Post by Admin on Jan 11, 2020 19:48:41 GMT -5
budgetary problems a long time coming
If the Air Force begins replacing its F-22s with a new fighter type in the 2030s, at which point the Raptors will be entering their fourth decade of service, the flying branch will find itself simultaneously buying two stealth fighter types at a projected cost of $14 billion annually. Add in the cost of cargo planes, tankers and bombers, and you get $23-billion figure the CBO warned about.
To be clear, the Air Force could opt to replace the F-22 with ... the F-35. The service's "Air Superiority 2030 Flight Plan" study from 2016 stressed the need for what it calls a "penetrating counterair" capability. In other words, a highly survivable air-to-air fighter.
If the Air Force begins replacing its F-22s with a new fighter type in the 2030s, at which point the Raptors will be entering their fourth decade of service, the flying branch will find itself simultaneously buying two stealth fighter types at a projected cost of $14 billion annually. Add in the cost of cargo planes, tankers and bombers, and you get $23-billion figure the CBO warned about.
To be clear, the Air Force could opt to replace the F-22 with ... the F-35. The service's "Air Superiority 2030 Flight Plan" study from 2016 stressed the need for what it calls a "penetrating counterair" capability. In other words, a highly survivable air-to-air fighter.