F 22 overspend

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I found this
F-22 programme set to exceed congressional limit

3 August 2001

The troubled Lockheed Martin F-22 “Raptor” fighter programme has run into more difficulties as current estimations predict that production is set to exceed the $37.6 billion limit imposed by Congress. Separate estimates carried out by the US Air Force and Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld’s Office in December 2000 have both found that production of the 333 aircraft currently scheduled to be built will take programme costs beyond that mark.

Air Force cost estimators project that, as things stand, the programme will overspend by $2 billion, while the Office of the Secretary suggests that the figure will be nearer $9 billion. If this second figure is correct it would mean that the US Government would need to build 85 fewer F-22’s in order to stay within the financial boundaries set by Congress. Both reports were part of projections to support the budget request for the 2002 fiscal year.

Already Lockheed Martin, which is developing the F-22 to replace the F-15 fighter, are thought to need approximately $550 million more than the Congressional allowance to complete the development phase. The contractor and the Air Force have worked upon plans to reduce production costs throughout the programme for an estimated saving of $26.5 billion. However, with the spectre of President George W.Bush’s vastly expensive missile defence plans likely to intensify the scrutiny of defence spending in Washington, the Department of Defence can ill afford this programme to run over budget.