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| February 1997 Vol. 80, No. 2 |
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Snapshots of Force Modernization
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| F-22 |
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The stealthy F-22 will succeed the F-15 as the primary
provider of air superiority for US theater armed forces
well into the twenty-first century. It will have the
unprecedented capability to cruise at supersonic speeds
without afterburner. This feature, when coupled with
stealth and enhanced integrated sensors and avionics,
will make the F-22 capable of defeating any projected
combat aircraft or surface-to-air missile. The F-22
will be able to perform a secondary ground-attack mission
after air superiority has been established.
The program still faces challenges in the areas of
weight and cost, which at present is running at 105
percent of budget, though "management reserve" funds
are built into the program to cover some of the overrun.
Trade-offs among performance, cost, and weight continue
to be made. A two-seat, B model variant has been eliminated
from the project to save money.
| Program |
F-22A |
| Mission |
Air superiority,
with a secondary ground-attack role. |
| Operator |
Air Combat Command. |
| Contractors |
Lockheed Martin is
the prime contractor; Boeing is the principal
subcontractor. Pratt & Whitney is the F119
engine contractor. |
| Status |
Engineering and manufacturing
development (EMD) 60 percent complete. |
| Next major
milestone |
Full-rate production
decision in September 2000. |
| First flight |
Rollout in April
1997; first flight in May 1997. |
| Planned production |
432 production aircraft,
to equip four wings; 12 test models. |
| Production
schedule |
Per year, beginning
in FY 2001: four, 12, 24, 36, and 48 through
FY 2011; 18 in FY 2012. |
| Initial operational
capability (IOC) |
November 2004. |
| Flyaway cost |
$71 million in FY
1996 dollars. |
| Program acquisition
cost |
$70 billion (includes
development and production). |
| Current funding |
$2 billion in FY
1997. |
| Significant
features |
Stealth, supercruise,
high agility, integrated avionics, data fusion,
and thrust vectoring. |
| Performance |
Range comparable
to F-15E; agility comparable to F-16. |
| Armament |
Internal: six AIM-120C
Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAMs)
or two AIM-120Cs and two 1,000-lb Joint Direct
Attack Munitions (JDAMs) in center bay; two AIM-9X
short-range dogfight missiles in side bays. External:
Two wing hardpoints can carry additional fuel
or munitions. |
| Deployment |
Test aircraft will
be deployed at Edwards AFB, Calif.; Nellis AFB,
Nev.; Tyndall AFB, Fla.; and Eglin AFB, Fla.
The first operational base has not yet been chosen. |
Copyright Air Force Association. All rightsreserved.
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