This document provides a summary of the Air Force F-22 fighter program. It discusses the procurement history of the F-22, including the shutdown of the production line in 2009 after 195 aircraft were procured. It also covers recent issues with F-22 pilots experiencing hypoxia-like symptoms, which was attributed to problems with the oxygen system. Ongoing matters of interest to Congress regarding the F-22 program are identified as questions around the oxygen issues, potentially procuring additional F-22s, reliability and maintenance of the existing fleet, the modernization program, and potential foreign sales.
The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II, or Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), is a single-seat, single-engine, multi-role stealth fighter with awesome capabilities. This aircraft was created to play a central role in the United States’ air dominance strategy in the upcoming decades, and although some fighters have been delivered, they are still in the testing phases. The F-35 is classified as a 5th Generation fighter, and it features a range of technological advancements that give it a significant advantage over 4th Generation aircraft and other threats.
171705017 appendix-14-mi g-21-airworthiness-certificationwaqas ahmed
This document provides background information on the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 aircraft. The MiG-21 was a supersonic jet fighter that served as the mainstay of Soviet fighter aviation from the 1960s-1970s. Over 10,000 MiG-21s were produced and it was exported to over 50 countries. While early versions were considered first and second generation jets, later versions were third and fourth generation. The MiG-21 had short range but was capable of Mach 2 speed. It continues to serve in many air forces globally despite being replaced by newer fighters in the Soviet Union in the 1970s-1980s.
A United Airlines DC-8 crashed during approach to Portland International Airport on December 28, 1978, killing 2 crew members and 10 passengers. The aircraft experienced a landing gear malfunction which delayed the flight from Denver. During approach, the pilots ran low on fuel due to failing to properly monitor fuel levels and ignoring crew advice. Both engines then stopped due to fuel exhaustion. The aircraft declared an emergency but crashed shortly after in a wooded area near the airport.
The F-117 Nighthawk was the world's first operational stealth aircraft, designed by Lockheed for the US Air Force. It first flew in 1977 and was used in combat during the invasion of Panama in 1989 and the Gulf War, performing effectively. One F-117 was shot down over Serbia in 1999, compromising some of its stealth technology. The Air Force is retiring the F-117 by 2006 due to the deployment of the more advanced F-22 Raptor.
This document provides guidance for designing fossil-fueled steam power plants. It discusses economic analysis and studies, including factors to consider, methods for satisfying load demands, and comparing costs of alternatives. It also covers sources of power, private versus government ownership, and expanding, rehabilitating or replacing existing plants. The guidance includes criteria for sizing plants, load shedding, cogeneration, environmental regulations, equipment, fuel handling, water treatment, controls, testing, pollution control and other design considerations.
F 15 e strike eagle, usa - dual role long range fighter aircrafthindujudaic
The F-15E Strike Eagle is a multirole fighter based on the F-15 Eagle that can perform both air-to-air and air-to-ground missions. It has been operated by the US Air Force since the 1990s and is also used by the militaries of Israel, Japan, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, and Singapore. With powerful engines and a large weapons payload, the F-15E provides long-range strike capability and is considered a superior next generation fighter.
An American Airlines Boeing 767 experienced a high power engine test failure at LAX airport on June 2, 2006. During the test of the #1 engine, the high pressure turbine (HPT) disk failed, puncturing the left wing and damaging the #2 engine. The debris from the failed engine caused a fire that engulfed the wing and rear fuselage before being extinguished. The extensive damage to multiple systems makes the aircraft a total loss. This HPT disk failure echoes prior issues with the CF6-80 engine type that prompted previous inspections of the disks.
The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II, or Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), is a single-seat, single-engine, multi-role stealth fighter with awesome capabilities. This aircraft was created to play a central role in the United States’ air dominance strategy in the upcoming decades, and although some fighters have been delivered, they are still in the testing phases. The F-35 is classified as a 5th Generation fighter, and it features a range of technological advancements that give it a significant advantage over 4th Generation aircraft and other threats.
171705017 appendix-14-mi g-21-airworthiness-certificationwaqas ahmed
This document provides background information on the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 aircraft. The MiG-21 was a supersonic jet fighter that served as the mainstay of Soviet fighter aviation from the 1960s-1970s. Over 10,000 MiG-21s were produced and it was exported to over 50 countries. While early versions were considered first and second generation jets, later versions were third and fourth generation. The MiG-21 had short range but was capable of Mach 2 speed. It continues to serve in many air forces globally despite being replaced by newer fighters in the Soviet Union in the 1970s-1980s.
A United Airlines DC-8 crashed during approach to Portland International Airport on December 28, 1978, killing 2 crew members and 10 passengers. The aircraft experienced a landing gear malfunction which delayed the flight from Denver. During approach, the pilots ran low on fuel due to failing to properly monitor fuel levels and ignoring crew advice. Both engines then stopped due to fuel exhaustion. The aircraft declared an emergency but crashed shortly after in a wooded area near the airport.
The F-117 Nighthawk was the world's first operational stealth aircraft, designed by Lockheed for the US Air Force. It first flew in 1977 and was used in combat during the invasion of Panama in 1989 and the Gulf War, performing effectively. One F-117 was shot down over Serbia in 1999, compromising some of its stealth technology. The Air Force is retiring the F-117 by 2006 due to the deployment of the more advanced F-22 Raptor.
This document provides guidance for designing fossil-fueled steam power plants. It discusses economic analysis and studies, including factors to consider, methods for satisfying load demands, and comparing costs of alternatives. It also covers sources of power, private versus government ownership, and expanding, rehabilitating or replacing existing plants. The guidance includes criteria for sizing plants, load shedding, cogeneration, environmental regulations, equipment, fuel handling, water treatment, controls, testing, pollution control and other design considerations.
F 15 e strike eagle, usa - dual role long range fighter aircrafthindujudaic
The F-15E Strike Eagle is a multirole fighter based on the F-15 Eagle that can perform both air-to-air and air-to-ground missions. It has been operated by the US Air Force since the 1990s and is also used by the militaries of Israel, Japan, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, and Singapore. With powerful engines and a large weapons payload, the F-15E provides long-range strike capability and is considered a superior next generation fighter.
An American Airlines Boeing 767 experienced a high power engine test failure at LAX airport on June 2, 2006. During the test of the #1 engine, the high pressure turbine (HPT) disk failed, puncturing the left wing and damaging the #2 engine. The debris from the failed engine caused a fire that engulfed the wing and rear fuselage before being extinguished. The extensive damage to multiple systems makes the aircraft a total loss. This HPT disk failure echoes prior issues with the CF6-80 engine type that prompted previous inspections of the disks.
An American Airlines Boeing 767 experienced a high power engine test failure at LAX airport on June 2, 2006. During the test of the #1 engine, the high pressure turbine (HPT) disk failed, puncturing the left wing and damaging the #2 engine. The turbine disk exited the engine and passed through the aircraft, lodging in the outboard side of the #2 engine. The fuel tanks on both wings were punctured, starting a major fire that engulfed the wing and rear fuselage before being extinguished. The damage was extensive enough that the aircraft was likely declared a total loss.
This document is an Army manual on materials testing that contains information on soil properties and classifications, as well as procedures for identifying soil types through field tests. It provides testing equipment lists and safety considerations for working with soils, asphalt, and concrete. The manual has undergone two changes that replace various pages and includes a foreword noting it can be used by the Army, Navy, and Air Force for training and operations.
Indian Air Force (IAF) Pending Order For 10 Boeing C-17s Not at Risk as Sugge...GLOBAL HEAVYLIFT HOLDINGS
Bloomfield Hills, MI, May 26, 2010 (PressReleasePoint) -- Global HeavyLift Holdings, LLC, a Defense Logistics Agency (DLA www.ccr.gov) entity based in Michigan, believes it is appropriate to address, yet again, the continuing attacks, misstatements and outright analytical/factual errors carried by multiple media outlets globally against Boeing C-17. These are largely based on comments by Secretary of Defense Dr. Robert Gates, elements of the USAF, and others demanding an end to its production.
The drumbeat of anti-C-17 commentary in US, European, Indian, Pakistani and other global news mediums; a strike at Boeing Long Beach by union workers and the observably large leap in logic suggesting the Globemaster III will be terminated as a result, appear to be part of a well-coordinated effort -- again -- to render as self-fulfilling prophecy SECDEF Dr. Robert Gates' unfounded insistence on ending production of the world's most successful strategic/tactical airlifter.
An American Airlines Boeing 767 experienced a high power engine failure during testing at LAX airport. The high pressure turbine disk in the #1 engine ruptured, puncturing the left wing and fuel tank. It then sliced through the belly of the aircraft and damaged the #2 engine. The wing puncture caused a major fire that engulfed the wing and rear fuselage before being put out. The extensive damage means the aircraft will likely be declared a total loss. General Electric is investigating the cause of the uncontained engine failure.
United Airlines Flight 232 was a flight from Denver to Philadelphia that crashed in Sioux City, Iowa on July 19, 1989 after experiencing catastrophic engine failure. The failure of the number 2 engine led to the loss of all hydraulic systems on the aircraft, making the plane nearly impossible to control. Despite immense difficulties, the crew was able to crash land the plane in a field, resulting in 111 deaths but allowing 185 to survive the crash. An investigation found that a fatigue crack in the engine disk led to its catastrophic failure during flight.
