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 Decade-old Design Flaw Puts Fighter in Shop: Raptor’s makers knew long ago of a corrosion issue that’s costing millions to fix at Hill, The Salt Lake Tribune, by Matthew D. LaPlante, October 21, 2007.The manufacturers of the Air Force's newest fighter jet knew years ago that the composition of some mechanical access panels made the F-22 Raptor susceptible to corrosion. Military officials even changed the design to fix the problem. But a decade later in a program already fraught with setbacks, the design flaw reappeared. Now, about two-thirds of the military's fleet of Raptors are suffering from corrosion, prompting the Air Force to speed up the timeline for bringing the aircraft through Hill Air Force Base for maintenance. "So the world's most expensive, most advanced aircraft is in the shop for repairs for something simple that someone figured out a long time ago?" said Nick Schwellenbach, national security investigator for the Project On Government Oversight. "I'd like to say I was outraged, and it is outrageous," Schwellenbach said, "but it's all too common." The Project on Government Oversight has exposed numerous other problems with the Raptor, which costs more than $130 million per plane - and nearly three times that when research, development and other costs are factored in. Originally intended to be mission-ready by 1997, the Raptor has been plagued by cost overruns and delays. Billed as the most advanced fighter jet in the world, the aircraft has yet to fly a single combat mission.  Report faults ex-chief of defense institute, Washington Post, December 20, 2006, by R. Jeffrey Smith.The Defense Department's inspector general has concluded that the former head of the Institute for Defense Analyses violated conflict-of-interest rules when he failed to distance himself from two reports that could have affected companies in which he had a financial interest. The IDA is a government-funded independent organization that evaluates defense programs for the Pentagon. In a report, the inspector general found that retired Navy Adm. Dennis C. Blair had not altered the conclusions of two IDA reports on the F-22 fighter, in August 2005 or May 2006, nor had he abused his position as IDA president for personal benefit. But the inspector general's report said Blair was aware of the rules and had chosen not to disqualify himself in the review of the fighter aircraft. Blair, who resigned from his post when the institute's board of trustees reached a similar conclusion in September, was allowed to serve on the boards of directors of two subcontractors to the F-22 program -- EDO Corp. and Tyco International Ltd. -- when he joined the IDA. … The inspector general's report said Blair told investigators that he was unaware of Tyco's role in the F-22 program at the time of the IDA's F-22 studies. After his link to EDO and the two IDA reports were criticized by the Project on Government Oversight, a nonprofit watchdog group, Blair resigned from the EDO board, donated his EDO shares to a fund that benefits injured military veterans, and forfeited his remaining stock options, according to the Pentagon report. Defense Appropriations Bill Larded with Wasteful Weapons, CNN Lou Dobbs Tonight, October 2, 2006.LISA SYLVESTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The defense appropriations bill is full of pork. … SYLVESTER: Congress approved $26 million for badly needed night vision goggles for U.S. troops, but $5.5 million of that money has been earmarked to pay for a telescope at the Air Force Academy. There are big ticket items as well, 22 C-17 cargo jets, seven more than either the House or Senate approved, made by Boeing. Sixty F-22 fighter jets will be purchased over the next three years, an Air Force pet project. Todd Bowers served two combat tours in Iraq. TODD BOWERS, PROJECT ON GOVT. OVERSIGHT: It makes it difficult for me to realize that there's guys over there having a hard time getting simple needs such as water, food and what not. Yet we have enough money to ensure that we're going to have enough F-22s to keep Lockheed Martin happy. Air Force jets wins battle in Congress, New York Times, September 28, 2006, by Leslie Wayne.The F-22 Raptor fighter jet, the United States Air Force's most expensive weapon, is designed for global air dominance. But its biggest battles have not been in the skies, but in the corridors of power in Washington, where it has just taken on Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and Washington budget-cutters — and won. … Even as strong a critic of wasteful Pentagon spending as Senator John McCain, the Arizona Republican, who will become the next chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, as well as the committee's current chairman, Senator John W. Warner, a Virginia Republican, could not defeat the F-22 lobby. The two senators were able to extract some concessions in the closed-door House-Senate conference committee. But they could not muster the support to defeat the multiyear contract, in which F-22's would be acquired in a series of three-year contracts rather than annually. "The F-22 lobby is an extraordinary juggernaut and they fought to the death on this one," said Danielle Brian, executive director of the Project on Government Oversight, a Washington research group. "It is astonishing in that the lobby can take on the most powerful in Washington, including the president, and win." Congress debates dangers of exporting Pentagon’s prize jet, New York Times, (reprinted in International Herald Tribune) September 12, 2006, by Leslie Wayne.…The air force and Lockheed Martin, the plane's maker, arguing that the plane provides global aerial dominance, say they need to build more F-22s, potentially hundreds more. That is why they have gone around their ostensible bosses in the Pentagon and White House to push Congress to open the door so more of them can be made. One measure, passed by the House in July on a voice vote after only 11 minutes of discussion, would end a ban on F-22 sales abroad … But as geopolitical alliances shift, some military experts fear that some sales could come back to haunt the United States. Not only is there the risk that potential rivals could gain access to the Pentagon's most advanced technologies, but allowing countries to build up their arsenals for use in regional conflicts could also hurt American foreign policy interests and destabilize parts of the world. "I do not know if the House understands the extraordinary implications of selling a state-of-the-art plane overseas," said Danielle Brian, executive director of the Project for Government Oversight. "The argument for the F-22 was that it was needed because our own aircraft was being flown by potential enemies." A raptor for U.S. allies?, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, September 5, 2006, by Dave Hirschman.Congress has a law against selling technologically advanced F-22A Raptor fighters to foreign governments. But what about a no-frills model? Would Congress approve, or foreign governments buy, stripped down F-22As that still fly higher and faster than other fighters, but without the software that controls their avionics and weapons systems? U.S. Sen. John Warner (R-Va.), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, thinks a foreign deal is possible. … The Washington-based Project on Government Oversight and other groups also oppose foreign Raptor sales on philosophical grounds. Jennifer Gore, a POGO spokeswoman, said selling advanced weapons overseas increases defense costs for U.S. taxpayers over the long term. "We sell F-15s to foreign governments and they become the standard so we build F-22s," she said. "If we sell them overseas, then they'll become the standard and we'll build something else. That may be good for Lockheed —- but it's not good for U.S. taxpayers." High cost may slow Lockheed Martin’s F-22 Raptor, Dallas Morning News, August 29, 2006, by Richard Whittle.…Built partly in Fort Worth, the Lockheed Martin Corp. F-22 Raptor is the Air Force's newest, fastest, stealthiest and most potent fighter jet. … But the F-22 is also by far the priciest fighter plane around, and therein lies a problem for the Air Force, which originally wanted to buy more than 700. … The Project on Government Oversight, a group that has opposed the F-22 for years, fanned the flames of the debate with a July report that accused a top official of the group that did the cost study for the Air Force of having a conflict of interest. … POGO analyst Todd Bowers, a Marine reservist who has done two tours in Iraq, said that aside from questions about the Raptor's reliability, he worries that with so few in the inventory, their pilots risk getting outnumbered in a fight. "My concern is to spend so much money and have such a low number of aircraft," Mr. Bowers said. "Would an F-22 really be able to take down five [enemy] aircraft?" Edo director resigns amid conflict-of-interest