Lockheed F/A-22 wins approval for full-rate output

WASHINGTON, April 1 (Reuters) - Lockheed Martin Corp.'s F/A-22 stealthy fighter jet won approval for full-rate production from a key Pentagon panel this week, although it still faces major budget cuts under the Bush administration's fiscal 2006 budget plan.

The Pentagon's Defense Acquisition Board met on Tuesday and approved the results of a series of initial operational tests of the F/A-22, or "Raptor," clearing Lockheed to accelerate production of the aircraft, sources familiar with the decision said on Friday.

Pentagon spokeswoman Cheryl Irwin confirmed only that the meeting took place, but said a memorandum finalizing any decisions had not yet been approved or signed.

One source familiar with the matter said the move to full-rate production was a sort of "seal of approval" for the aircraft, which can fly at supersonic speeds for prolonged distances.

But the Raptor, developed during the Cold War to replace the F-15E as the country's top air superiority fighter, is due to be scaled back sharply under the administration's future budget plans.

Those plans call for the $71 billion program to be cut by $10.5 billion by through 2011, with the Air Force slated to get just 179 airplanes instead of the 276 currently planned -- and far less than the 381 planes it says it needs.

Air Force officials say they will lobby hard for some of those funds to be reinstated during a once-every-four-years review of major defense programs to start this year.

Lockheed shares were trading 15 cents higher at $61.21 in midday trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

Bank of America said in a note to investors that it expected a "lively debate" over the future of the program once the Quadrennial Defense Review got under way, but said it considered it "unlikely the Air Force will get its way with the Raptor."

Lockheed spokesman Tom Jurkowsky said the Bethesda, Maryland-based company had not yet received the results of the meeting, but said the aircraft performed "magnificently during its recently completed operational test and evaluation."

Proponents view the F/A-22 as vital for maintaining U.S. air superiority in future conflicts, but its costs have escalated and some Pentagon officials have questioned how much the aircraft is needed as U.S. forces confront low-tech enemies in Iraq and elsewhere.

Any idea the payload of the FB-22?

It's about 30 of the 250 pound small diameter bombs so a 7,500 pound bomb load instead of 2,000 pound bomb load of 8 for the F/A 22. I wonder if the UK and Australia would be interested in these too?

FB-22 Fighter Bomber
The FB-22 is a concept on the shelf for future consideration. It will actually cost some money to develop the FB-22 and right now it's a concept. It's a concept that helps stretch minds. Air Force Secretary James G. Roche is the father of this concept and he has a model of this concept on his desk. It looks very much like an F-22. It takes advantage of all of the development work that has been done on the F/A-22. It is two seats. It is a bit larger. It retains all of its super cruise characteristics. It is not quite as high G as the F/A-22 but it is still a maneuverable airplane. And where the F/A-22 will carry eight small diameter bombs internally, the FB-22 would carry 30 small diameter bombs internally with a range approximately two and a half times that of the F/A-22.
In early 2002 Lockheed Martin began briefing the Air Force on a modified bomber version of the F-22 Raptor fighter, featuring a delta wing, longer body and greater range and payload. This company-funded study of the FB-22, conducted during 2002, was an internally generated, internally funded proprietary study into the feasibility of making a derivative of the F-22. The FB-22 medium bomber is based on existing and planned capabilities of the Lockheed Martin F-22 fighter, a heritage that would limit development costs should the idea go into production. The medium bomber version of the F-22 would provide a relatively low cost and low risk approach for development of a high speed strike aircraft to carry a sufficient load to attack mobile targets.
In a series or articles by Bill Sweetman for "Jane's Defense Weekly" and "Popular Science," the FB-22 s described as a tailless delta variant of the F-22. Yaw control would be provided by split flaps, or "decelerons" on the wings, while roll would be controlled by movable wingtips.
In a bomber version, the fuselage would be longer and the wings far larger to give the bomber greater range – more than 1,600 miles, compared with the F-22's 600-plus – and bomb-carrying capacity. The FB-22 would replace the Air Force's F-15E and take over some missions for long-range bombers such as the B-2 and B-1. The initial design envisioned a plane that could carry 24 Small Diameter Bombs, which weigh only 250 pounds. Using Global Positioning System guidance, the small bomb would be as lethal as a 2,000-pound bomb. A regular F/A-22 would carry eight Small Diameter Bombs. An FB-22 would carry 30.
The biggest difference between the F-22 and the FB-22 is the wing, which would be very close to a delta wing. It is not exactly a delta, but a much bigger wing, which would increase the amount of space that could carry bombs. The longer, thicker delta wing would enable the FB-22 to carry up to 80 percent more fuel than the F-22, giving it a correspondingly greater range.
To produce an FB-22, the basic F-22 would need airframe modifications for a larger weapons payload and greater fuel capacity, bringing the maximum takeoff weight to over 42 tons. The FB-22's fuselage would need to be about 10 feet longer than that of the F-22 to make room for a larger weapons bay. The FB-22 might dispense with the F-22's twin horizontal stabilizers and vertical tails. If so, the the plane's overall length wouldn't be much different from the F-22's. Like the B-2, the FB-22 would carry two pilots, since missions could last more than 12 hours.
Rather than using the F-22's Pratt & Whitney F119 engines, the FB-22 is likely to have either the new F135, which was developed from the F119 to power the new F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, or the rival General Electric F136. In either event, the FB-22 would have greater speed than the B-1B, the fastest US bomber.
Because of the work already done on the F-22, developing the FB-22 might cost about $5 billion to $7 billion -- a fraction of the price for starting a bomber from scratch. FB-22 flights could begin by 2013. Starting a second final assembly line for the FB-22 at Boeing is under consideration, since Boeing makes the F-22's wings.

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