Augments crisis communication case study of Air Force's reaction to having lost six nuclear missiles in 2007. Find the presentation at http://storify.com/higginbomb/lost-missiles-and-lost-messages
The Northrop F-20 Tigershark was a privately developed fighter aircraft intended to compete with the F-16 Fighting Falcon. It began flying in 1982 but failed to secure any orders due to the US relaxing restrictions on F-16 sales. While the F-20 had performance comparable to early F-16 models, its airframe was based on the older F-5 design with limited expansion capabilities. The last prototype is displayed at the California Science Center.
The document provides a recommendation for the continued detention of Guantanamo detainee ISN US9AF-000899DP. It finds the detainee to be a high risk threat based on his admitted membership in Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin, ties to anti-coalition militias, possible ties to al-Qaeda and Iranian extremists, and participation in attacks against US and coalition forces. Materials found in his possession at capture included an al-Qaeda training manual. The detainee is uncooperative and continues to support anti-US elements, so continued detention is advised for risk of reengagement if released.
This 3-day conference on military helicopters and future vertical lift requirements will bring together industry leaders and military personnel from all branches to discuss upgrades and developments needed across aging fleets. The agenda includes sessions on the FVL program goals and requirements, the USMC perspective, SOCOM and naval aviation needs, and modernizing Army and Coast Guard aircraft. Speakers will address topics like next-generation turbines, V-22 operations, and meeting the needs of the Army, Air Force, and National Guard. The event aims to advance knowledge sharing on the US military helicopter landscape.
Egypt Air flight 990 crashed off the coast of the United States on October 31, 1999, killing all 217 people on board, including 203 passengers and 14 crew members. The US report concluded that the co-pilot, Gamel Batouti, deliberately crashed the plane, as audio from the flight recorder indicated he repeatedly said "trust in God" before the crash. However, the Egyptian report proposed that the plane could have been shot down accidentally by another aircraft during a training exercise. The cause of the crash remains disputed between the two countries' investigative authorities.
Mil dtl-117 h-amendment-1 Military Packagingpinkinator
This document is a specification for heat-sealable bags used for military preservation. It specifies the types, classes, and styles of bags, the materials they must be made from, construction requirements, testing procedures, identification marking requirements, and other specifications. The bags are intended to provide specialized protection for military equipment from exposure to extremes in the naval/naval aviation environment.
This document provides information about an upcoming event on military helicopters and future vertical lift requirements. The three day event at the Mustin Beach Officers Club in Pensacola, Florida from August 24-26, 2015 will feature presentations from senior military leaders and industry experts on topics such as the Future Vertical Lift program, meeting naval aviation needs, and worldwide MV-22 Osprey strategies. Featured speakers include Major General Gregg Sturdevant, Rear Admiral CJ Jaynes, Colonel Christopher Seymour, and J. Patrick Donnelly. The event aims to discuss requirements and advance knowledge of the U.S. military helicopter landscape.
Human Factors in Aviation by Omar KuzbariOmar Kuzbari
Case study on Human Factors in Aviation based on the Air Ontario Flight 1363 Fokker F-28 at Dryden from March 10, 1989 (Ontario) prepared by Omar Kuzbari in 2018.
This document provides an analysis of world air forces in 2013, including:
1) The US dominates with 27% of the total active fleet of over 51,000 aircraft, followed by Russia and China, though US numbers may decline due to budget cuts.
2) Conflicts in Afghanistan, Syria, and between Israel and Hamas highlighted the importance of air power during the year.
3) New Chinese and Russian fighter designs indicate those countries aim to challenge US technological superiority over time through aircraft production.
The document summarizes the status of the F-35 Lightning II program as of December 13, 2013. It provides details on flight testing statistics for the different F-35 variants, the current fleet status with numbers of aircraft delivered and stationed at different bases, highlights from the last two months of testing and development, planned quantities to be purchased by different countries, funding information, and specifications of the F-35A, B, and C variants. Over 7,400 flights have been conducted since 2006 testing 87 delivered aircraft across several nations with billions in funding supporting low rate production lots.
Emergency ejection system in military aircraft reportLahiru Dilshan
Safety is a major concern in the aircraft industry both in commercial and military services. In the fighter jets, there are several unique mechanisms used other than the commercial airliner. Pilots in the fighter jects can abandon the ship in case of an emergency but the other types of aircraft cannot use that kind of mechanism because the passengers are boarded.
An Update on the F-35 Program: February 2015ICSA, LLC
During a visit to the Final Assembly Line in Fort Worth during February 2015, Steve Over, the head of international business development for the F-35, provided an update on the program. Looking at numbers of aircraft, according to Over: “We’re under firm contract, through LRIP-8 for over 230 airplanes.” The projection is for more than 400 airplanes deployed by 2018. And more than 600 deployed by 2020.
Faa proposed rules on operation and certification of small unmanned aircraft ...PublicLeaker
The FAA is proposing a new rule to allow routine civil operation of small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) weighing less than 55 pounds in the National Airspace System. The proposed rule would establish specific operating rules to mitigate risk, including limiting operations to daylight hours, visual line of sight, confined areas, and below an altitude of 500 feet. It would also address aircraft registration and marking, operator certification requirements, and operational restrictions to ensure small UAS operations can safety and securely coexist with other aircraft.
The Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission (MCRMC) retirement
reform plan is a blended approach that includes a defined benefit (DB), a defined contribution
(DC) plan, and higher current compensation in the form of continuation pay at year
of service (YOS) 12. In addition, the plan allows active component (AC) service members—at
the time of their retirement from the military—a choice regarding the DB annuity receivable
from the time of retirement to age 67.1 The member may choose a full DB annuity, a full
lump-sum payment in lieu of the annuity, or partial DB annuity and partial lump sum. The
DB is like today’s DB, except with a multiplier of 2.0 percent instead of 2.5 percent in today’s
system. Reserve component (RC) retirees could elect to receive (1) a full DB annuity starting
at age 60; (2) a lump sum paid at the time of retirement from the RC in lieu of the annuity to
age 67; or (3) a partial DB annuity from ages 60 to 67 and a partial lump sum paid at the time
of retirement from the RC, then receive the full annuity starting at age 67. The DC plan vests
at YOS 3, the Department of Defense (DoD) makes an automatic contribution of 1 percent of
basic pay from years 1 to 20, and DoD matches the member’s contribution up to 5 percent of
basic pay over years 3–20.
MCRP 5-12D Organization of United States Marine Corps 26 Aug15Tom "Blad" Lindblad
This document provides an overview of the organization of the United States Marine Corps, including its command structure and major components. It outlines the mission and roles of Headquarters Marine Corps, the Marine Corps Operating Forces including the Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF) framework of Marine Expeditionary Force, Brigade, and Unit levels. It also describes the Supporting Establishment, Marine Corps Reserve, and geographic and functional Marine Corps Components responsible for different regions and missions.
CRS - Marine Corps Amphibious Combat Vehicle (ACV) and Marine Personnel Carri...Tom "Blad" Lindblad
The document summarizes the Marine Corps' Amphibious Combat Vehicle (ACV) and Marine Personnel Carrier (MPC) programs. It provides background on the cancellation of the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle in 2011 and the rationale for the ACV and MPC. It discusses requirements, program developments including contracts awarded in 2015, and the FY2016 budget. It notes potential issues for Congress regarding the new acquisition strategy for the ACV and MPC.
An American Airlines Boeing 767 experienced a high power engine test failure at LAX airport on June 2, 2006. During the test of the #1 engine, the high pressure turbine (HPT) disk failed, puncturing the left wing and damaging the #2 engine. The turbine disk exited the engine and passed through the aircraft, lodging in the outboard side of the #2 engine. The fuel tanks on both wings were punctured, starting a major fire that engulfed the wing and rear fuselage before being extinguished. The damage was extensive enough that the aircraft was likely declared a total loss.
This document is an Army manual on materials testing that contains information on soil properties and classifications, as well as procedures for identifying soil types through field tests. It provides testing equipment lists and safety considerations for working with soils, asphalt, and concrete. The manual has undergone two changes that replace various pages and includes a foreword noting it can be used by the Army, Navy, and Air Force for training and operations.
Indian Air Force (IAF) Pending Order For 10 Boeing C-17s Not at Risk as Sugge...GLOBAL HEAVYLIFT HOLDINGS
Bloomfield Hills, MI, May 26, 2010 (PressReleasePoint) -- Global HeavyLift Holdings, LLC, a Defense Logistics Agency (DLA www.ccr.gov) entity based in Michigan, believes it is appropriate to address, yet again, the continuing attacks, misstatements and outright analytical/factual errors carried by multiple media outlets globally against Boeing C-17. These are largely based on comments by Secretary of Defense Dr. Robert Gates, elements of the USAF, and others demanding an end to its production.
The drumbeat of anti-C-17 commentary in US, European, Indian, Pakistani and other global news mediums; a strike at Boeing Long Beach by union workers and the observably large leap in logic suggesting the Globemaster III will be terminated as a result, appear to be part of a well-coordinated effort -- again -- to render as self-fulfilling prophecy SECDEF Dr. Robert Gates' unfounded insistence on ending production of the world's most successful strategic/tactical airlifter.
An American Airlines Boeing 767 experienced a high power engine failure during testing at LAX airport. The high pressure turbine disk in the #1 engine ruptured, puncturing the left wing and fuel tank. It then sliced through the belly of the aircraft and damaged the #2 engine. The wing puncture caused a major fire that engulfed the wing and rear fuselage before being put out. The extensive damage means the aircraft will likely be declared a total loss. General Electric is investigating the cause of the uncontained engine failure.
