Congress Members Vow to Save the F-22
It didn’t take long for the Connecticut congressional delegation to go ballistic over President Obama’s decision to cut production of the $361 million-per plane F-22 Raptor fighter jet. What’s bothering them is the more than 2,000 Connecticut-based jobs they say would be lost by the move.
In a letter to President Obama, the Connecticut delegation contends that his decision to cut back future F-22 production from 381 to 187 aircraft would result in a number of flight-ready planes that would be “far less than our national security requires.”
“Additional F-22 Raptors are critical to maintaining America’s security in the face of new threats,” stated the delegation. “The aircraft is unmatched by any adversary in the sky and can evade detection by any known radar, including those of North Korea, Iran, and Syria.”Subsidiary companies of Hartford, Connecticut-based United Technologies build engines, electrical power generation systems and electronic engine controls for the F-22, the most expensive military aircraft ever built. United Technologies employs about 26,000 people in Connecticut.
Connecticut won’t be the only state destined to lose jobs. Parts and subsystems for the F-22 are produced by about 1,000 suppliers in 42 states. F-22 production currently takes place at Lockheed Martin Aeronautics facilities in Palmdale, Calif.; Meridian, Miss.; Marietta, Ga.; and Fort Worth, Texas, as well as Boeing's Seattle, Wash. plant.
The Connecticut congressional delegation includes Senators Chris Dodd and Joe Lieberman, and Representatives Rosa DeLauro, John Larson , Joe Courtney, Chris Murphy and Jim Himes.
Comments
$361 million per plane!?! CrAZy! And how much in annual upkeep, parts, fuel, labor etc? I’m guessing that knocks the bill to around Half a Billon dollars! Ummmm, unless this plane fly’s on Bio Diesel Jet Fuel, can Fly to the International SpaceStation & can shoot down NEO’s – YOU CANT JUSTIFY THE STICKER PRICE!
The only reason it’s $361 million per plane is because shortsighted idiots like Rumsfeld and Gates keep reducing the number of planes, so that the original R&D investment is spread across fewer planes.
If produced in the original numbers that were intended (750), the unit cost would be less than $100 million. In any case, it’s a lot less than what Obama has spent in the last two months alone on worthless pork projects
Mr. Ntngbl is the perfect example of how “creative journalism” can sway the public. The F-22 DOES NOT cost 361 million per plane. It costs about 140 million per plane. That other 221 million…ALREADY SPENT. That was spent on R&D from about 1985-2005. So say 20 years…thats about 11.5 million per/year on researching all the components that go into the raptor. Oh, and if the Raptor was NEVER built…thats about 40+ billion in reasearch with zipo to show for it.
Now, you might say, “but foreign designs are so much cheaper”. Wrong. The Euro fighter ins nearly 140 million per plane minus the stealth.
You might also say, “lets build the F-35 instead, much cheaper.” Wrong. The F-35 costs about 110 million per plane. It is “bomb truck” not an “air dominance fighter”. Raptor has a calculated 30-1 kill ratio against soviet planes where the lightning II has about 3-1 kill ratio. Nuf said.
Finally, you might say “lets scrap the whole thing and build more F-15s”. Those would cost about 100 million a copy in todays dollars. The new “silent eagle” (basicly an eagle with a few stealthy gas tanks welded on” is about 110 million.
You see, the real tragedy is that the “average every-day” american wont research these numbers. They will be swayed by “creative journalists”
THERE SHOULD BE A LAW OR SOMETHING!