charges, Newsday, August 2, 2006, by James Bernstein.A director of Edo Corp., the Manhattan-based defense electronics manufacturer with a large presence on Long Island, has resigned his post amid allegations of a conflict-of-interest by a Washington, D.C. think tank involving a $7 billion military airplane contract. Dennis Blair, 59, an Edo director since October 2002, told the company in a letter late Tuesday that he has resigned after the allegations raised by the public interest group Project on Government Oversight. Blair denied any wrongdoing. The public interest group said that it uncovered Securities and Exchange Commission documents indicating the Blair, a retired Navy admiral and former commander of U.S. Pacific forces, held several thousand shares and options in Edo, one of hundreds of contractors working on the Air Force's F-22A fighter plane program. The group said that Blair is president of a defense industry research institute -- the Institute for Defense Analysis -- that endorsed approval of a $7 billion contract to buy 60 F-22A airplanes. The group said that if the contract is finally approved, Blair stands to gain financially as an Edo shareholder. Pentagon reviews conflict-of-interest accusation, Reuters, July 31, 2006, by Andrea Shalal-Esa.The Pentagon's internal watchdog agency on Monday said it is reviewing allegations of conflict of interest involving the head of a federally funded think tank and his role on the board of EDO Corp. , a subcontractor for the F-22 fighter jet. The review was launched after key members of the Senate Armed Services Committee raised questions about reports that retired Navy Adm. Dennis Blair had "extensive ties" to EDO, a subcontractor to Lockheed Martin Corp on the F-22, said a spokesman for the Pentagon Inspector General's office. Blair is president of the Institute for Defense Analyses, a federally funded think tank and research group that has done several reports about the F-22. Last week, Blair said he would resign from the EDO board but did not say if he planned to sell his stock options and shares in the New York-based company. A watchdog group, Project on Government Oversight, last week said Blair owned 1,787 shares and 30,000 stock options in EDO. The company received nearly $90 million in contracts to help build the F-22, it said. Committee Chairman Sen. John Warner, ranking Democrat Sen. Carl Levin, a Michigan Democrat, and Sen. John McCain, an Arizona Republican, asked Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to review the matter in a letter dated July 26. The F-22’s Other Problem, TomPaine.com, July 28, 2006, by Ethan Heitner.What do you do when you've got the world's most expensive fighter jet and its canopy won't open correctly so you have to chainsaw free the hapless pilot? If you're the U.S. government, you sign up for an extended three-year contract to ensure you get even more of them than you originally wanted. … It's not just because the defense establishment loves airplanes for their own sake; it's to line their own pockets (you're shocked, I can tell). Today The Washington Post reports that due to outrage from senators and government oversight groups, the head of the supposedly-neutral federally funded Instititue for Defense Analysis (IDA), Retired Adm. Dennis C. Blair, anounced he will resign from his position on the board of EDO Corp., one of the major subcontractors on the F-22 fighter. The IDA was the thinktank whose study convinced the Air Force and the Defense Appropriations Committee of the Senate to not only buy more of the F-22 fighter jets, but to lock the government down into three year contracts instead of the standard annual contracts. This over the recommendations of several other groups, including the highly-respect GAO, that the F-22 was a waste of money. And Blair? Blair holds options to buy tens of thousands of shares of EDO stock, although he has exercised only a small portion, according to Securities and Exchange Commission filings. In an interview, Blair said he was heavily involved in the preparation of the report endorsing the multi-year procurement as the chairman of an internal review committee that approved its final form. The major credit for the investigation on this actually goes to the excellent Project On Government Oversight (POGO), who gave the info to the Washington Post. Their detailed report on the troubled history of the F-22 is a must read for anyone interested in how wasteful programs that not only don't