United Airlines Flight 232 was a flight from Denver to Philadelphia that crashed in Sioux City, Iowa on July 19, 1989 after experiencing catastrophic engine failure. The failure of the number 2 engine led to the loss of all hydraulic systems on the aircraft, making the plane nearly impossible to control. Despite immense difficulties, the crew was able to crash land the plane in a field, resulting in 111 deaths but allowing 185 to survive the crash. An investigation found that a fatigue crack in the engine disk led to its catastrophic failure during flight.
Augments crisis communication case study of Air Force's reaction to having lost six nuclear missiles in 2007. Find the presentation at http://storify.com/higginbomb/lost-missiles-and-lost-messages
The Northrop F-20 Tigershark was a privately developed fighter aircraft intended to compete with the F-16 Fighting Falcon. It began flying in 1982 but failed to secure any orders due to the US relaxing restrictions on F-16 sales. While the F-20 had performance comparable to early F-16 models, its airframe was based on the older F-5 design with limited expansion capabilities. The last prototype is displayed at the California Science Center.
The document provides a recommendation for the continued detention of Guantanamo detainee ISN US9AF-000899DP. It finds the detainee to be a high risk threat based on his admitted membership in Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin, ties to anti-coalition militias, possible ties to al-Qaeda and Iranian extremists, and participation in attacks against US and coalition forces. Materials found in his possession at capture included an al-Qaeda training manual. The detainee is uncooperative and continues to support anti-US elements, so continued detention is advised for risk of reengagement if released.
This 3-day conference on military helicopters and future vertical lift requirements will bring together industry leaders and military personnel from all branches to discuss upgrades and developments needed across aging fleets. The agenda includes sessions on the FVL program goals and requirements, the USMC perspective, SOCOM and naval aviation needs, and modernizing Army and Coast Guard aircraft. Speakers will address topics like next-generation turbines, V-22 operations, and meeting the needs of the Army, Air Force, and National Guard. The event aims to advance knowledge sharing on the US military helicopter landscape.
Egypt Air flight 990 crashed off the coast of the United States on October 31, 1999, killing all 217 people on board, including 203 passengers and 14 crew members. The US report concluded that the co-pilot, Gamel Batouti, deliberately crashed the plane, as audio from the flight recorder indicated he repeatedly said "trust in God" before the crash. However, the Egyptian report proposed that the plane could have been shot down accidentally by another aircraft during a training exercise. The cause of the crash remains disputed between the two countries' investigative authorities.
Mil dtl-117 h-amendment-1 Military Packagingpinkinator
This document is a specification for heat-sealable bags used for military preservation. It specifies the types, classes, and styles of bags, the materials they must be made from, construction requirements, testing procedures, identification marking requirements, and other specifications. The bags are intended to provide specialized protection for military equipment from exposure to extremes in the naval/naval aviation environment.
This document provides information about an upcoming event on military helicopters and future vertical lift requirements. The three day event at the Mustin Beach Officers Club in Pensacola, Florida from August 24-26, 2015 will feature presentations from senior military leaders and industry experts on topics such as the Future Vertical Lift program, meeting naval aviation needs, and worldwide MV-22 Osprey strategies. Featured speakers include Major General Gregg Sturdevant, Rear Admiral CJ Jaynes, Colonel Christopher Seymour, and J. Patrick Donnelly. The event aims to discuss requirements and advance knowledge of the U.S. military helicopter landscape.
Human Factors in Aviation by Omar KuzbariOmar Kuzbari
Case study on Human Factors in Aviation based on the Air Ontario Flight 1363 Fokker F-28 at Dryden from March 10, 1989 (Ontario) prepared by Omar Kuzbari in 2018.
This document provides an analysis of world air forces in 2013, including:
1) The US dominates with 27% of the total active fleet of over 51,000 aircraft, followed by Russia and China, though US numbers may decline due to budget cuts.
2) Conflicts in Afghanistan, Syria, and between Israel and Hamas highlighted the importance of air power during the year.
3) New Chinese and Russian fighter designs indicate those countries aim to challenge US technological superiority over time through aircraft production.
The document summarizes the status of the F-35 Lightning II program as of December 13, 2013. It provides details on flight testing statistics for the different F-35 variants, the current fleet status with numbers of aircraft delivered and stationed at different bases, highlights from the last two months of testing and development, planned quantities to be purchased by different countries, funding information, and specifications of the F-35A, B, and C variants. Over 7,400 flights have been conducted since 2006 testing 87 delivered aircraft across several nations with billions in funding supporting low rate production lots.
Emergency ejection system in military aircraft reportLahiru Dilshan
Safety is a major concern in the aircraft industry both in commercial and military services. In the fighter jets, there are several unique mechanisms used other than the commercial airliner. Pilots in the fighter jects can abandon the ship in case of an emergency but the other types of aircraft cannot use that kind of mechanism because the passengers are boarded.
An Update on the F-35 Program: February 2015ICSA, LLC
During a visit to the Final Assembly Line in Fort Worth during February 2015, Steve Over, the head of international business development for the F-35, provided an update on the program. Looking at numbers of aircraft, according to Over: “We’re under firm contract, through LRIP-8 for over 230 airplanes.” The projection is for more than 400 airplanes deployed by 2018. And more than 600 deployed by 2020.
Faa proposed rules on operation and certification of small unmanned aircraft ...PublicLeaker
The FAA is proposing a new rule to allow routine civil operation of small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) weighing less than 55 pounds in the National Airspace System. The proposed rule would establish specific operating rules to mitigate risk, including limiting operations to daylight hours, visual line of sight, confined areas, and below an altitude of 500 feet. It would also address aircraft registration and marking, operator certification requirements, and operational restrictions to ensure small UAS operations can safety and securely coexist with other aircraft.
The Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission (MCRMC) retirement
reform plan is a blended approach that includes a defined benefit (DB), a defined contribution
(DC) plan, and higher current compensation in the form of continuation pay at year
of service (YOS) 12. In addition, the plan allows active component (AC) service members—at
the time of their retirement from the military—a choice regarding the DB annuity receivable
from the time of retirement to age 67.1 The member may choose a full DB annuity, a full
lump-sum payment in lieu of the annuity, or partial DB annuity and partial lump sum. The
DB is like today’s DB, except with a multiplier of 2.0 percent instead of 2.5 percent in today’s
system. Reserve component (RC) retirees could elect to receive (1) a full DB annuity starting
at age 60; (2) a lump sum paid at the time of retirement from the RC in lieu of the annuity to
age 67; or (3) a partial DB annuity from ages 60 to 67 and a partial lump sum paid at the time
of retirement from the RC, then receive the full annuity starting at age 67. The DC plan vests
at YOS 3, the Department of Defense (DoD) makes an automatic contribution of 1 percent of
basic pay from years 1 to 20, and DoD matches the member’s contribution up to 5 percent of
basic pay over years 3–20.
MCRP 5-12D Organization of United States Marine Corps 26 Aug15Tom "Blad" Lindblad
This document provides an overview of the organization of the United States Marine Corps, including its command structure and major components. It outlines the mission and roles of Headquarters Marine Corps, the Marine Corps Operating Forces including the Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF) framework of Marine Expeditionary Force, Brigade, and Unit levels. It also describes the Supporting Establishment, Marine Corps Reserve, and geographic and functional Marine Corps Components responsible for different regions and missions.
CRS - Marine Corps Amphibious Combat Vehicle (ACV) and Marine Personnel Carri...Tom "Blad" Lindblad
The document summarizes the Marine Corps' Amphibious Combat Vehicle (ACV) and Marine Personnel Carrier (MPC) programs. It provides background on the cancellation of the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle in 2011 and the rationale for the ACV and MPC. It discusses requirements, program developments including contracts awarded in 2015, and the FY2016 budget. It notes potential issues for Congress regarding the new acquisition strategy for the ACV and MPC.
This document provides the 36th Commandant's initial planning guidance for the Marine Corps. It outlines several priorities, including enhancing recruitment screening to evaluate psychological resilience, addressing gaps in leadership at the non-commissioned officer level, and improving personnel stability and unit cohesion. The Commandant intends to guide the Marine Corps to be ready to meet its expeditionary mission and win future battles by focusing on leadership, warfighting capabilities, and balanced readiness across the force.
“The Tustin Hangars: Titans of History” is a comprehensive history of the two blimp hangars at the former U.S. Navy and Marine Corps air station in Tustin, California. The hangars were built early in World War II to house manned blimps or, in Navy terminology, non-rigid lighter-than-air (LTA) airships.
This document provides guidance from the Commandant of the Marine Corps on advancing the Marine Corps over the next four years. It outlines five focus areas: people, readiness, training/experimentation, integration with naval/joint forces, and modernization. The guidance emphasizes maintaining high quality personnel, decentralizing training while adhering to maneuver warfare principles, and modernizing through new technologies. Specific objectives include reviewing force structure, growing cyber and electronic warfare capabilities, ensuring leaders have time to train units pre-deployment, and reenergizing support for Marines after they leave active service. The overall goal is for the Marine Corps to remain the nation's crisis response force and be most ready when the country is least ready.
