devolve into several nations, including a once again independent Taiwan.

Let's see if the Chinese Government is foolish enough to take that Trojan horse by force.