The U.S. Air Force estimates that restarting production of the F-22 Raptor and building 194 more jets – enough to meet its long-stated requirement — would cost about $50 billion, an unaffordable sum, the service said June 21.
The Air Force indicated it would prefer to spend whatever resources it can muster on newer capabilities instead.
“The Air Force has no plans restart the F-22 production line; it wouldn’t make economic or operational sense to do so,” the service said in a statement.
The Air Force calculated that reopening the production line would cost about $9.9 billion in start-up costs and $40.4 billion for aircraft procurement, with the 194 jets costing $206 million to $216 million each. The Air Force compiled the figures at the request of the House Armed Services Committee (HASC).
Prime contractor Lockheed Martin [LMT] delivered the last of 187 operational F-22s in 2012. That number fell far short of the Air Force’s requirement for 381 jets due to cost overruns and a lack of competitors in air-to-air warfare. But last year, the HASC asked the Air Force to explore the cost and feasibility of a production restart, citing growing threats to U.S. air superiority and increased demand for high-performance, multi-role aircraft.
HASC aides said June 20 that they received the Air Force’s classified F-22 report days earlier and had not had a chance to review it.
Meanwhile, the HASC’s tactical air and land forces subcommittee, which unveiled its portion of the fiscal year 2018 defense authorization bill June 20, is asking the Air Force for several new aviation-related reports. One report is supposed to outline the acquisition strategy for the Next Generation Escape System, a future ejection seat that is intended to provide improved safety and reliability for fighter and bomber pilots.
Other reports are to: explain how the Air Force plans to sustain the E-8C JSTARS ground-surveillance aircraft until a replacement is available; look at whether the Air Force should buy the new General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. (GA-ASI) MQ-9B unmanned aircraft instead of upgrading MQ-9A Reapers to the Block 5 configuration; describe what a possible replacement of F-15Cs with upgraded F-16s would look like; and provide an update on modernization of RC-135S Cobra Ball reconnaissance aircraft and training facilities.