This report summarizes the program plans and funding for each of the major acquisition programs included in the SAR and four additional programs. The Air Force’s Long Range Strike-Bomber (LRS-B), Long Range Standoff Missile (LRSO), and Ground Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD), the future replacement for the Minuteman III, and the Navy’s Ohio-Class Replacement are not yet reported in the SAR, but enough is known about each program to construct a reasonable cost estimate. These programs are among the largest acquisition programs in DoD’s portfolio, and any discussion of major acquisitions would be incomplete without them. The programs included in this report represent 36 percent of the total acquisition budget in the FY 2016 FYDP. The remaining 64 percent of funding is used for hundreds of smaller acquisition programs not reported in the SAR or other programs too early in development to be included in the SAR.
Airica Walthall
F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Program
APUS
March 12, 2017
Abstract*
Executive Program Managers are responsible for the outcome of programs. An effective program manager proactively plans programs and holds people accountable to his/her responsibilities. They must be effective in all areas of management to ensure that the program he/she manages stays on track and within the program guidelines. The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Program is an example of a program that faced many struggles that may have been avoided with an effective program manager. The Joint Strike Fighter is the most extensive military program in history costing an estimated 1.5 trillion dollars. There have been numerous development issues, cost overruns, and delays. In addition to these issues, there have been other concerns over the jets’ computer systems. It has been reported Chinese hackers successfully stole classified data that was later used to manufacture an indigenous jet that shares many of the characteristics of the F-35 (Pike, John 2012). Although these are issues are cause for the concern, the program continues. Today, the Air Force, Navy, Marine Corp are all testing their variants of the aircraft. That said, the military planners remain acutely aware of the plane's myriad of problems. This paper will examine the F-35 program. Discussion on its development failures, successes, and improvements will be evaluated to illustrate the importance of an effective executive program manager.
Introduction*
Global stability and security remain the goals of the US Military. The organization has been successful in its military operations by ensuring that they have control of the skies. The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is designed to penetrate and defeat the most advanced military systems on land, at sea, and in the air. It is also designed to defeat emerging systems that are not yet in operation today. The everchanging technology of fighter aircraft around the globe from both allies and adversaries reinforces the need for the F-35’s new technologies and advances capabilities (Boyd, Ryan 2016). Through numerous partnerships around the world, the Joint Strike Fighter provides military forces with an unprecedented level of capability and support (Pike, John 2012). Today, America and its allies have smaller fleets of combat jets, and those jets, on average, are 25 years or older. Military planners around the world recognize the need to replace their aging fleets with modern aircraft, and the Joint Strike Fighter was designed for this very purpose. The Joint Strike Fighter Program is the largest military program in history. It will serve the United States Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corp, as well as America’s closest allies including the United Kingdom, Canada, Israel, Japan and others (Boyd, Ryan 2016).
Literature Review*
Boyd, Ryan. "F-35A Lightning II." Military.com. Ryan Boyd, n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2017
"Improvements Made to F-35 Fighter Jets after Troubling Audit." Reuters. T.
Global HeavyLift States C-17 Production Must be Maintained: To Seek FAA BC-17...GLOBAL HEAVYLIFT HOLDINGS
Following previous releases in February 2006 and March 2007, Global Heavylift Holdings, LLC, a Florida incorporated and Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) listed entity with principal offices in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, will continue its pursuit of an USD18.4B capital raise to implement a US/NATO-controlled Heavy and Outsized (H&O) air cargo industry utilizing new and used modestly modified variants of C-17 for commercial missions, while still meeting USAF operational standards as part of Civil Reserve Air Fleet (CRAF) organic airlift augmentation. (GOOGLE SEARCH: Global HeavyLift Holdings, LLC; also Commercial Application of Military Airlift Aircraft (CAMAA) )
Global HeavyLift States C-17 Production Must be Maintained: To Seek FAA BC-17...GLOBAL HEAVYLIFT HOLDINGS
Firm Also Reveals Theft of Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System, and Possible Compromising of F-22 and C-17 Technology, by China
Following previous releases in February 2006 and March 2007, Global Heavylift Holdings, LLC, a Florida incorporated and Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) listed entity with principal offices in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, will continue its pursuit of an USD18.4B capital raise to implement a US/NATO-controlled Heavy and Outsized (H&O) air cargo industry utilizing new and used modestly modified variants of C-17 for commercial missions, while still meeting USAF operational standards as part of Civil Reserve Air Fleet (CRAF) organic airlift augmentation. (GOOGLE SEARCH: Global HeavyLift Holdings, LLC; also Commercial Application of Military Airlift Aircraft (CAMAA) )
The document summarizes Japan's aerospace industry, including:
1) The industry rebuilt after WW2 through licensed production of fighters and technology transfers from the US. It has since jointly developed several aircraft with the US and domestically produced trainers and helicopters.
2) Current international projects include participation in Boeing 787 and Airbus A380 production. Domestically, Japan is procuring the F-35 fighter to replace aging jets and producing the P-1 maritime patrol aircraft and C-2 transport aircraft.
3) The industry will continue collaborating internationally on projects like the 787 and A380, and domestically focus on technologies for future fighters, helicopters, and transport aircraft.
The F-22 fleet faces challenges to meet increasing operational demands due to low aircraft availability. A partnership between the Air Force Sustainment Center, Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, and Lockheed Martin was formed to reduce F-22 depot flow times by 30% by the end of 2016. They conducted rapid improvement events to identify opportunities to optimize, change, and revolutionize F-22 depot processes. Early successes included streamlining low observable coating processes, engineering disposition times, and developing robotic intake coating systems. These changes aim to increase F-22 aircraft availability and sustainment for future operations.
The Northrop F-20 Tigershark was a privately developed fighter aircraft intended to compete with the F-16. It began as an evolution of the F-5 Freedom Fighter but used a more powerful engine. Three prototypes were built in the 1980s but no major orders were placed, as customers preferred the F-16. The project was ultimately cancelled after six years due to lack of sales. While its performance was comparable to early F-16 models, the F-20 lacked expansion capability and lost out to the newer and more supported F-16.
The Northrop F-20 Tigershark was a privately developed fighter aircraft intended to compete with the F-16. It began as an evolution of the F-5 Freedom Fighter but used a more powerful engine. Three prototypes were built in the 1980s but no major orders were placed, as customers preferred the F-16. The project was ultimately cancelled after six years due to lack of sales. While its performance was comparable to early F-16 models, the F-20 lacked expansion capability and lost out to the newer and more supported F-16.
The document discusses the capabilities and threats posed by commercial unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) like the DJI Phantom 3. It notes that their ease of use, reliability, and accessibility have made them popular tools for reconnaissance and intelligence gathering for militaries and terrorist groups. Specifically, the Phantom 3 has a transmission range of up to 5 kilometers, 25 minutes of flight time, and can carry cameras and payloads while retaining simple and intuitive controls. The document recommends increasing consideration of how adversaries could leverage commercial UAVs for tactical advantages.
The document provides information about the JF-17 Thunder fighter jet developed jointly by Pakistan and China. It discusses the history and development of the jet, its key features such as its weapons and specifications, cost, future plans, and comparisons to other fighter jets such as the F-16 and Mig-29. The JF-17 is intended to be a low-cost, modern multi-role combat aircraft for Pakistan's air force.
This week's UAS News Digest features several new aircraft. Northrop Grumman announced its new optionally piloted Firebird aircraft. Turkish Aerospace Industries showcased their new rotary aircraft at this year's International Defense Industry Fair in Turkey. Eglin Air Force Base was also announced as a candidate location for an MQ-1 squadron.
This document provides a history of the commercial aircraft industry from its beginnings with the Wright Brothers to the current duopoly between Boeing and Airbus. It discusses key events like World War I and II and the emergence of jet aircraft that shaped industry development. It also analyzes factors that can affect demand for new aircraft like economic crises, government policies supporting Airbus, rising fuel costs, and terrorism concerns. Both Boeing and Airbus strategize around these factors through new plane models and technologies to remain competitive.
The document discusses concepts for a potential sixth generation fighter jet called the Boeing F/A-XX. It is intended to replace both the F-22 Raptor and F/A-18 Super Hornet for the US Air Force and Navy. The fighter would enter service between 2025-2030 and incorporate advanced technologies like adaptive engines for increased range and performance. While still in the concept phase, Boeing has proposed designs and sees these sixth generation fighters as part of their future strategy alongside unmanned aircraft.
Programme Analysis - JSF F-35 from Lockheed MartinMisovsky2013
The document provides an overview and analysis of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program. It describes the program's objectives to provide a stealth multirole fighter jet for the US and NATO allies. However, the program's ambitions have led to massive cost overruns, with the average cost per aircraft now three times more than initially estimated. Production and testing delays have also pushed back key milestones. While seeking to develop an advanced, multi-use fighter, the program faces challenges meeting affordability and schedule targets.
Bomber aircraft market size is projected to soar in the upcoming years, powered by procuring new tactical and long range strategic bombers. Noteworthy programs such as the B21. strategic long range stealth bomber are moving along, with test planes already being constructed. What’s more remarkable about the latter program is its open architecture hardware and software system – setting it apart from existing models. As an experienced enthusiast on this topic, Bomber aircraft market analysis the prospects for growth in this market are auspicious. It would not be a stretch to deem these developments paradigm-shifting and believe me, there will be nothing monotonous about their implementation!
HR 4435 Tactical Air and Land ForcesFY2015 Defense Authorization Bill Tom "Blad" Lindblad
This document summarizes and provides legislative language for the FY15 National Defense Authorization Bill submitted to the Subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land Forces. It includes provisions that would: limit funds for modernizing communications on an aircraft until the Army submits a report; require annual GAO reviews of the F-35 acquisition program; limit funds for the Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle program until the Army reports on replacing vehicles for units above brigades; and allow the DoD to provide access to airspace for non-DoD entities testing unmanned systems.
