I think one might instead say that the military is trying to develop technology about two decades before it will actually see any use -- which means that stuff which is actually being used is nearly always using 10-20 years old technology.
The YF-22 development/demo contract was awarded in 1986. F-22s were deployed in war games in 2005 (19 years later), and saw combat in 2007 (21 years later). [1] So, there's about a 20 year lead between when we come up with a concept and finally work enough of the bugs out to have it deployed.
The F-35 is newer, and seems to be making progress. Its first planned deployment is 2017, and the JSF (Joint Strike Fighter) development contract was awarded in 1996. Lockheed Martin's X-35 beat Boeing in 2001, as the X-35 had less risk [2]. So, the F-35 is likely to have a similar two decade span between prototype and initial concepts and deployment.
In that time, of course, there will be advancements in electronics, stealth technology, and weapons -- and the new craft will be testing them. (That's why we have Edwards AFB.) So not all of the tech on these planes is 20 years old -- but I still don't think we can call that "ahead of its time".
The YF-22 development/demo contract was awarded in 1986. F-22s were deployed in war games in 2005 (19 years later), and saw combat in 2007 (21 years later). [1] So, there's about a 20 year lead between when we come up with a concept and finally work enough of the bugs out to have it deployed.
The F-35 is newer, and seems to be making progress. Its first planned deployment is 2017, and the JSF (Joint Strike Fighter) development contract was awarded in 1996. Lockheed Martin's X-35 beat Boeing in 2001, as the X-35 had less risk [2]. So, the F-35 is likely to have a similar two decade span between prototype and initial concepts and deployment.
In that time, of course, there will be advancements in electronics, stealth technology, and weapons -- and the new craft will be testing them. (That's why we have Edwards AFB.) So not all of the tech on these planes is 20 years old -- but I still don't think we can call that "ahead of its time".
1: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_Martin_F-22_Raptor 2: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_Martin_F-35_Lightning_...