function the way they are supposed to but which nobody wants end up getting more money thrown at them rather than being eliminated. Sen. Chambliss apologizes for Raptor leak accusation, The Hill, by Roxana Tiron, July 26, 2006.After Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) suggested yesterday that he believed that congressional staffers had leaked damaging information to the media pertaining to the F-22A Raptor, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) was quick to respond. … A few hours later, Danielle Brian, executive director of the independent Project on Government Oversight (POGO), told the Senate panel that her organization had given the information to the Post. Chambliss then apologized to McCain for implying that it was staff who leaked the information. … McCain, vice chairman of the Armed Services Committee and chairman of the Airland Subcommittee, with jurisdiction over the Air Force’s aircraft procurement, scheduled yesterday’s hearing for testimony on the multiyear procurement plan. On the same day, the Post revealed that the president of the Institute of Defense Analyses (IDA), retired Navy Adm. Dennis Blair, is a member of the board of EDO Corp., a subcontractor to Lockheed Martin, which builds the F-22, and holds options to buy tens of thousands of shares in the company. POGO released a report yesterday on its investigation into whether Blair has a financial conflict of interest. POGO’s Brian said that Blair was not an author of the IDA report that endorsed the multiyear procurement but that as president “he likely would have reviewed this report before it was made available to the government.” Conflict taints US think tank's F-22 jet report, Reuters News, by Andrea Shalal-Esa, July 25, 2006.U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John Warner on Tuesday denounced as tainted a think tank's report on the F-22 fighter jet after learning its president holds stock options in a subcontractor helping to build the aircraft. The potential conflict of interest could affect House and Senate negotiations to finalize a fiscal 2007 defense spending bill. The legislation includes buying 60 more Lockheed Martin Corp. F-22s under a three-year contract, as opposed to more flexible single-year deals. Warner's committee opposed a three-year funding plan for the F-22s. However, its decision was reversed on the Senate floor after Georgia Republican Saxby Chambliss offered an amendment endorsing the so-called multiyear buy. Chambliss on Tuesday lauded the Institute for Defense Analyses report, which concluded the Air Force could save up to $235 million by signing a three-year deal with Lockheed. But Warner told an Armed Services subcommittee hearing that the alleged conflict of interest involving the Institute for Defense Analyses and its president, retired Navy Adm. Dennis Blair, raised "extremely serious" questions. "I really think that it taints the validity of the entire report to the extent that it can no longer be seen as support for a multiyear agreement," the Virginia Republican said at the hearing. … The Project on Government Oversight watchdog group said Blair was on the board of directors of EDO Corp. and owned 1,787 shares of stock and 30,000 stock options in the New York-based company. EDO received nearly $90 million in contracts for the F-22, according to the group. "There is an appearance of a conflict of interest -- given his personal financial interest and his fiduciary responsibility to EDO -- in the continued funding of the F-22," POGO Executive Director Danielle Brian told lawmakers. POGO Alert - Financial Conflicts of Interest Plague Institute for Defense Analyses' F-22A Report; POGO Testifies to Senate: Withdraw Multiyear Procurement Program, July 25, 2006. Leader of Panel That Endorsed Jet Program Has Ties to Contractor, The Washington Post, by R. Jeffrey Smith and Renae Merle, July 25, 2006.A think tank that endorsed a three-year contract for a troubled jet fighter program is run by a former military officer with extensive ties to one of the program's subcontractors, according to internal Pentagon documents and corporate statements. …Danielle Brian, executive director of the independent Project on Government Oversight, which has been critical of the F-22 project, said that "institutions like IDA carry tremendous weight in advising the government on how to spend taxpayer dollars," adding, "But in the end, the government is not getting the independent analysis it is paying