Running Head: AIRLINE INDUSTRY: BOEING 1
AIRLINE INDUSTRY: BOEING 2
Airline industry: Boeing
Name
Institution
Airline industry: Boeing
It is of no doubt that the airline industry is one of the major economic drivers in the world. This is because it provides transport services to virtually every part of the globe. The airline industry has played a significant role in the creation of a global economy. Economic analysts posit that the airline industry is a major economic force in terms of how it operates, connect the world, and the impact it has on other related industries such as tourism and aircraft manufacturers to mention but a few (Lawrence & Thornton, 2017). In fact, experts in every economic sector agree that the airline industry has played a significant in turning the world into a global village due to its ability to ferry masses from one corner of the world to several others. The economic importance of the airline industry has been felt by everyone across the world and this cannot be wished away so easily. However, it must be appreciated that the airline industry comes with numerous challenges. For example, the world has witnessed massive losses of lives caused by plane crashes caused by simulators or as a result of terror activities. For the past few months, one of the leading aircraft manufactures has hit headlines for the wrong reasons. This paper provides a comprehensive view of the Boeing Company since its incorporation and the challenges it has gone through to date.
The history of Boeing
Boeing Company is an American aerospace company and the world’s largest in manufacturing commercial jet transports. It is equally the leading manufacturer of space vehicles and military aircraft among others. Its history dates back to 1916 when William Boeing and Conrad Westervelt manufactured a single engine, two-seat plane under B and W and later renamed it Boeing Company in 1917. In the 1920s and 30s, the company successfully sold military aircraft to the United States military (Lawrence & Thornton, 2017). The company assumed its current name in 1961 in a bid to reflect its ambitious expansion in aircraft manufacturing. Today, Boeing is considered the leading manufacturer of military aircraft, commercial airplanes, and missiles. The company has sold several units of Boeing 737 Max 8 to many countries across the world. Boeing 737 is a narrow body plane built by the company’s Renton Plant. It has gone through a series of improvement to enable the company challenges its closest rival; Airbus in term of fuel efficiency and service delivery. The continuous improvement led to the creation of Boeing 737 Max 8 that has since caused two accidents killing all passengers in less than a year. It must be remembered that Boeing 737 Max 8 was launched in December 2015 and the first delive.
The V-22 Osprey is a multi-mission tiltrotor aircraft developed for the U.S. military by Bell Helicopter and Boeing. It combines the vertical takeoff and landing capabilities of a helicopter with the speed and range of a turboprop aircraft. Development began in 1981 and took many years due to technical challenges. The U.S. Marine Corps began flying the Osprey in 2007 and it has since been used in combat missions in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya. Over 200 Ospreys have been produced as of 2014 with total costs of around $35 billion for the program.
GAO - Surface Ships: Status of the Navy’s Phased Modernization PlanTom "Blad" Lindblad
The Navy originally proposed a Phased Modernization Plan in 2014 that would place 11 cruisers and 3 dock-landing ships into reduced operating status for up to 12 years for maintenance and modernization. However, in 2015 the Navy significantly revised the plan in response to congressional concerns about capacity shortfalls. The revised plan limits the number of cruisers in modernization status at one time to no more than 6, and the time per cruiser to no more than 4 years. The Navy did not consider formal alternatives to the original plan and revised it primarily to address congressional concerns about reduced fleet capacity.
DOD's 2015 China Military Power Report (85 pages long)
Text Document
On May 9, 2015, the Defense Department released its annual China military power report.
This document provides an overview of the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) procurement structure and spending in fiscal year 2014. It discusses that DHS spent $16.5 billion through 86,594 transactions in FY2014, with the largest components by spending being the Office of Procurement Operations, U.S. Coast Guard, Customs and Border Protection, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. It also breaks down DHS spending by commodity families such as IT & telecom, professional services, and facilities & construction. The document outlines DHS' strategic sourcing program and notes that it achieved $471 million in savings for FY2014.
USMC Expeditionary Force 21 MAGTF Ground Combat Element (2015)Tom "Blad" Lindblad
1) The document discusses the need for the Marine Corps Ground Combat Element (GCE) to adapt to changing operational environments and complex mission requirements, such as non-combatant evacuations and raids on terrorist camps.
2) It analyzes recent missions and potential scenarios, questioning whether the GCE is adequately prepared and trained to execute complex, time-sensitive missions involving dispersed small units coordinating with air and naval assets.
3) The author calls for focusing on improving capabilities like integrated digital communications, reducing timelines for planning and execution, and standardizing training across the GCE to ensure readiness for large-scale operations on short notice against determined enemies.
Commandant of Marine Corps Posture Statement_2015 to CongressTom "Blad" Lindblad
Attached is the current posture statement and opening statement from yesterday's briefing by General Dunford to the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense.
Topics in the Posture Statement include:
• OEF-Afghanistan
• ARG/MEU Operations
• SPMAGTF-CR Operations
• Marine Corps in the Pacific
• Black Sea Rotational Force, Embassy Security Forces, and Theater Security Cooperation
• Fiscal Year 16 Budget Priorities
• Force Structure
• Amphibious Combat Vehicle
• Joint Light Tactical Vehicle
• Joint Strike Fighter
• CH-53K
• Command, Control, Communications and Computers
• Naval Integration and Programs of Interest
Readiness
• High Quality People
• Unit Readiness
• Capacity to Meet Combatant Commanders' Requirements
• Facility Investments
• Equipment Modernization and Innovation
• Marine Corps Force Integration Program (MCFIP)
• Sexual Assault Prevention and Response (SAPR)
• Suicide Prevention
• Wounded Warriors
• Transition Readiness
The FY 2016 budget request provides $126.5 billion for the Army base budget and $20.7 billion for Overseas Contingency Operations. The request maintains an end strength of 475,000 soldiers for the Active Army, 342,000 for the Army National Guard, and 198,000 for the Army Reserve. Funding is prioritized for military pay and benefits, training, readiness and modernization to ensure the Army remains capable of meeting global commitments.
Report of the Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission-2...Tom "Blad" Lindblad
The document is a report from the Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission summarizing its recommendations for modernizing the military's compensation and retirement systems. The Commission studied these issues over two years and received input from over 100,000 service members, veterans, and their families. The report outlines 15 recommendations that aim to improve pay and benefits while maintaining fiscal sustainability. The recommendations include transitioning to a blended retirement system, reforming health care programs, and enhancing education and family benefits. The Commission believes the changes will help recruit and retain high quality service members for the future.
This document provides an overview and agenda for the Joint Capabilities Integration and Development System (JCIDS). It discusses the requirements environment, capabilities-based planning process, key JCIDS documents including the Initial Capabilities Document, Capabilities Development Document, and Capability Production Document. It also covers topics like the requirements approval process, capabilities-based assessments, key performance parameters, and the relationship between JCIDS and the acquisition process.
This report presents statistics regarding U.S. military casualties in the active missions Operation
Inherent Resolve (OIR, Iraq and Syria) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF, Afghanistan), as
well as operations that have ended, Operation New Dawn (OND, Iraq) and Operation Iraqi
Freedom (OIF, Iraq). This report includes statistics on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD),
traumatic brain injury (TBI), amputations, evacuations, and the demographics of casualties. Some
of these statistics are publicly available at the Department of Defense’s (DOD’s) website and
others have been obtained through contact with experts at DOD.
To provide information about its plans beyond the coming year, the Department of Defense (DoD) generally provides a five-year plan, called the Future Years Defense Program (FYDP), that is associated with the budget it submits to the Congress. Because decisions made in the near term can have consequences for the defense budget in the longer term, CBO regularly examines DoD’s FYDP and projects its budgetary impact for roughly a decade beyond the period covered by the FYDP. For this analysis, CBO used the FYDP that was provided to the Congress in April 2014; it spans fiscal years 2015 to 2019, and CBO’s projections span the years 2015 to 2030.
For fiscal year 2015, DoD requested appropriations totaling $555 billion. Of that amount, $496 billion was for the base budget and $59 billion was for what are termed overseas contingency operations (OCO). The base budget covers programs that constitute the department’s normal activities, such as the development and procurement of weapon systems and the day-to-day operations of the military and civilian workforce. Funding for OCO pays for U.S. involvement in the war in Afghanistan and other nonroutine military activities elsewhere. The FYDP describes DoD’s plans for its normal activities and therefore generally corresponds to the base budget.
DoD’s 2015 plans differ from its 2014 plans in important ways. For example, in an effort to reduce costs, the current FYDP includes sizeable cuts in the number of military personnel, particularly in the Army.
Since its establishment, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) has been directing, administering, and providing DoD-wide guidance for the execution of programs for which it is responsible. This role is made difficult by the rapidly changing international environment, by resource scarcity, and by the overall complexity of the Security Cooperation community (SCC). It requires a whole-of-government approach to building capacities with our partners that support U.S. interests. DSCA Vision 2020 lays out a plan for DSCA to enable such an approach by the Security Cooperation enterprise (SCE), focusing on three interlocking areas: (1) synchronizing security cooperation activities, (2) meeting customer expectations, and (3) ensuring the effective and efficient use of community resources.
