Thu, Apr 07, 2005
Says Aircraft Almost Surely Headed For Full-Rate
Production
The man in charge of buying weapons for the Pentagon really
likes Lockheed Martin's F/A-22 Raptor. He thinks the aircraft is
virtually assured of achieving full-rate production.
Shortly after testifying before the Senate Armed Services
Committee, Michael Wynn told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that the
Raptor is "an exceptionally well-performing airplane" and a "major
contributor to the defense of America."
Wynn said a formal announcement that the F/A-22 can enter
full-rate production could come as early as tomorrow. "That is
still in process," Wynne said, "but I saw nothing to inhibit it
from being full-rate capable."
The Defense Acquisition Board last month gave its okay to
full-rate production. All together, Wynn's endorsement and that of
the board go a long way toward allaying fears by F/A-22 backers
that the program would be canceled at the end of fiscal 2008.
With the authorization in hand, Lockheed plans to produce 32
Raptors a year between now and 2008. Production had been at a
relatively low level -- 24 aircraft in 2004 and 2005; 25 aircraft
in 2006 -- until now.
The Raptor program has been plagued with questions about costs
and technical issues. Senator John McCain (R-AZ), chairman of the
Senate Armed Services Committee, said he still wants a full
investigation into why the $63,8 billion program has doubled in
cost since it was first undertaken in 1986.
"This is not an automatic," said Lockheed spokesman Tom
Jurkowsky."That's the decision that has to be made by the Air
Force, the Department of Defense and of course Congress."
Still, even McCain admitted that the F/A-22 will be around for
awhile. "I have never seen a weapons system in full production that
got canceled," he told the Star-Telegram.
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