The Air Force Won't Build New F-22 Raptors. Here's Why.
One word: cost.
by James Hasik
None of these numbers are new; what’s new is just the enthusiasm for buying the plane with the highest numbers. Fielding a plane (the F-35A) whose support will cost a quarter more than the plane (the F-16C) it’s replacing, while the budget outlook is at best flat in real terms, is questionably affordable. What’s worse is going back to buy more of a plane (the F-22A) whose support will cost twice again as much.
Almost every defense-industrial publication this month has covered the language in the House version of the 2017 National Defense Authorization bill which directs the Pentagon “to conduct a comprehensive assessment and study of the costs associated with resuming production of F-22 aircraft.†We could take out pick of stories from Defense News , Aviation Week , Inside Defense , or Politico Pro . The actual issue perhaps should not have been so newsworthy. In a note to investors this week, Byron Callan of Capital Alpha called the restart idea “a fantasy.†On the numbers, I’ll call it just a very questionable idea.
https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/air-force-wont-build-new-f-22-raptors-heres-why-27282
