US Will no Longer Reproduce F-22 Raptors: Report

By Prei Dy / 1498231800
The US Air Force said it has no plans to restart Lockheed Martin's F-22 Raptor jet.

The US Air Force said it has no plans to restart the production of the expensive F-22 stealth fighter jet, according to a classified report submitted to the Congress.

"The Air Force has no plans restart the F-22 production line; it wouldn't make economic or operational sense to do so," Capt. Emily Grabowski, the Air Force's spokesperson, said.

Initial work including machining and tooling to prepare the production line would already cost between $7 billion and $10 billion. The Air Force also estimated that it would cost around $50 billion to procure 194 additional F-22 Raptor jets, with each aircraft costing from $206 million to $216 million.

The total already includes an estimate of about $9.9 billion for non-recurring start-up costs and $40.4 billion for aircraft procurement costs.

"The startup costs are significant and very expensive," Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson said. "The chief has assigned a fighter roadmap. Our plan is to put any resources we have into that roadmap and not into restarting a line from an older aircraft."

 The service has instead recommended applying resources to the "capability development plans outlined in the Air Superiority 2030 Enterprise Capability Collaboration Team Flight." The fifth generation fighter has easily gained a reputation as one of the world's most advanced fighters because of its superior speed, maneuverability, and combat abilities.

According to Sputnik, the subcommittee of the House Armed Services Air and Land Forces ordered the report last April to determine the cost and feasibility of relaunching Lockheed Martin's F-22 fighter jet program. The order came eight years after the F-22 was originally terminated, once 187 Raptors has been produced.

A 2010 Rand study also revealed that restarting the F-22 production line to build 75 more jets would cost at least $20 billion in inflation-adjusted dollars.