Monday, April 6, 2009, 2:32pm EDT
F-22 Raptor axed by Pentagon
Dayton Business Journal


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The Pentagon’s $534 billion budget request for 2009 shoots down future production of the F-22 Raptor, the stealth fighter made by Lockheed Martin Corp.’s Marietta, Ga.-based Aeronautics division.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Monday revealed the Pentagon’s plans to complete its order for 183 Raptors plus four more. But the U.S. Department of Defense will order no more after that. The Air Force had planned to order 20 Raptors in 2010 and 40 more in coming years.

Widely acknowledged as the most capable fighter aircraft in the world, the $150 million F-22 has been under fire for years for bleeding away money needed elsewhere. George W. Bush’s administration wanted to kill it, but was overruled by Congress and by the U.S. Air Force, which wanted more of the aircraft. The Air Force originally wanted 750 F-22s.

While the aircraft is stealthy and can cruise at supersonic speeds, its high cost has raised questions about whether it’s the proper allocation of increasingly limited government resources, especially in a recession.