• US DoD Releases Additional F-22 Funding

  tags: airpower, air_force, F-22

  • The US Department of Defense has released funding to build an additional four F-22 Raptor fighter jets beyond the 183 already
    purchased.

  • US lawmakers have called on the Pentagon to release USD140 million in advanced procurement funds that have already been appropriated
    to pave the way for the purchase of an additional 20 F-22s.

    They - along with some US Air Force (

    USAF) officials - have argued that failing to robustly fund the F-22 would lead to the
    shut-down of the world’s only fully operational fifth-generation fighter production line.

    However, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Pentagon officials have until now resisted efforts to fund the F-22 beyond
    the 183 already purchased, preferring to focus funding on the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter.

  • Young is meeting both sides half way by keeping the line open in the short term but leaving long-term decisions about F-22
    production to the next administration.

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