for" because of the absence of any rules barring conflicts of interest at such centers. Testimony of POGO's Danielle Brian before the Senate Armed Services Airland Subcommittee on the F-22A Multiyear Procurement Proposal, July 25, 2006. POGO Report - 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. House Votes to Let Allies Buy Top U.S. Fighter; Sending Such Technology Abroad Raises Concerns, Washington Post, July 1, 2006, by Renae Merle.The House has recommended lifting a ban on international sales of the nation's most advanced fighter, the F-22 Raptor, a potential boon to Lockheed Martin Corp. if allies such as Japan begin buying the expensive plane to upgrade their air forces. On a voice vote after an 11-minute debate, House members on June 20 tacked onto the defense appropriations bill an amendment repealing a nine-year-old prohibition on overseas sales of the plane. The ban was put in place to keep the Raptor's high-tech systems out of the hands of foreign governments. But with U.S. military orders for the jet lagging, members of Congress and some top staffers in the Air Force have become concerned that Bethesda-based Lockheed may shut down the plane's production line in coming years. … Selling the aircraft overseas also undermines one of the original justifications for the aircraft, skeptics say. "The original justification for creating the F-22 was that we had already sold our most advanced fighter technology to so many countries that we needed a more advanced fighting capability. Now we're in that trap again by selling the F-22 abroad," said Jennifer Porter-Gore, spokeswoman for the Project on Government Oversight, a watchdog group. "This is when our national security interests collide with those of the defense industry." Given its expense, the fighter may have a limited audience. Senators push amendment to protect LM's F-22A buy, Aerospace Daily & Defense, by Michael Bruno, June 19, 2006.Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.), an avowed Lockheed Martin Corp. military aircraft advocate, and several other senators are offering an amendment to the fiscal 2007 defense authorization measure that would protect the company's F-22A Raptor acquisition, an effort that was decried by a watchdog group. The amendment, which is expected to be proposed and voted on this week, would bar the Air Force from incremental funding for Raptor procurement and instead allow a multiyear contract beginning in FY '07 for up to 60 fighters. The proposal also would allow for a similar multiyear contract for up to 120 F-119 engines, as well as 13 spare engines. … But the Project on Government Oversight (POGO) protested Chambliss' effort, questioned the multiyear's legality and doubted the supposed cost savings. POGO further attributed the multiyear push directly to Lockheed Martin's lobbying efforts. "This is a textbook example of the influence that major defense contractors have over members of Congress," said Danielle Brian, POGO's executive director. POGO Letter to Senate Opposing the Multiyear Procurement of the F-22A, June 22, 2006. GAO: F-22 Plan Will Cost an Additional $1.7 Billion, June 22, 2006. POGO Alert - Lockheed Martin Uses Questionable Facts to Steer Spending Bill, June 16, 2006. read this alert » POGO letter to Senator John McCain opposing sales of F-22 fighter jets to foreign governments, March 27, 2006. Price of Air Force's F-22 topic of debate: Raptor super jet comes in at $339 million, Media General News Service, February 27, 2006.The gold-tinted canopy closed and a wave of apprehension swept over Air Force pilot Wade Tolliver as he started the jet engines for his first flight in an F-22 Raptor. Pentagon Proposes Extension of F/A-22 Fighter Production Line, Bloomberg, December 1, 2005.The Pentagon is proposing to extend by two years, until 2010, production of Lockheed Martin Corp.'s F/A-22 stealth fighter, according to a government official familiar with the decision. RAND Report – Lessons Learned from the F/A-22 and F/A-18E/F Development Programs, October 2005.
CRS Report - F/A-22 Raptor, Congressional Research Service report for Congress, updated,
