Officials say current plans create fighter gap

[unhappycamper]

Too little, too late?
Fewer F-22s part of the problem.


Officials say current plans create fighter gap
By Erik Holmes - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Apr 15, 2008 16:58:54 EDT

The Air Force will begin facing a shortage of fighter aircraft by 2017, and the shortage will balloon to 800 aircraft by 2024, senior Air Force officials said April 9.

That so-called “fighter gap” could force the Air Force to keep aging F-15s and F-16s flying beyond their anticipated retirement dates by sinking billions into additional service-life extension programs and upgrades.

Senior Air Force leaders have long complained that acquisition plans for fifth-generation fighters — the F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II, or Joint Strike Fighter — are insufficient to replace aging legacy aircraft, but this is the first time they have publicly disclosed the extent of the projected shortfall.

The gap is the result of the F-22 program being capped far short of the 381 aircraft the Air Force says it needs and F-35s being purchased at a rate of only 48 per year through 2034, said Lt. Gen. Donald J. Hoffman, military deputy to the office of the assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition.

“The size of the F-22 force is certainly a contributor, but the real contributor to (the gap) is ... the Joint Strike Fighter production rate,” Hoffman said. “We still stand by 1,763 (F-35s) as our final number, it’s just when do we get there and how do the legacy aircraft age until that last one is delivered? JSF replaces all our F-16s and all our A-10s, but they may not live long enough until the last JSF comes along.”


Rest of article at: http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2008/04/airforce_jsf_041608/



uhc comment:

One F-22? $355,000,000
One F-35? $239,000,000

BTW, the F-35 has not yet flown above 40,000 ft. The F-22 has some serious problems with corrosion and potentially the wings falling off because Alcoa made the frame forgings with a potential defect --> http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=259&topic_id=13420