We’ve had a lot of coverage here of the problems with the Air Force’s F-15 fleet, which has left has many as 40 percent of the service’s front line fighters permanently grounded. In light of these problems, the Air Force is pushing for more funding for F-22, a program which is nearing the end of its production and will be shut down unless new orders are placed. The Fort-Worth Star-Telegram reports:
I’m not particularly good at math, but I believe that works out to roughly $200 million per aircraft at 20 a year and roughly $180 million per aircraft at 40 a year. Which is a lot more money than the Air Force was talking about prior to the problems with F-15. In an article for Air Force Print News last year, Maj. Gen. Richard B.H. Lewis, Air Force executive officer for the F-22 program, offered a much lower figure:
How did the cost go up $80 million per aircraft–50 percent–in just one year? I’ve been as big a proponent of extending F-22 as anyone, but at $200 million each, the F-22 would have to have more value to the Air Force than roughly 3.3 Joint Strike Fighters. Does anyone think the F-22 is worth that much?
