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Think the FA-22 Raptor is over priced and not worth it? Might want to read this below. I got this from an olf Army friend of mine, who corresponds with a Air Force pilot he's talked to for many years. He felt the same way about the FA-22 until he was involved with the testing and training involved with the FA-22 a couple years ago. The comments made by this guy are pretty striking. The more of these in the Air Force arsenal the better, especially with the looming threats from China, North Korea, Iran, and now Venezuela with their...

New immigrant: F22 stealth bomber? World's most advanced fighter jet currently only in US hands. After House of Representatives lifts ban on its sale, security establishment assesses jet may be offered to Israel Aryeh Egozi The United States may supply Israel with the most advanced stealth fighter jet in the world – the F22 Raptor – considering the war in Lebanon and the Iranian threat, the Israeli security establishment has assessed. The US has not yet exported the F22 to any of its allies. Recently, however, the House of Representatives lifted its nine year ban on the sale of the...

Indo-Russia joint stealth fighters programme flies into turbulence Shiv Aroor Posted online: Friday, August 04, 2006 at 0000 hrs NEW DELHI,AUGUST 3: A team from Russia’s Sukhoi Design Bureau and Irkut gave a detailed classified presentation to the Defence Ministry on Thursday on its fifth generation fighter concept, but discrepancies have already begun to surface between New Delhi and Moscow over the proposed multi-billion dollar joint programme to develop and produce advanced stealth fighters for both countries in the next decade. In essence, South Block has communicated to Moscow that the Russian fifth generation fighter programme, designated PAK-FA, is already...

It's the fighter we have to have Hugh White July 19, 2006 Everything the critics say about the Joint Strike Fighter is probably true. It will cost more than we expected, it will not perform as well as we hoped, it will be delivered late and we will not be told as much as we'd like about how the aircraft's software really works. But it is still probably the best new combat aircraft for Australia. The fighter is being developed by the United States in collaboration with Britain, Canada and half a dozen European countries. All have put their money...

RAAF's new fighters 'already obsolete' June 16, 2006 - 5:29PM AdvertisementThe RAAF's next generation of air fighters could be as outclassed as propeller-driven aircraft in the days of jets, the Parliamentary Library has found. In a recent report into the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), the library said it was likely the project would become more expensive and that other aircraft would do the same job more cheaply. And it warned that developments in unmanned aircraft could make the JSF effectively obsolete. Australia is one of eight countries to have signed up with the United States to develop and buy...

IAF chief procurement officer: F35 will replace F16 The Israel Air Force plans is to buy over 100 Lockheed Martin F35s, costing at least $5 billion. Amnon Barzilai 21 Jun 06 10:15 The Israel Air Force (IAF) is completing its plan to replace its fleet of combat jets, transport planes, and helicopters, ahead of the IDF headquarters workshop for the formulation of its Keshet five-year plan. In an exclusive interview, IAF chief procurement officer Brig.-Gen. Zeev Snir told “Globes” that the key part of the plan was to procure the next-generation US combat jet, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. Snir...

The pending Boeing/Lockheed "United Launch Alliance" (ULA) to provide the Air Force with expendable rockets would unfairly strand taxpayers with a half-billion-dollar-a-year subsidy: that's the message the 350,000-member National Taxpayers Union (NTU) delivered to Congress today, in an open letter urging lawmakers to end subsidies for the companies' current and proposed space-booster schemes. Federal policymakers are expected to consider the merger deal as early as this week. "Launch platforms for satellites can be expendable, but tax dollars never are," said NTU Director of Government Affairs Paul Gessing. "Over the past decade, the Air Force's Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) initiative...

The F-22A Raptor, the newest addition to the Air Force arsenal, entered operational status Thursday after nearly 20 years of development and testing, much of it in the skies above the Antelope Valley. "This is a great day for us in the Air Force," said Gen. Ronald E. Keys, commander of Air Combat Command. "I'm very happy to add this arrow to our quiver." The F-22A incorporates advancements in stealth, fuel-saving supersonic flight without afterburners, advanced avionics to provide pilots with better information about their environment and superior maneuverability. Keys considered the aircraft's capability and supportability in assigning the Raptor...

December 13, 2005 - The U.S. Air Force plans to change the designation of the F/A-22 Raptor to "F-22A" in the near future according to an article on DefenseNews.com. According to an article by Gopal Ratnam and Michael Fabey on DefenseNews.com, the U.S. Air Force is changing the designation of the F/A-22 Raptor to F-22A. The move was announced on December 12 by Air Force Chief of Staff Michael Moseley in a speech to the Air National Guard senior leadership conference and is expected to be officially announced by the Air Force in several days. In the article, Loren Thompson,...