GAO Report – Tactical Aircraft: Air Force Still Needs Business Case to Support F/A-22 Quantities and Increased Capabilities, GAO-05-304, March 2005. POGO Alert - Legendary fighter pilot and designer says the F/A-22 Raptor is the wrong weapon at the wrong time. March 11, 2005. Report - Description of Our Failing Defense Acquisition System As Exemplified By The History, Nature and Analysis of the USAF F-22 Raptor Program: A National Tragedy - Military and Economic. Col. USAF, Ret. Everest E. Riccioni, March 8, 2005. GAO says Pentagon needs to consider viability of F/A-22, F-35, Knight Ridder, March 3, 2005.Congressional watchdogs criticized the Air Force's costly F/A-22 fighter jet Thursday and warned that the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter could also be on a flight path of technical problems and cost overruns. GAO Testimony on Tactical Aircraft - Status of the F/A-22 and JSF Acquisition Programs and Implications for Tactical Aircraft Modernization, March 3, 2005. CRS Report For Congress, F/A-22 Raptor, Updated January 6, 2005. POGO Alert - F/A-22 Raptor Has No Role as a Bomber, Legendary Fighter Pilot Says. June 17, 2004. F/A-22 Raptor portion of the Pentagon's Department of Operational Test and Evaluation 2003 Annual Report. The Pentagon used to make this report publicly available on the web, but is no longer doing so. POGO has scanned in the reports of eleven of the biggest or most troubled systems. April 16, 2004. "Pentagon Must Make Case for Costly New Fighter, GAO Says," Associated Press, March 16, 2004.The Pentagon needs to make a case to keep the F/A-22 fighter program in the face of vastly increased costs and technical problems, congressional investigators said yesterday. The General Accounting Office, an arm of Congress, said in a report that the military can now afford only 218 of the planes within a $36.8 billion spending cap. "F/A-22 in dogfight over costs," Atlanta Journal-Constitution, March 16, 2004.A government report released Monday criticized rising costs of the F/A-22 Raptor jet and called on the Air Force to justify the need for the stealth fighter and attack plane. POGO Alert - Taxpayer and Military Watchdogs Call for Cancellation of F/A-22. March 15, 2004. POGO Alert - F/A-22 Costs Rise Again, Price Tag of $329 Million Each. March 15, 2004. F/A-22 Fighting With Failures Fact Sheet. Updated March 15, 2004. GAO Report - Tactical Aircraft: Changing Conditions Drive Need for New F/A-22 Business Case, GAO-04-391, March 2004. POGO Alert - POGO Supports OMB Request for F/A-22 and Comanche Program Studies. February 10, 2004. POGO Letter - POGO applauds OMB Director Joshua Bolten's request for an overview study of the Air Force's F/A-22 tactical fighter and the Army's Comanche helicopter with an apparent eye toward cutting back or eliminating the costly weapons. February 10, 2004. POGO Alert - Troubled F/A-22 Headed for Budget Cuts. POGO commends Congress for bringing greater accountability to the overpriced and under tested F/A-22 fighter aircraft program. May 12, 2003. POGO Testimony - Eric Miller, POGO Senior Defense Investigator on F/A-22 Cost Control Before the House Government Reform Subcommittee on National Security, Veterans' Affairs, and International Relations. April 11, 2003. POGO Alert - F/A-22 Price Tag Skyrockets to $257 Million. The General Accounting Office testifies: dramatic increase in cost of jet fighter. POGO calls for program to be cancelled. April 10, 2003. POGO Alert - F/A-22 Gets Green Light Despite Crippling Avionics and Cost Overruns. According to POGO sources, the Pentagon's Defense Acquisition Board has approved production of additional F/A-22s but has postponed addressing the on-going avionics problems plaguing the system. March 27, 2003. POGO Alert - F-22 in Trouble? Critical Pentagon Review of F-22 Program. POGO calls on the Defense Acquisition Board to block purchase of expensive and unproven F-22 jet fighters. March 25, 2003. Letter to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld from Rep. John Tierney, D-MA, requesting detailed cost data on the F/A-22 fighter and expressing displeasure with the program's cost overruns and concern with incomplete cost estimates provided to Congress by the Department of Defense, March 19, 2003. POGO Alert - GAO Report Says F-22 Costs Soaring Out of Control. Tactical Aircraft DOD Needs to Better Inform Congress about Implication of Continuing F/A-22 Cost Growth, March 13, 2003. GAO Report - Tactical Aircraft DOD Needs to Better Inform Congress about Implication of Continuing F/A-22 Cost Growth, GAO-03-280. February 2003. "Some Questions about the F-22," Washington Post letter to editor by POGO's Eric Miller, August 25, 2001. "One weapons system for every congressional district," San Diego Union-Tribune op-ed by former member of Congress Lionel Van Deerlin, August 22, 2001. "Pentagon OKs