>>508372283
They update them you know. Same with f-18s
F-15s and 18s are basically entirely different aircraft from their 70s forebarers, they just look the same

Also blank check engineering. In the Cold War days no expense was spared. Kind of like what China is doing now. You didn’t have to justify anything to the bean counters
If you wanted a part made of machined unobtainable alloy that hadn’t been invented yet, they would put together a team and invent it for you. If you wanted to do a 20 million dollar flight test because you got into a debate with a coworker and you couldn’t conclusively prove either side with math or models they would do it.
This was also pre Wall Street bloat and Microsoft and tech companies, so every nerd in the country who grew up watching the moon landing wanted to work for these companies. Literally the best and brightest the country had to offer designed these things
Ah how the times change