Northrop Grumman, L-3 Turn F/A-22 Radar Into Wide-Bandwidth Data Link By David A. Fulghum 12/11/2005 07:09:18 PM TALKING RADARS New radars are becoming sophisticated radios--radios that can be used as weapons against insurgents. A series of experiments is turning the radars of next-generation tactical aircraft--including the F/A-22 and F-35--into advanced communications devices for intelligence-gathering, reconnaissance and strike missions. Laboratory tests by Northrop Grumman and L-3 Communications researchers show new active electronically scanned array (AESA) radars can be modified to send and receive large amounts of information at high data rates. So new-generation fighters not only should be able to...

EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE - Planning for the upcoming open house on Oct. 22 and 23 is hitting a fever pitch as base officials finalize one of the most diverse air shows to hit the Antelope Valley and Los Angeles area in years. This year there will be just under seven hours of continuous flying featuring nearly 34 separate flight demonstrations; more than triple those of most shows common to southern California. Some highlights include a special performance by aviation legend Chuck Yeager flying a P-51 Mustang, the same type of aircraft Yeager flew when he became an ace in...

WASHINGTON, Aug 29 (Reuters) - U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. John Jumper on Monday said arguments for restoring some Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT.N: Quote, Profile, Research) F/A-22 fighter jets cut from the Pentagon's 2006 budget were "making sense" to military planners. "Quite frankly, I don't think the number's going to stay the same. I think we're making good arguments for why we need this airplane," Jumper told reporters at a final roundtable before he hands over the reins as the Air Force's top uniformed officer to Gen. Michael Moseley on Friday.

PALMDALE - Demonstrating agility as graceful as a ballet, stunning aerobatic-like skills such as "standing" on its tail and the lethal firepower of air-launched missiles and a six-barrel Gatling gun cannon, even a brief video of the F/A-22 Raptor in action gives one an idea of the air supremacy it promises. "That is as fun as it looks," said John Fergione, F/A-22 experimental test pilot for Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co . Fergione presented an update on the F/A-22 Raptor program to members of the Antelope Valley Board of Trade on Tuesday. The dominance of the F/A-22 in a battle situation...

EDWARDS AFB - After taking a year off, the Edwards Air Force Base Open House and Air Show returns with a bang - and a boom and a roar - on Oct. 22 and 23. The free event will feature seldom-seen aircraft in the air and on the ground as the base pulls out all the stops to showcase military and civilian aviation. "It's looking real good," said Edwards spokesman John Haire of the tentative show lineup, expected to feature more flying than in recent years. Making its aerial debut at Edwards will be the unmanned Predator, used in combat...

6/8/2005 - LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va. (AFPN) -- A flight control system problem caused an F/A-22 Raptor to crash on the runway at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., on Dec. 20, according to an Air Force report released June 8. The pilot ejected and sustained minor injuries. The $133.3-million aircraft, assigned to the 422nd Test and Evaluation Squadron at Nellis, was destroyed when it crashed. Additional damage was limited to an arresting cable, runway guide sign, runway light and the runway itself. The flight control system malfunction was caused by a brief power interruption to the aircraft’s three rate...

Washington — It can break the sound barrier without kicking its engines into overdrive, instantly tell the difference between friend and foe, and destroy the enemy long before the enemy ever sees it coming. But the protection the F/A-22 Raptor needs to survive doesn't lie solely in its arsenal and flying abilities. It also depends on an equally sophisticated system of cash and politics that keeps thousands of defense workers around the country on the job, their employers profitable and their congressmen in office. EMAIL THIS PRINT THIS MOST POPULAR About 2,200 Lockheed Martin employees assemble the Raptor in Marietta....

Posted 04/07/05 09:19 U.S. Jet Fighter Programs Beset by Prohibitive Rising Costs By JIM MANNION, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE The U..S. Air Force's jet fighter programs; the F/A-22 and the Joint Strike Fighter are beset by soaring costs, development delays and changing world threats that raise questions about their viability," Congress's investigative arm said April 6. The Government Accountability Office said in a report that the original business case for the F/A-22 has been "severely weakened, and that the original business rationale for the JSF is unexecutable." The uncertainty surrounding the two fighter programs, which together require future investments of 240...

Lockheed F/A-22 wins approval for full-rate output Fri Apr 1, 2005 01:42 PM ET 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...

As the Pentagon works on a four-year review of its force size and military strategy, the Air Force is hoping that the final analysis will either restore cuts to its premiere fighter program, or least delay closing the production line, according to a key service official involved in the effort.Maj. Gen. Ronald Bath, the director of Air Force strategic planning, says service officials intend to make the case for the F/A-22. ''I think that the number will go up, the production line will stay open, or a combination of both,'' he said in an interview Wednesday with Defense Daily.Since seeing...