Air Force getting a light fighter

It's for use in the smaller conflicts we are in that don't need an F-22. [Link]

The Air Force’s newest combat aircraft will be a “fixed-wing platform” for “strike, armed reconnaissance and advanced aircraft training in support of Irregular Warfare.” In other words, a light fighter — something the U.S. military hasn’t had in meaningful numbers since the Vietnam War.
Possible candidates range from modern small jets like the Alenia M-346 from Italy, to a revamped World War II P-51 Mustang called the “Enforcer.” The Brazilian Embraer Super Tucano, pictured, might have leg up, since the Navy is already using it in a similar role.
The idea is to quickly and cheaply build 100 rugged, easily deployable planes that can swing between bombing the bad guys one day, to training up local pilots the next day. In April, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz said he even wants pilots for these planes “to have language skills that’s a part of their repertoire.” The Air Force has long had special training teams for working with fledgling air forces in places like Iraq and Afghanistan, but in the future, the same teams might also fly combat missions.
The Air Force’s request for information for this new plane, published in late July, represents a big push inside the air service to get serious about small, dirty wars, stat. The new fighters are due by 2012. In the meantime, the Air Force is also buying dozens of cheap, manned surveillance planes and 60 light airlifters to bolster its new Irregular Warfare Wing. In all, the three new plane types will cost around $700 million — around the same cost as five F-22s.