High-Maintenance F-22 Stealth Features Keeping It in the Shop
Project On Government Oversight (POGO) | Feb 24, 2009

The Project On Government Oversight (POGO) has learned from internal Pentagon sources that stealth maintenance on the F-22 fighter aircraft is the primary cause of its maintenance headaches, which are in turn undermining its mission capability. POGO believes that this may be the primary reason for Defense Department Acquisition Chief John Young’s findings that the F-22’s mission capable rate was too low to waste additional taxpayer dollars on further procurement.

One of the key justifications for the F-22 is that it will achieve air-superiority advantage by its low observability (LO), or stealth. When fully operational, LO suppresses the F-22’s visual signature, radar signature, infrared signature, electromagnetic emissions, and sound. The F-22’s LO is designed to provide improved survivability and lethality against air-to-air and surface-to-air threats.

However, sources tell POGO that LO maintenance hours accounts for over half of all maintenance time, not only significantly reducing the mission capability of the plane, but also undermining the [US Air Force’s] claim that the F-22 will “have better reliability and maintainability than any fighter aircraft in history.”

LO maintenance hours, which include time for the planes to cure, translate into time that the F-22 is not operable. As a result, there are concerns that there will be too many F-22’s unable to fly when they are needed. Air Force Chief of Staff General Norton Schwartz has stated publicly that given these stealth issues, the F-22’s mission capable rate is only 60 percent.

“At a total of $354 million per plane this new information shows the F-22 is not only the most expensive but also the most difficult fighter aircraft to maintain—and it isn’t even experiencing combat stress,” said Danielle Brian, Executive Director of the Project On Government Oversight.

“Congress and the Defense Department should recognize these dollars would be better spent on modernized F-15s or F-16s. More procurement of the F-22 isn’t smart strategically or financially.”

Congress has given the Defense Department a March 1 deadline to determine whether to buy more F-22s or to shut down the plane’s production line.

Founded in 1981, the Project On Government Oversight (POGO) is an independent nonprofit that investigates and exposes corruption in order to achieve a more accountable federal government.

http://www.defencetalk.com/news/publish/airforce/High-Maintenance_F-22_Stealth_Features_Keeping_It_in_the_Shop100017210.php

Why not spend that money on their own program? Nobody can’t beat Western technology anyway. 😉 It doesn’t even need to be a true 5th generation. This is just a case of like buying a luxury handbag to them.

American women use to be no.1 hands down! I have to agree with J-7. Many of the Czech and Hungarian women are tops now! Russian women up there too. Some British are okay but they made anorexia trendy…yuk! American women… the celebrities the press say are “the most beautiful people in the world” are mostly ugly to me. Again… a lot of anorexiics there on those lists. Never seen the appeal of Julia Roberts which they say is the most beautiful woman in the world. Not even average to me. More and more Western women are losing out because they listen to what the press says. Former Eastern block and South American women are looking better and better.

It’s pretty silly to put a non-Chinese source up and then address the Chinese about it.

Not surprising! He demanded I give him a source proof for the Kitty Hawk encounter with a Chinese sub when he already said he had heard about it before. :diablo:

Yeah, you’ll have to detect it first which you apparently can’t. It happened twice didn’t it? First with the Kitty Hawk and then the latest was a grand spanking new one. :diablo:

Yeah, remember this?

Flankers beats F-35 in highly classified simulated dogfight ?

BY : The Australian

The JSF jets, for which Australia is likely to pay $16 billion, were comprehensively beaten in highly classified simulated dogfights against Russian Sukhoi fighters, it has been reported.

The war games, conducted at Hawaii’s Hickam airbase last month, were witnessed by at least four RAAF personnel and a member of Australia’s peak military spy agency, the Defence Intelligence Organisation, The West Australian said.

Opposition defence spokesman Nick Minchin said he was taking “with a grain of salt” the validity of the report.

“This is based on a computer game, computer modelling of the aircraft,” he told Sky News.

“This is not real life.”

Senator Minchin said he had a classified briefing on the JSF from its US manufacturer Lockheed-Martin which had promoted the aircraft as the most advanced jet fighter ever.

“I can’t really say much about it, but this is a phenomenal aircraft.

“As our chief of defence Angus Houston has said this is a most extraordinary aircraft, it is the right aircraft for Australia.”

The multi-purpose fighter would be the backbone of the United States military, Senator Minchin said.

“We are fortunate to be in it and the government should move to make the decision to acquire it.”

WA Liberal backbencher Dennis Jensen said he had spoken to a third party with knowledge of the final classified test results who had claimed the JSF had been clubbed like baby seals by the simulated Sukhois, The West Australian reported.

He said the government should demand that the US Government sell it the F-22 which was already in operation instead of the JSF.

A response was been sought from the government.

interesting debate.
Who is China?
Largest country in the world. Largest land army in the world. emerging economic super power. Needs oil.
Last few years has copied (allegedly) other countries designs & mass produced them.
As a Naval power it lags far behind USA & India & needs to catch up pretty quickly to save face.
today’s status symbol is an aircraft carrier, with STOVL almost every man and his dog has one, even small nations Taiwan, Italy, Spain etc but not China the largest country in the world.
Is it possible for them to build two carriers. They have the design, simply copy what you have & mass produce it. conclusion China’s record shows this she can do.
Will they be of much use? If China went to war & used her (2-3) carriers most likely they will come up against a similar number of US CVN’s. Result China will lose. This therefore is most likely not an option, but rater as a status symbol & nothing more.
look forward to 2020 USA operating at least 10 up to date CVN’s & China 2-3 CV’s of vintage 80’s design & GB with none.
Only time will tell.

Then what’s everyone worried about? By so many reactions in here, what’s all the peeing in the pants over two carriers? Notice no one actually answers this question because you’re right. This is about a status symbol and nothing more… on the side of the people peeing in their pants. They just don’t want China into the club. A lot of schizoid reactions. That pretty much tells it all.

Stupid jokes that racists only laugh at, huh?

My little embellishment to that joke was to point out how many anti-semitic spins can be turned using that joke but I chose a less offensive but to the same argument approach. Not to support yours and his petty nationalism that always gets you guys in trouble.