The document outlines the responsibilities and priorities of the United States Marine Corps Aviation program. It discusses that Marine aviation is an integral part of expeditionary operations that provides close air support, transport, and other capabilities. The Deputy Commandant for Aviation is focused on ensuring readiness now and in the future through initiatives like increasing monthly flight hours, improving training programs, consolidating testing operations, standardizing procedures, and fostering a safety-focused culture. The overall goal is for Marine aviation to be a flexible, well-trained force that can respond quickly to any crisis or threat.
Department of Defense Instruction 5143_DUSD Intelligence 24Oct14Tom "Blad" Lindblad
Reissues DoD Directive (DoDD) 5143.01 (Reference (a)) to update the responsibilities and functions, relationships, and authorities of the USD(I), pursuant to the authority vested in the Secretary of Defense (SecDef) by sections 113 and 137 of Title 10, United States Code (U.S.C.) (Reference (b)), and in accordance with section 3001 et seq. of Title 50, U.S.C. (Reference (c)), as well as Public Law 108-458 (Reference (d)), Executive Order (E.O.) 12333 (Reference (e)), and E.O. 13470 (Reference (f)).
The document provides an overview of the history of cavalry and armored vehicles from ancient times to modern day. It traces the evolution from early domesticated horses used by Sumerians in war to heavier armored cavalry developed by later civilizations. Over time, cavalry and their mounts grew larger and heavier with more armor protection. However, this increased weight reduced mobility. The document discusses how present ground vehicles face similar tradeoffs between survivability and mobility. It introduces the Ground X-Vehicle Technologies program which aims to develop new technologies to significantly improve mobility without compromising survivability by taking a different approach than just adding more armor.
This document provides an overview of defense acquisition spending and performance measurement. It analyzes spending levels and trends using DoD budget account data. The largest accounts are Operations and Maintenance (O&M) and Procurement. O&M spending has increased steadily over time. The document also discusses measuring acquisition system performance outcomes and how internal functions and processes can affect performance. It notes the scope of analysis includes both individual contracts and full programs.
The document provides advice for transitioning out of government service. It recommends networking aggressively, continuously updating your resume, researching companies of interest, and negotiating salary and benefits packages. The key is portraying your value to potential employers and being prepared to sell yourself.
The document is a report published by RAND Corporation that examines the strategic environment and security challenges in Asia from 2030 to 2040. It develops concepts for Chinese and U.S. national interests and policies, and considers potential U.S. national strategy in light of these. It then assesses roles and requirements for the U.S. Army, focusing on security cooperation, protecting bases and allies, and projecting forces if needed. The goal is to promote cooperation while addressing potential conflict.
Freshworks Rethinks NoSQL for Rapid Scaling & Cost-EfficiencyScyllaDB
Freshworks creates AI-boosted business software that helps employees work more efficiently and effectively. Managing data across multiple RDBMS and NoSQL databases was already a challenge at their current scale. To prepare for 10X growth, they knew it was time to rethink their database strategy. Learn how they architected a solution that would simplify scaling while keeping costs under control.
inQuba Webinar Mastering Customer Journey Management with Dr Graham HillLizaNolte
HERE IS YOUR WEBINAR CONTENT! 'Mastering Customer Journey Management with Dr. Graham Hill'. We hope you find the webinar recording both insightful and enjoyable.
In this webinar, we explored essential aspects of Customer Journey Management and personalization. Here’s a summary of the key insights and topics discussed:
Key Takeaways:
Understanding the Customer Journey: Dr. Hill emphasized the importance of mapping and understanding the complete customer journey to identify touchpoints and opportunities for improvement.
Personalization Strategies: We discussed how to leverage data and insights to create personalized experiences that resonate with customers.
Technology Integration: Insights were shared on how inQuba’s advanced technology can streamline customer interactions and drive operational efficiency.
In the realm of cybersecurity, offensive security practices act as a critical shield. By simulating real-world attacks in a controlled environment, these techniques expose vulnerabilities before malicious actors can exploit them. This proactive approach allows manufacturers to identify and fix weaknesses, significantly enhancing system security.
This presentation delves into the development of a system designed to mimic Galileo's Open Service signal using software-defined radio (SDR) technology. We'll begin with a foundational overview of both Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) and the intricacies of digital signal processing.
The presentation culminates in a live demonstration. We'll showcase the manipulation of Galileo's Open Service pilot signal, simulating an attack on various software and hardware systems. This practical demonstration serves to highlight the potential consequences of unaddressed vulnerabilities, emphasizing the importance of offensive security practices in safeguarding critical infrastructure.
"Scaling RAG Applications to serve millions of users", Kevin GoedeckeFwdays
How we managed to grow and scale a RAG application from zero to thousands of users in 7 months. Lessons from technical challenges around managing high load for LLMs, RAGs and Vector databases.
5th LF Energy Power Grid Model Meet-up SlidesDanBrown980551
5th Power Grid Model Meet-up
It is with great pleasure that we extend to you an invitation to the 5th Power Grid Model Meet-up, scheduled for 6th June 2024. This event will adopt a hybrid format, allowing participants to join us either through an online Mircosoft Teams session or in person at TU/e located at Den Dolech 2, Eindhoven, Netherlands. The meet-up will be hosted by Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e), a research university specializing in engineering science & technology.
Power Grid Model
The global energy transition is placing new and unprecedented demands on Distribution System Operators (DSOs). Alongside upgrades to grid capacity, processes such as digitization, capacity optimization, and congestion management are becoming vital for delivering reliable services.
Power Grid Model is an open source project from Linux Foundation Energy and provides a calculation engine that is increasingly essential for DSOs. It offers a standards-based foundation enabling real-time power systems analysis, simulations of electrical power grids, and sophisticated what-if analysis. In addition, it enables in-depth studies and analysis of the electrical power grid’s behavior and performance. This comprehensive model incorporates essential factors such as power generation capacity, electrical losses, voltage levels, power flows, and system stability.
Power Grid Model is currently being applied in a wide variety of use cases, including grid planning, expansion, reliability, and congestion studies. It can also help in analyzing the impact of renewable energy integration, assessing the effects of disturbances or faults, and developing strategies for grid control and optimization.
What to expect
For the upcoming meetup we are organizing, we have an exciting lineup of activities planned:
-Insightful presentations covering two practical applications of the Power Grid Model.
-An update on the latest advancements in Power Grid -Model technology during the first and second quarters of 2024.
-An interactive brainstorming session to discuss and propose new feature requests.
-An opportunity to connect with fellow Power Grid Model enthusiasts and users.
"Choosing proper type of scaling", Olena SyrotaFwdays
Imagine an IoT processing system that is already quite mature and production-ready and for which client coverage is growing and scaling and performance aspects are life and death questions. The system has Redis, MongoDB, and stream processing based on ksqldb. In this talk, firstly, we will analyze scaling approaches and then select the proper ones for our system.
Must Know Postgres Extension for DBA and Developer during MigrationMydbops
Mydbops Opensource Database Meetup 16
Topic: Must-Know PostgreSQL Extensions for Developers and DBAs During Migration
Speaker: Deepak Mahto, Founder of DataCloudGaze Consulting
Date & Time: 8th June | 10 AM - 1 PM IST
Venue: Bangalore International Centre, Bangalore
Abstract: Discover how PostgreSQL extensions can be your secret weapon! This talk explores how key extensions enhance database capabilities and streamline the migration process for users moving from other relational databases like Oracle.
Key Takeaways:
* Learn about crucial extensions like oracle_fdw, pgtt, and pg_audit that ease migration complexities.
* Gain valuable strategies for implementing these extensions in PostgreSQL to achieve license freedom.
* Discover how these key extensions can empower both developers and DBAs during the migration process.
* Don't miss this chance to gain practical knowledge from an industry expert and stay updated on the latest open-source database trends.
Mydbops Managed Services specializes in taking the pain out of database management while optimizing performance. Since 2015, we have been providing top-notch support and assistance for the top three open-source databases: MySQL, MongoDB, and PostgreSQL.
Our team offers a wide range of services, including assistance, support, consulting, 24/7 operations, and expertise in all relevant technologies. We help organizations improve their database's performance, scalability, efficiency, and availability.
Contact us: info@mydbops.com
Visit: https://www.mydbops.com/
Follow us on LinkedIn: https://in.linkedin.com/company/mydbops
For more details and updates, please follow up the below links.
Meetup Page : https://www.meetup.com/mydbops-databa...
Twitter: https://twitter.com/mydbopsofficial
Blogs: https://www.mydbops.com/blog/
Facebook(Meta): https://www.facebook.com/mydbops/
"$10 thousand per minute of downtime: architecture, queues, streaming and fin...Fwdays
Direct losses from downtime in 1 minute = $5-$10 thousand dollars. Reputation is priceless.
As part of the talk, we will consider the architectural strategies necessary for the development of highly loaded fintech solutions. We will focus on using queues and streaming to efficiently work and manage large amounts of data in real-time and to minimize latency.
We will focus special attention on the architectural patterns used in the design of the fintech system, microservices and event-driven architecture, which ensure scalability, fault tolerance, and consistency of the entire system.
Introduction of Cybersecurity with OSS at Code Europe 2024Hiroshi SHIBATA
I develop the Ruby programming language, RubyGems, and Bundler, which are package managers for Ruby. Today, I will introduce how to enhance the security of your application using open-source software (OSS) examples from Ruby and RubyGems.
The first topic is CVE (Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures). I have published CVEs many times. But what exactly is a CVE? I'll provide a basic understanding of CVEs and explain how to detect and handle vulnerabilities in OSS.
