Fact Sheet: The F/A-22 “Raptor” Fighter

Prepared by:
Christopher Hellman
Military Policy Fellow
Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation

BACKGROUND

The F-22, known as the “Raptor,” is an air-superiority fighter intended to replace a portion of the Air Force’s fleet of F-15s.  The aircraft utilizes “stealth” technologies, and is able to cruise at supersonic speed without afterburners, thus saving fuel. Lockheed-Martin is the prime contractor, while Boeing (airframes) and Pratt & Whitney (engines) are major subcontractors.

The F-22 program began in the early 1980s, at which time it was known as the “Advanced Tactical Fighter.” Originally the Air Force planned to purchase 750 aircraft at an estimated total program cost of $99 billion. In addition, the Navy had planned to purchase 618 Naval Advanced Tactical Fighters.  Development of the NATF was effectively terminated, however, when the Pentagon sought no funds for the program in its Fiscal Year 1992 budget request.

While the Air Force continued development and production of the F-22, repeated delays and cost growth, together with the collapse of the Soviet Union, caused a series of program restructurings and reductions in the total number of aircraft to be bought (see table below). The current plan calls for the Air Force to purchase 184 aircraft (including one non-combat developmental aircraft) at a total cost of $64.5 billion. In addition, the Pentagon has requested funding for four more F-22s as part of the second fiscal year 2009 emergency supplemental funding package for Iraq and Afghanistan.

Defense Secretary Gates Terminates the F-22 Program – On April 6, 2009, Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced a list of major defense programs that would be scaled back or terminated as part of the Pentagon’s Fiscal Year 2010 budget request. This included the Pentagon’s plans to terminate the F-22 program at 187 aircraft. Announcing the cuts Secretary Gates emphasized that these were not budget-driven decisions.  According to Mr. Gates, "…I would have made virtually all of the decisions and recommendations announced today regardless of the department's top-line budget number."  Regarding the specific decision to terminate the F-22, “it was not a close call.”

Top Air Force Officials Oppose More F-22s -- In an April 13 op-ed in the "Washington Post" Air Force Secretary Michael Donley and Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz expressed their support for Defense Secretary Robert Gate's decision to terminate the F-22 fighter program, and why they were not seeking funding for additional F-22s in their Fiscal Year 2010 budget request.

In explaining their decision, Mr. Donley and Gen. Schwartz noted that because of budgetary pressures, the F-22 decision “has increasingly become a zero-sum game,” and that therefore, “buying more F-22s means doing less of something else.”

In attempting to answer the frequently asked question “how many F-22s does the Air Force need?” Mr. Donley and Gen. Schwartz replied that “the answer, of course, depends on what we are being asked to do.”  They concluded that based on constant reassessments by the Pentagon over the years “a progressively more sophisticated mix of aircraft, weapons and networking capabilities will enable us to produce needed combat power with fewer platforms [of all kinds]” and that the 187 F-22 aircraft currently planned are sufficient.

The F-22 and “Jobs” – In January 2009, 44 Senators and 194 Members of the House of Representatives sent letters to President-elect Obama urging him to support continued F-22 production. According to the letters “…over 25,000 Americans working for more than 1,000 suppliers in 44 states manufacture this aircraft.  Moreover, it is estimated that another 70,000 Americans indirectly owe their jobs to this program."  The Pentagon gives slightly different figures.  According to Secretary Gates, current direct employment F-22 program is 24,000. This figure declines to 19,000 next year, and to about 13,000 in Fiscal Year 2011.

Meanwhile the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (also manufactured by Lockheed Martin) program currently employs 38,000. This number grows to 64,000 next year, and 82,000 in FY’11.

A History of Cost Growth – Over its lifetime, the F-22 program has experienced significant cost growth.  While the total program cost has fluctuated up and down as a result of delays, program restructuring, and changes in the total number of aircraft to be purchased, the F-22’s “per unit” costs have trended steadily upwards.  “Per unit” costs are determined by taking the total program cost and dividing it by the total number of units to be procured. This figure differs (often significantly) from the procurement costs released by the Pentagon because it includes all the costs associated with the program’s acquisition phase, including those for Research, Development, Testing and Evaluation (RDT&E), which are often substantial.

For example, recent media reporting has put the current costs of the F-22 fighter at roughly $185 million. That figure is the estimated cost of each aircraft as it rolls off the assembly line. It does not, however, accurately reflect the full burden that acquiring a particular weapon system represents to the U.S. taxpayer, which, as Defense Department’s most recent figures show, is $351 million.

Program/Per Unit Cost of the F-22

(Based on DoD’s “Selected Acquisition Reports”)