F22 Raptor Stealth Aircraft
Development Information
The Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) contract was a demonstration and validation program undertaken by the United States Air Force to develop a next-generation air superiority fighter to counter emerging worldwide threats, including development and proliferation of Soviet-era Su-27 'Flanker'-class fighter aircraft.
In 1981, USAF developed a requirement for a new air superiority fighter intended to replace the capability of the F-15 Eagle. It was envisaged that the ATF would incorporate emerging technologies including advanced alloys and composite material, advanced fly-by-wire flight control systems, higher power propulsion systems, and low-observable/stealth technology.
A request for proposal (RFP) was issued in July 1986, and two contractor teams, Lockheed/Boeing/General Dynamics and Northrop/McDonnell Douglas were selected in October 1986 to undertake a 50 month demonstration/validation phase, culminating in the flight test of two prototypes, the YF-22 and the YF-23.
Following a hard-fought fly-off competition, in August 1991 the YF-22 was declared the winner and Lockheed was awarded the contract to develop and build the Advanced Tactical Fighter.
Production Information
The first production F-22 was delivered to Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, on 14 January 2003. "Dedicated Initial Operational Test and Evaluation" occurred on 27 October 2004. As of 2004, 51 Raptors were in service, with 22 more ordered under fiscal year 2004 funding. The first crash of a production F-22 occurred at Nellis Air Force Base on 20 December 2004, during takeoff. The pilot ejected safely moments before impact. The crash investigation revealed that a brief interruption in power during an engine shutdown prior to flight caused a malfunction in the flight-control system. The technical data for the aircraft have been amended to avoid this problem in the future. In August 2007, the United States Air Force signed a $5 billion, multi-year contract with Lockheed that will extend production to 2011. As of 2007, F-22 Raptors are being procured at 20 airplanes per year. In Sepember 2007, Lockheed Martin reached its "100th F-22 Raptor" milestone.
Procurement
The United States Air Force originally planned to order 750 ATFs, with production beginning in 1994. The 1990 Major Aircraft Review altered the plan to 648 aircraft beginning in 1996. The goal changed again in 1994, when it became 442 planes entering service in 2003 or 2004. A 1997 Department of Defense report put the purchase at 339. In 2003, the Air Force said that the existing congressional cost cap limited the purchase to 277. By 2006, the Pentagon said it will buy 183 aircraft, which would save $15 billion but raise the cost of each airplane. This plan has been de facto approved by Congress in the form of a multi-year procurement plan, which still holds open the possibility for new orders past that point. The total cost of the program by 2006 was $62 billion.
In April 2006, the cost of the F-22A was assessed by the Government Accountability Office to be $361 million per aircraft. This cost reflects the F-22A total program cost, divided by the number of jets the Air Force is programed to buy. So far, the Air Force has invested as much as $28 billion in the Raptor's research, development and testing. That money, referred to as a "sunk cost", is already spent and is separate from money used for future decision-making, including procuring a copy of the jet.
By the time all 183 jets have been purchased, $34 billion will be spent on actually procuring the aircraft. This will result in a cost of about $339 million per aircraft based on total program costs. The incremental cost for one additional F-22 is around $120 million. If the Air Force were to buy 100 more F-22s today, each plane would be less than $117 million and would continue to drop with additional aircraft purchases.
The F-22 is not the most expensive plane aloft; that distinction likely belongs to the roughly $2.2 billion-per-unit B-2 Spirit; though the incremental cost was under US$1 billion. In fairness, orders for the B-2 went from hundreds to a few dozen when the Cold War ended thus making the unit cost skyrocket. The F-22 uses fewer radar absorbent materials than the B-2 or F-117 Nighthawk, which is expected to translate into lower maintenance costs.
On July 31, 2007, Lockheed Martin received a multiyear contract for 60 F-22s worth a total of US$7.3 billion. The contract brings the number of F-22s on order to 183 and extends production through 2011.