Next, let's discuss package managers. Package managers play a critical role in the OSS ecosystem. I'll explain how to manage library dependencies in your application.
I'll share insights into how the Ruby and RubyGems core team works to keep our ecosystem safe. By the end of this talk, you'll have a better understanding of how to safeguard your code.
For the full video of this presentation, please visit: https://www.edge-ai-vision.com/2024/06/temporal-event-neural-networks-a-more-efficient-alternative-to-the-transformer-a-presentation-from-brainchip/
Chris Jones, Director of Product Management at BrainChip , presents the “Temporal Event Neural Networks: A More Efficient Alternative to the Transformer” tutorial at the May 2024 Embedded Vision Summit.
The expansion of AI services necessitates enhanced computational capabilities on edge devices. Temporal Event Neural Networks (TENNs), developed by BrainChip, represent a novel and highly efficient state-space network. TENNs demonstrate exceptional proficiency in handling multi-dimensional streaming data, facilitating advancements in object detection, action recognition, speech enhancement and language model/sequence generation. Through the utilization of polynomial-based continuous convolutions, TENNs streamline models, expedite training processes and significantly diminish memory requirements, achieving notable reductions of up to 50x in parameters and 5,000x in energy consumption compared to prevailing methodologies like transformers.
Integration with BrainChip’s Akida neuromorphic hardware IP further enhances TENNs’ capabilities, enabling the realization of highly capable, portable and passively cooled edge devices. This presentation delves into the technical innovations underlying TENNs, presents real-world benchmarks, and elucidates how this cutting-edge approach is positioned to revolutionize edge AI across diverse applications.
Main news related to the CCS TSI 2023 (2023/1695)Jakub Marek
An English 🇬🇧 translation of a presentation to the speech I gave about the main changes brought by CCS TSI 2023 at the biggest Czech conference on Communications and signalling systems on Railways, which was held in Clarion Hotel Olomouc from 7th to 9th November 2023 (konferenceszt.cz). Attended by around 500 participants and 200 on-line followers.
The original Czech 🇨🇿 version of the presentation can be found here: https://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/hlavni-novinky-souvisejici-s-ccs-tsi-2023-2023-1695/269688092 .
The videorecording (in Czech) from the presentation is available here: https://youtu.be/WzjJWm4IyPk?si=SImb06tuXGb30BEH .
[OReilly Superstream] Occupy the Space: A grassroots guide to engineering (an...Jason Yip
The typical problem in product engineering is not bad strategy, so much as “no strategy”. This leads to confusion, lack of motivation, and incoherent action. The next time you look for a strategy and find an empty space, instead of waiting for it to be filled, I will show you how to fill it in yourself. If you’re wrong, it forces a correction. If you’re right, it helps create focus. I’ll share how I’ve approached this in the past, both what works and lessons for what didn’t work so well.
How to Interpret Trends in the Kalyan Rajdhani Mix Chart.pdfChart Kalyan
A Mix Chart displays historical data of numbers in a graphical or tabular form. The Kalyan Rajdhani Mix Chart specifically shows the results of a sequence of numbers over different periods.
Session 1 - Intro to Robotic Process Automation.pdfUiPathCommunity
👉 Check out our full 'Africa Series - Automation Student Developers (EN)' page to register for the full program:
https://bit.ly/Automation_Student_Kickstart
In this session, we shall introduce you to the world of automation, the UiPath Platform, and guide you on how to install and setup UiPath Studio on your Windows PC.
📕 Detailed agenda:
What is RPA? Benefits of RPA?
RPA Applications
The UiPath End-to-End Automation Platform
UiPath Studio CE Installation and Setup
💻 Extra training through UiPath Academy:
Introduction to Automation
UiPath Business Automation Platform
Explore automation development with UiPath Studio
👉 Register here for our upcoming Session 2 on June 20: Introduction to UiPath Studio Fundamentals: https://community.uipath.com/events/details/uipath-lagos-presents-session-2-introduction-to-uipath-studio-fundamentals/
1. CRS Report for Congress
Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress
Air Force F-22 Fighter Program
Jeremiah Gertler
Specialist in Military Aviation
July 11, 2013
Congressional Research Service
7-5700
www.crs.gov
RL31673
2. Air Force F-22 Fighter Program
Congressional Research Service
Summary
Procurement of Air Force F-22 Raptor fighters began in FY1999, and a total of 195 (177
production aircraft, 16 test aircraft, and 2 development aircraft) were procured through FY2009.
In the FY2010 budget, the Administration proposed to end F-22 procurement at 187, and
Congress approved that termination. The F-22 assembly line in Marietta, GA, has been shut
down, with its tools and equipment placed in storage.
Since 2010, operational issues have arisen. Following a November 2010 fatal crash of an F-22 in
Alaska, the Air Force recorded at least 25 “physiological incidents” of F-22 pilots reporting
hypoxia-like symptoms while flying, possibly indicating oxygen deprivation. Following a lengthy
investigation and grounding of the F-22 fleet, the Air Force attributed the oxygen deprivation to
“a ‘mosaic’ of interrelated cockpit equipment issues.” Following corrective actions, the F-22 fleet
has returned to the air.
The Administration’s proposed FY2013 defense budget requests $283.9 million in FY2013
procurement funding for modification of in-service aircraft and $36.7 million to equip Air
Logistics Centers to perform F-22 maintenance. The Administration’s proposed FY2013 defense
budget also requests a new start program, funded at $140.1 million in research and development,
for the Increment 3.2B software, and $371.7 million in FY2013 research and development
funding for F-22A Squadrons.
The Senate Appropriations Committee markup of the FY2013 defense appropriation bill includes
language prohibiting funds from being used to approve or license the sale of the F-22 to other
countries. The bill does permit the Department of Defense to conduct studies and design activities
to develop a future export version of the aircraft that protects classified and sensitive information.
This language is similar to provisions passed by Congress each year since 1998.
3. Air Force F-22 Fighter Program
Congressional Research Service
Contents
Introduction...................................................................................................................................... 1
Recent Developments ...................................................................................................................... 1
F-22 Oxygen Issues................................................................................................................... 1
Production Shutdown ................................................................................................................ 2
Potential Production Restart................................................................................................ 2
Background...................................................................................................................................... 3
The F-22 in Brief....................................................................................................................... 3
Program Origin and Milestones.................................................................................................5
F-22 Contractors and Employment............................................................................................ 6
Contractors.......................................................................................................................... 6
Employment ........................................................................................................................ 6
Procurement Quantities ............................................................................................................. 7
Planned Total Procurement Quantity................................................................................... 7
Annual Procurement Quantities .......................................................................................... 8
Costs and Funding..................................................................................................................... 9
Estimated Total Program Cost............................................................................................. 9
Legislated Limits on F-22 Costs ....................................................................................... 10
FY2013 F-22 Funding....................................................................................................... 11
Modernization and Sustainment of In-Service F-22s.............................................................. 11
GAO Assessment of F-22 Modernization Program .......................................................... 12
Senate Armed Services Language on F-22 Sustainment................................................... 12
Potential Sale of F-22s to Other Countries.............................................................................. 13
Annual Provision Prohibiting Foreign Sales of F-22s (Obey Amendment)...................... 13
Potential Interest of Other Countries in Purchasing F-22s................................................ 13
Issues for Congress........................................................................................................................ 15
Oxygen Issues.......................................................................................................................... 15
Procuring Additional F-22s ..................................................................................................... 17
Introduction....................................................................................................................... 17
Summary of Arguments..................................................................................................... 17
Reliability and Maintainability of In-Service F-22s................................................................ 18
F-22 Modernization Program .................................................................................................. 19
Potential Sales to Other Countries...........................................................................................20
Legislative Activity in 2012........................................................................................................... 20
FY2013 Funding Request........................................................................................................20
FY2013 Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 4310/S. 3254)....................................................... 20
House................................................................................................................................. 20
Senate................................................................................................................................ 20
FY2013 Defense Appropriations Bill (H.R. 5856).................................................................. 22
House................................................................................................................................. 22
Senate................................................................................................................................ 23
Tables
Table 1. Planned Total Number of Production F-22s....................................................................... 8
4. Air Force F-22 Fighter Program
Congressional Research Service
Table 2. Annual Procurement Quantities of F-22s........................................................................... 9
Table 3. F-22A Modernization Increments .................................................................................... 11
Contacts
Author Contact Information........................................................................................................... 23
5. Air Force F-22 Fighter Program
Congressional Research Service 1
Introduction
The Air Force F-22 fighter, also known as the Raptor, is “the most capable fighter aircraft ever
built, period.”1
Procurement of F-22s began in FY1999, and a total of 195 (177 production
aircraft, 16 test aircraft, and 2 development aircraft) were procured through FY2009.
Ongoing issues for Congress regarding the F-22 program include questions regarding the F-22’s
supply of oxygen to its pilots, the possible resumption of production, the reliability and
maintainability of in-service Raptors, the F-22 modernization program, and the potential sale of
F-22s to other countries.
Congress’s decisions on all these issues could affect Department of Defense (DOD) capabilities
and funding requirements, the U.S. tactical aircraft industrial base, and U.S. relations with other
countries.