initial production of F-22 with cuts," Reuters, August 15, 2001. "Overblown 'Raptor' Would Plunder Budget," Los Angeles Times op-ed by Colonel Everest Riccioni (ret.), August 14, 2001. "F-22 Jet in Dogfight at Pentagon," Los Angeles Times, August 13, 2001. POGO Alert - statement on Impending Defense Acquisition Board decision regarding F-22 low-rate initial production, August 13, 2001. Written testimony of Danielle Brian, Executive Director, Project On Government Oversight, to the House Committee on Government Reform, Subcommittee on National Security, Veterans Affairs, and International Relations, August 2, 2001. Allen Li, GAO Director, Acquisition and Sourcing Management, testifies on the impact of F-22 cost reduction estimates before the Subcommittee on National Security, Veterans' Affairs, and International Relations, House Committee on Government Reform. GAO-01-636T, August 2, 2001. POGO letter to Rep. Neil Abercrombie regarding appropriated funds to support defense industry lobby efforts to detract support from amendment to the 2002 National Defense Authorization Act. August 2001. POGO Alert - "Pentagon May Have Violated Lobbying Prohibition: Email Shows Collusion with Defense Contractors on Pentagon Budget", August 1, 2001. POGO Investigative Report Is the Air Force Spending Itself Into Unilateral Disarmament? by U.S. Air Force Colonel Everest E. Riccioni, Ret. As the cost of the B-1 and B-2 skyrocketed, the number of bombers the Air Force could actually purchase declined, leading to the Air Force's inability to buy fighter jets in meaningful numbers. August, 2001. GAO releases its latest update on F-22 aircraft cost concerns, GAO-01-782, July 16, 2001. "The Madness of the F-22 Fighter"by CounterPunch, the nation's leading muckraking newsletter, April 26, 2001. Bloomberg.com breaks F-22 Testing Story -- Pentagon Testing Chief Recommends Delaying the Contract Indefinitely, >Pentagon Testing Memo, January 4, 2001. POGO Investigative Report - Will We Ever Fly Before We Buy? F-22: Doesn't Meet Basic Testing Criteria, January 3rd Decision Could Fund Production of Fighter Jet that Doesn't Work. POGO's new report warns that approving production before testing is complete on the F-22 may make it a "buy before fly" fiasco like the B-1 and B-2 bombers and the V-22 Osprey, January 2, 2001. Press Alert. A report criticizing the F-22 aircraft by legendary aircraft designer and retired Air Force Col. Everest E. Riccioni, Revised August 10, 2000. POGO Alert - F-22 Testing Shouldn't Be Sacrificial Lamb: Cost Overruns Endanger Testing, According to Watchdog Group, June 15, 2000. POGO's Letter to House of Representatives Subcommittee on National Security cost overruns should be kept in check, but not at the expense of testing. June 15, 2000. Representative Peter DeFazio's Dear Colleague highlighting Col. Everest Riccioni's critique of the F-22, June 12, 2000. In Session: Congress, In House Spat on F-22, Angry Rhetoric Flies, by Juliet Eilperin, Washington Post, Monday, June 12, 2000. Test Pilot Questions Value of F-22 in Future Wars, by Julia Malone, Atlanta Journal-Consitution, June 9, 2000. Transcript of POGO's Press and Congressional Briefing with Colonel Everest Riccioni on the F-22 Fighter Jet, June 8, 2000. POGO Alert - F-22 Fighter Aircraft Brief History, June 8, 2000. POGO Alert - F-22 Fighter an Irrelevant Weapon for the USAF, According to Pentagon Insider. June 7, 2000. Support DeFazio F-22 Amendment to DOD Appropriations, Dear Colleague letter from Rep. Peter DeFazio, June 6, 2000. Support DeFazio F-22 Amendment to DOD Appropriations: It's Based on a GAO Recommendation, Dear Colleague letter from Rep. Peter DeFazio, June 6, 2000. POGO Alert - Press & Congressional Breakfast Briefing: Debunking F-22 Fighter Myths with Colonel Everest Riccioni, June 2, 2000. Representative Obey Speaks Out on F-22, Excerpt from Transcript of House Appropriations Committee Markup of Defense Budget, May 25, 2000. Letter to Members of Congress on the Appropriations Conference Committee supporting the House of Representatives's delay in buying inadequately-tested F-22 fighter jets. September 17, 1999. Dear Colleague Letter from Senator Dale Bumpers, The F-22: If it's too expensive to test, it's too expensive to buy. June 19, 1998. This is a pdf file and you will need adobe acrobat to view it. POGO Alert - A Chance to Prevent the F-22 Raptor Aircraft from Turning into a Financial Monster. June 18, 1998.
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