Teox82
17-03-2004, 14:08
F/A-22 Costs Rise Again, Price Tag Of $329 Million Each
(Source: POGO; issued Mar. 15, web-posted Mar. 16, 2004)
A new GAO report released today documents that the F/A-22 program costs continue to skyrocket, while the Department of Defense failed to justify ?why this aircraft is needed given current and projected threats.? According to the report, the Air Force will only be able to buy 218 rather than the originally planned 750 aircraft. According to POGO calculations, this means the per unit cost of the aircraft would be $329 million, but only assuming there are no overall program cost increases. In light of continued problems with the F/A-22, four military and taxpayer watchdogs called on the White House to cancel the F/A-22 (see below).
?There?s no place for weapons without a mission like the F/A-22 given the current budget squeeze. Our military?s transformation can not happen until we let go of these Cold War weapons,? said Eric Miller, Senior Defense Investigator.
Retired Air Force Colonel Everest Riccioni predicted these skyrocketing costs and declining number of purchases in a report published by POGO in 2001, ?Is the Air Force Spending Itself into Unilateral Disarmament?? Here is an excerpt:
?The F-22 was conceived on my watch at the Flight Dynamics Laboratory. It was intended to be able to fly deep into the heart of the former Soviet Union at supersonic speeds and without being detected so as to intercept and destroy Russian bomber well before they could carry and drop nuclear bombs on the United States or our allies...it was projected to fulfill its mission at a bargain basement cost per unit of about $50 million or about the same price as the F-15C, the aircraft it was meant to replace...even as it cost projections have quadrupled, the Congressional Budget Office has informed me that the Air Force probably will only be able to afford 100 to 175 F-22s. This means the cost of the F-22 could escalate to insane levels -- beyond $350 million per aircraft. Meanwhile, the size of our Air Force?s fleet of fighters would be reduced to such a small number that we would, in effect, be rendering it impotent. The idea of replacing the current air superiority potential of 1600 F-15s and F-16s which are admittedly wearing out, with that of 175 F-22s, is manifestly absurd.?
Colonel Riccioni has no financial interest or stake concerning the F/A-22 and has made these comments in a desire to ensure that the best national security interests are met at the Pentagon.
Today POGO issued a Fighting with Failures Fact Sheet on the F/A-22.
The White House recently instructed the Pentagon to conduct a review of the F/A-22 and the Comanche helicopter (On February 23, the Army announced that the Comanche helicopter was cancelled, fueling speculation that the F/A-22 would be next. The F/A-22 is among the Cold War weapons that policymakers are considering cutting given their outdated missions.
POGO investigates, exposes, and seeks to remedy systemic abuses of power, mismanagement, and subservience by the federal government to powerful special interests. Founded in 1981, POGO is a politically-independent, nonprofit watchdog that strives to promote a government that is accountable to the citizenry.
http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ac/f-22-19990601-f-0000l-001.jpg
IMHO il discorso č ben diverso da quello del Comanche:l'elicottero era arenato in fase di prototipica,l'F-22 di serie č gią in consegnaper l'addestramento.Secondo me il bestione volerą con l'Usaf,al massimo verrą ridotto il quantitativo in favore di un maggior numero di F-35
(Source: POGO; issued Mar. 15, web-posted Mar. 16, 2004)
A new GAO report released today documents that the F/A-22 program costs continue to skyrocket, while the Department of Defense failed to justify ?why this aircraft is needed given current and projected threats.? According to the report, the Air Force will only be able to buy 218 rather than the originally planned 750 aircraft. According to POGO calculations, this means the per unit cost of the aircraft would be $329 million, but only assuming there are no overall program cost increases. In light of continued problems with the F/A-22, four military and taxpayer watchdogs called on the White House to cancel the F/A-22 (see below).
?There?s no place for weapons without a mission like the F/A-22 given the current budget squeeze. Our military?s transformation can not happen until we let go of these Cold War weapons,? said Eric Miller, Senior Defense Investigator.
Retired Air Force Colonel Everest Riccioni predicted these skyrocketing costs and declining number of purchases in a report published by POGO in 2001, ?Is the Air Force Spending Itself into Unilateral Disarmament?? Here is an excerpt:
?The F-22 was conceived on my watch at the Flight Dynamics Laboratory. It was intended to be able to fly deep into the heart of the former Soviet Union at supersonic speeds and without being detected so as to intercept and destroy Russian bomber well before they could carry and drop nuclear bombs on the United States or our allies...it was projected to fulfill its mission at a bargain basement cost per unit of about $50 million or about the same price as the F-15C, the aircraft it was meant to replace...even as it cost projections have quadrupled, the Congressional Budget Office has informed me that the Air Force probably will only be able to afford 100 to 175 F-22s. This means the cost of the F-22 could escalate to insane levels -- beyond $350 million per aircraft. Meanwhile, the size of our Air Force?s fleet of fighters would be reduced to such a small number that we would, in effect, be rendering it impotent. The idea of replacing the current air superiority potential of 1600 F-15s and F-16s which are admittedly wearing out, with that of 175 F-22s, is manifestly absurd.?
Colonel Riccioni has no financial interest or stake concerning the F/A-22 and has made these comments in a desire to ensure that the best national security interests are met at the Pentagon.
Today POGO issued a Fighting with Failures Fact Sheet on the F/A-22.
The White House recently instructed the Pentagon to conduct a review of the F/A-22 and the Comanche helicopter (On February 23, the Army announced that the Comanche helicopter was cancelled, fueling speculation that the F/A-22 would be next. The F/A-22 is among the Cold War weapons that policymakers are considering cutting given their outdated missions.
POGO investigates, exposes, and seeks to remedy systemic abuses of power, mismanagement, and subservience by the federal government to powerful special interests. Founded in 1981, POGO is a politically-independent, nonprofit watchdog that strives to promote a government that is accountable to the citizenry.
http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ac/f-22-19990601-f-0000l-001.jpg
IMHO il discorso č ben diverso da quello del Comanche:l'elicottero era arenato in fase di prototipica,l'F-22 di serie č gią in consegnaper l'addestramento.Secondo me il bestione volerą con l'Usaf,al massimo verrą ridotto il quantitativo in favore di un maggior numero di F-35