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FA-22 Fighter Aircraft
POGO Files
Related Resources (government documents and letters)
POGO in the News
POGO Files
Preying On The Taxpayer: The F-22A Raptor July 25, 2006
In June, the Senate authorized the government to purchase 20 F-22A Raptor fighter jets each year for 2008, 2009, and 2010 using a multiyear procurement (MYP) strategy. If Lockheed, the aircraft's manufacturer is able to secure MYP status, it would essentially lock the government into buying the 60 additional troubled F-22A's and minimize the possibility that the program could suffer further funding cuts. An MYP would also result in the American taxpayers paying Lockheed $1 billion more than they would under the normal annual procurement process.
Is the Air Force Spending Itself into Unilateral Disarmament? August 2, 2001
With its ever increasing commitment to complex, expensive, high-tech weapons and willingness to advance the cause of defense contractors, the Pentagon is on a path that will actually degrade U.S. fighting forces. For example, at the start of the cold war, America's long-range bombing fleet consisted of 1,380 B-47s and 680 B-52s. Those bombers have declined significantly in number since the advent of fewer and more expensive bombers like the B-1B and B-2 Spirit.
The U.S. military budget is fast approaching cold war spending levels, and the cost of developing, testing and procuring new military aircraft is spinning out of control. As the per copy cost of military aircraft rises, older aircraft are not being replaced on a one-to-one basis. The cause for concern: The number of aircraft in the U.S. fleet is declining so fast that the Air Force’s control of the skies could be threatened in the future.
Will We Ever Fly Before We Buy? F-22 Doesn't Meet Basic Testing Criteria January 2, 2001
The Pentagon is rushing to begin production of the F-22 fighter without first meeting all testing requirements imposed by Congress. This report exposes the plan to recommend releasing $2.1 billion for 10 F-22 fighters even though the aircraft has not met as many as five out of 11 testing criteria required to be met before funding is released. This first wave of the production process, known as low-rate initial production, is expected despite Congress' clear directive in the defense budget bills of 2000 and 2001 that F-22 production funding only be released if all 11 testing criteria are met. The Pentagon should not only adhere to these very minimal testing criteria before going into production, it should set a higher standard requiring that all operational testing be completed, particularly of the avionics (the eyes, ears and brain of the plane) prior to costly buys of new aircraft like the F-22. No greater lesson than this was learned from the "buy before fly" B-1 and B-2 bomber fiascos.
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Related Resources
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POGO in the News
The Progress Report: A Victory For Sensible Defense, By Faiz Shakir, Amanda Terkel, Matt Corley, Benjamin Armbruster, Ian Millhiser and Nate Carlile, The Huffington Post; The Progress Report is the daily policy newsletter of the Center for American Progress Action Fund, July 22, 2009 Top
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