Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC
A decision on production of the Lockheed Martin/Boeing F-22 Raptor may have to wait for completion of a strategic review just launched by new US defence secretary Donald Rumsfield.
The F-22 team has achieved the milestones required for approval of low-rate initial production (LRIP), conducting initial radar cross-section testing with Raptor 4004 and completing the first flight of aircraft 4006 by 5 February. But a Defense Acquisition Board (DAB) meeting to approve LRIP, originally set for December, has yet to be scheduled. The Department of Defense (DoD) says there still is "quite a bit of homework to do" before the DAB can be scheduled.
Because of the delay in completing the DAB criteria, the F-22 team was provided with $350 million in bridge-funding to keep the programme going through the first three months of this year. If Rumsfield's review continues past March, which is likely, additional bridge-funding will be required, the DoD acknowledges. Rumsfield has also asked DoD think-tank head Andrew Marshall to make preliminary recommendations next week.
No timescale has been set for the wide-ranging review of US defence strategy, which is expected to take "some months", says the DoD. The results are expected to affect next year's defence budget and the Quadrenniel Defense Review, due in September.
To improve the F-22's chances in the review, the air force has launched a four year $475 million cost cutting initiative. The USAF estimates production of 339 F-22s is over $2 billion above the Congressional cap of $37.6 billion.
The "War on Costs" initiative is intended to bring the programme in under the cap by investing "up front" in production cost-reduction proposals. The USAF could reduce F-22 production costs by more than the $2.2 billion required. The initiative introduces incentives for the F-22 contractors, suppliers and vendors to reduce production costs by allowing them to share in the savings.
Source: Flight International
