| Welcome to Philippines Defense Forces Forum. We hope you enjoy your visit. You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use. If you join our community, you'll be able to access member-only sections, and use many member-only features such as customizing your profile, sending personal messages, and voting in polls. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free. Join our community! If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features: |
| F-22 Raptor; News & updates | |
|---|---|
| Topic Started: Jan 1 2005, 12:39 PM (8,644 Views) | |
| adroth | Jan 1 2005, 12:39 PM Post #1 |
|
Member
  ![]](http://z1.ifrm.com/static/1/pip_r.png)
|
Production of F/A-22 could stop soon, but F-35 isn't far off By Bob Cox Star-Telegram Staff Writer http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/10529582.htm?1c  Production of Lockheed Martin's F/A-22 Raptor fighter jet could grind to a halt within just a few years if the Defense Department succeeds in scaling back the program. One defense consultant said Wednesday that if the Pentagon's reported plan to reduce F/A-22 orders to about 160 planes is approved, production cuts would start taking effect after the 2007 budget year and production could end by about 2010. But in Fort Worth, where 1,500 people work on the F/A-22 program, the cutbacks would be muted by the expected buildup of production on the F-35 joint strike fighter. It remains to be seen, said Loren Thompson of the Lexington Institute, whether Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld can sell his plan to a Congress where many members criticize his leadership. "It's quite possible he simply cannot maintain these cuts," Thompson said. Air Force officials declined to comment Wednesday on reports that the Pentagon has told the White House and Congress that it will sharply cut the program. The plans were reported Wednesday by The New York Times. The F/A-22 is a joint project of Lockheed and Boeing. Boeing builds the wings and tail and provides much of the electronics. Lockheed builds the midfuselage in Fort Worth, with about 1,500 people working on the program; about 2,000 more work on final assembly in Marietta, Ga. The F-35 should be edging toward higher production rates in Fort Worth just as the F/A-22 cutbacks would occur. Lockheed employs about 16,000 at its Fort Worth plant, working on the F-35, F/A-22 and the F-16 programs. Senior Air Force leaders have said the F/A-22 was their top procurement priority and that they needed at least 381 planes. About 72 planes have been delivered or are in the pipeline. Plans called for ordering 24 in 2005, 26 in 2006 and 32 in 2007 and for several years afterward. Reports that the Pentagon wants to cut F/A-22 purchases come little more than a week after one of the high-tech fighters crashed on takeoff at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. Twenty-eight Raptors remain grounded as a safety precaution, Air Force spokesman Doug Karas said, with no timetable for returning to flight. Karas said the Air Force would not comment on its budget plans "until the president's budget goes to Congress early next year." Lockheed spokesman Joe Quimby, based in Marietta, said the company had received no notice of any change in the Air Force's plans for buying F/A-22s. "We stand by our commitment to producing the number of aircraft the Air Force requires," Quimby said. Lockheed shares (ticker: LMT) dipped on the news, falling $1.51 a share to close at $55.25. The stock has fallen more than 10 percent from its early December high of $61.77. Stocks of other defense companies have taken hits in recent days as speculation mounts over potential budget cuts. The Air Force, Thompson said, is "very upset" about the Pentagon budget decision, which was approved Monday by Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz. "The senior Air Force leadership believes they cannot preserve global air superiority without the F/A-22." Pentagon and congressional critics say the need for the F/A-22 -- the costliest fighter ever built, with an estimated cost of more than $250 million each -- has diminished with the end of the Cold War and the lack heavily armed nations that pose a threat. Thompson said that critics will argue that the savings from buying fewer planes will help pay for the Iraq war, but he said savings from the proposed cuts wouldn't come for several years. Civilian Pentagon leaders, Thompson said, are using the budget pressures resulting from the Iraq war "as an excuse to rearrange the Air Force leadership's priorities." In recent months, Air Force leaders have talked openly of maintaining their planned F/A-22 purchases while reducing the numbers of F-35s they expect to procure to meet the tighter budgets expected in future years. Thompson, who said he was briefed on the budget document, said it's possible the Pentagon leadership could reverse the Air Force's priorities. Pentagon officials have to weigh not only the cost of supporting troops fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan but also planned future purchases of major weapons systems by all the armed services. "What they're worried about is when the F/A-22, F-35 and [the Navy's] F-18G all are in production simultaneously" along with increases for ships and other major weapons programs, said Paul Nisbet, an aerospace industry analyst with JSA Research. Nisbet says history shows that it's hard to predict how many of any aircraft the Pentagon will ultimately end up buying. Lockheed's F-16 "started at 800" planes in the mid-1970s, Nisbet said, "and now it's at more than 4,000." |
|
Status of AFP acquisitions: http://www.timawa.net/forum/index.php?board=34.0 Avatar c/o: http://www.proudlypinoy.org/  
| |
 |
 
|
| Liplock | Jan 1 2005, 01:33 PM Post #2 |
|
Unregistered
|
aah this is just propaganda to mislead people about US firepower |
|
|
|
| adroth | Jan 1 2005, 01:37 PM Post #3 |
|
Member
|
How exactly is this propaganda? |
|
Status of AFP acquisitions: http://www.timawa.net/forum/index.php?board=34.0 Avatar c/o: http://www.proudlypinoy.org/
| |
|
|
|
| Liplock | Jan 1 2005, 01:39 PM Post #4 |
|
Unregistered
|
well the US will not disclose full capabilities so competing countries think thef22 is no more or they are mislead by the actual numbers what do you think? |
|
|
|
| Fallen Angel | Jan 2 2005, 09:56 AM Post #5 |
|
Trainee
|
Been redin too many conspiracy novels lately Liplock? |
|
|
|
| GKB02 | Dec 17 2005, 10:49 PM Post #6 |
|
Member
|
i saw today on cnn that the raptor is finally in combat service after 20 yrs. in development.   http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ac/f-22.htm that's psycho airpower!! 
|
 Golden Knight Battalion | |
|
|
|
| MSantor | Dec 18 2005, 02:08 AM Post #7 |
|
OLD NEWS. There's been 40+ Raptors operating at Tyndall Air Force Base in the US since 2003. USAF squadrons at Seymour Johnson AFB are also transitioning, so I've heard. |
|
|
|
| GKB02 | Dec 18 2005, 06:34 AM Post #8 |
|
Member
|
i think those will be the ones to see real combat action in iraq or afghanistan, maybe in iran or nokor in the future
|
|
Golden Knight Battalion | |
|
|
|
| israeli | Dec 18 2005, 10:35 AM Post #9 |
Senior Member
|
which between the F-15 and the F-16 will the F-22 replace in service? also, i was think if the development of the F/A-22 variant is already under way. 
|
| "I'm very determined. If I decide what something is worth doing, then I'll put my heart and soul to it. The whole ground can be against me, but if I know it is right, I'll do it. That's the business of a leader." - Lee Kuan Yew | |
|
|
|
| el_commandante | Dec 18 2005, 11:30 AM Post #10 |
Member
|
Actually the F22 is now called F/A-22, the F22 program is under fire in congress for its rising development cost, the reason for that is because, F22 is optimized for air to air role only, with secondary ground attack role. So some enterprising officials renamed the fighter into F/A22 to please the critics. |
|
|
|
| 3 users reading this topic (3 Guests and 0 Anonymous) | |
| Go to Next Page | |
| « Previous Topic · World Weapon Systems and Platforms · Next Topic » |
3:07 AM May 26