Recent Developments
F-22 Oxygen Issues
Following a November 2010 fatal crash of an F-22 in Alaska, the Air Force began an effort to
understand why pilots were “reporting hypoxia-like symptoms in the air. Hypoxia is a condition
that can bring on nausea, headaches, fatigue or blackouts when the body is deprived of oxygen.”2
At least 25 “physiological incidents” were recorded among F-22 pilots; 14 prior to the Raptor
being grounded from May to September 2011, for investigation of the issue, and at least 11
subsequently.3
In an August 2012 review, the Air Force announced that the oxygen deprivation issue was due to
“a ‘mosaic’ of interrelated cockpit equipment issues that led to a chain reaction of glitches
resulting in symptoms similar to hypoxia.”4
The equipment problems included issues with valves
in vests designed to help pilots breathe during high-g maneuvers; improper “scheduling,” or
programming, of those vests; and effects of the charcoal canisters added by the Air Force during
the investigation in order to reduce possible toxins in the oxygen supply.5
While the valve has performed satisfactorily for pilots of older F-15 and F-16 fighters, the F-
22 is designed to fly at higher altitudes, which requires continuously pumping more oxygen
to the pilots, Lyon said. The valve wasn’t strong enough to prevent that higher pressure
oxygen from inflating the pilots’ vests at lower altitudes.6
1
Richard Aboulafia, Teal Group aerospace analyst, quoted in Jim Wolf, “U.S. to mothball gear to build top F-22
fighter,” Reuters.com, December 13, 2011.
2
W.J. Hennigan, “Air Force Safety Measures Attempt To Address F-22 Raptor Concerns,” Los Angeles Times, May
12, 2011.
3
Jennifer Hlad, “Air Force Still Searching For Cause Of Sickness Among F-22 Pilots,” Stars & Stripes, May 9, 2012.
4
Michael Fabey, “USAF Deciphers ‘Mosaic’ Of F-22 Oxygen Supply Problems,” Aerospace Daily, August 1, 2012.
5
Ibid.
6
David Lerman, “Air Force Targets Valve To Fix F-22 Jet’s Oxygen Problems,” Bloomberg News, August 1, 2012.
See also, inter alia, Pat Host, “Air Force Blames Faulty F-22 Pressurization ‘Schedule’ For Pilots’ Hypoxia-Like
(continued...)
6. Air Force F-22 Fighter Program
Congressional Research Service 2
... the Air Force did “rudimentary testing” on the valve some years ago and found that it
caused the high-pressure vest to inflate early, hampering pilot mobility. However, the vest
was found to be unnecessary on the F-15 and F-16. When the vest was re-introduced on the
F-22 with the same valve, the problem wasn't detected.7
Also in response to the 2010 crash, the Air Force is “replacing handles that engage the F-22
Raptor fighter jet’s emergency oxygen system.” Difficulty in operating the backup oxygen system
was cited as contributing to the crash.8
Beginning April 4, 2013, Air Combat Command returned F-22s that had had emergency backup
oxygen systems installed to unrestricted flight status. The full fleet was expected to be in this
status by July 2014.9
Production Shutdown
On May 3, 2012, Lockheed Martin delivered the 195th
F-22 to the Air Force, completing the
fleet.10
That final aircraft had come off the Lockheed Martin production line in Marietta, GA, on
December 13, 2011.11
Following its assembly, Lockheed Martin had begun to store “a total of
more than 30,000 jigs, fixtures and other ‘tooling’ used to build the plane” in order to “leave open
an option to restart the premier plane’s production relatively cheaply.”12
Lockheed Martin had
also documented the assembly process, including videotaping each step of assembly, in order to
more quickly train workers to assemble F-22s in the event of a production line restart.13
About 5,600 Lockheed employees worked on the F-22 programat its peak in 2005, including
944 in Marietta. The current number is 1,650 companywide, 930 in Marietta.... However,
600 Marietta employees will handle technical support and modernizations for the existing F-
22 fleet.14
Potential Production Restart
Conscious of DOD’s having preserved the F-22 production tooling and Lockheed Martin’s
actions to ease a potential restart, a number of commentators have posited that the F-22 could be
returned to production, whether to enable foreign sales, increase fleet numbers, or act as a hedge
against difficulties in the F-35 program.
(...continued)
Symptoms,” Defense Daily, August 1, 2012; Dave Majumdar, “USAF working on ‘non-minor fix’ for F-22 oxygen
problem,” FlightGlobal.com, September 25, 2012; and Hugh Lessig, “Raptor Problems: No One Cause,” Newport
News Daily Press, August 1, 2012.
7
Hugh Lessig, “Raptor Problems: No One Cause,” Newport News Daily Press, August 1, 2012.
8
Mary Pemberton, “F-22 fighters retrofitted after Alaska crash,” Air Force Times, March 20, 2012.
9
Brian Everstine, “Flight Restrictions Lifted For F-22s With Auto Oxygen System,” DefenseNews.com, April 4, 2013.
10
“Lockheed Martin Delivers Final F-22 Raptor To Air Force ,” Defense Daily, May 3, 2012.
11
Jim Wolf, “U.S. to mothball gear to build top F-22 fighter,” Reuters.com, December 13, 2011.
12
Ibid.
13
CRS interview with Robert Stevens, CEO of Lockheed Martin, September 14, 2012, and Stephanie Stinn, “Last of
the Line: Raptor 4195 Delivered,” Code One, Vol. 27, Number 2 2012, p. 3.
14
Janel Davis, “Lockheed Rolls Last Raptor Off The Line,” Atlanta Journal-Constitution, December 14, 2011, p. 15.
7. Air Force F-22 Fighter Program
Congressional Research Service 3
The potential cost of a restart, and its concomitant effect on F-22 unit costs, is unclear. By one
account:
Bringing back the F-22 line would take less than $200 million, “a fraction of the costs seen
in previous line restarts of other weapons systems,” Alison Orne, a Lockheed spokeswoman,
said by email, citing preliminary analysis.15
In a 2009 study conducted for the Air Force prior to the termination decision, the RAND
Corporation analyzed the costs of four industrial scenarios: shutting down the F-22 line
permanently; restarting the line after a two-year shutdown; maintaining low-rate production; and
maintaining full-rate production, in each case to produce an additional 75 F-22s.16
This study
found that shutdown, hiatus, and restart would cost $513 million, or $434 million more than
termination.
According to another report, in 2010, “Lockheed officials ... told Japanese leaders it would cost
$900 million to re-open the production line.”17
Given the range of possible restart costs and the uncertainty of how many aircraft would be
purchased, it is not possible to estimate the unit cost of any F-22s built following a potential
production restart.
Background
The F-22 in Brief
The F-22A Raptor18
is the world’s most capable air-to-air combat aircraft. It also has an air-to-
ground (i.e., attack) capability.19
The F-22 incorporates a high degree of stealth, as well as
supercruise,20
thrust-vectoring for high maneuverability,21
and integrated avionics that fuse
information from on-board and off-board sensors.
The F-22 and the multi-service F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) are considered the world’s first
(and to date only) fifth-generation tactical aircraft. Fifth-generation aircraft incorporate the most
15
Jim Wolf, “U.S. to mothball gear to build top F-22 fighter,” Reuters.com, December 13, 2011.
16
Obaid Younossi, Kevin Brancato, John C. Graser, Thomas Light, Rena Rudavsky, Jerry M. Sollinger, Ending F-22A
Production: Costs and Industrial Base Implications of Alternative Options, RAND Project Air Force, monograph MG
797, Santa Monica, CA, 2010, http://www.rand.org/pubs/monographs/2010/RAND_MG797.pdf.
17
Loren Thompson, “consultant for Lockheed Martin and other defense companies,” cited in Michael Hoffman,
“Romney wants to buy more F-22s,” DoD Buzz, September 10, 2012.
18
The F-22 is referred to formally as the F-22A, meaning the first version of the F-22. As no other versions of the F-22
are currently planned, this CRS report refers to the aircraft as the F-22.
19
Although the F-22 was originally conceived as an air superiority fighter with minimal air-to-ground capability, the
Air Force subsequently placed more emphasis on F-22’s air-to-ground capability. In September 2002, in recognition of
the aircraft’s air-to-ground capability, the F-22 was redesignated the F/A-22, with the A standing for attack. In
December 2005, the Air Force changed the aircraft’s designation back to F-22.
20
Supercruise is the ability to cruise at supersonic speeds without using engine afterburners. The F-22 is expected to
have a level speed of about Mach 1.7 using afterburners and a cruise speed of about Mach 1.5 without afterburners.
21
The F-22’s two Pratt & Whitney F-119 turbofan engines are equipped with thrust-vectoring nozzles.
8. Air Force F-22 Fighter Program
Congressional Research Service 4
modern technology and are considered to be generally more capable than earlier-generation (e.g.,
fourth-generation and below) aircraft.22
The F-22 is intended to replace the Air Force’s aging F-15 air superiority fighters, while the F-
35A (the Air Force version of the F-35) is intended to replace the service’s aging F-16 fighters
and A-10 attack aircraft. The F-22 is more stealthy than the F-35,23
and more capable than the F-
35 in air-to-air combat. The F-35A is intended to be a more affordable complement to the F-22,
and is a strike fighter—a dual-role aircraft with significant capability in both air-to-ground
(strike) and air-to-air (fighter) operations.24
If the F-15/F-16 combination represented the Air
Force’s earlier-generation “high-low” mix of air superiority fighters and more-affordable dual-
role aircraft, then the F-22/F-35A combination might be viewed as the Air Force’s intended future
high-low mix of air superiority fighters and more-affordable dual-role aircraft.25
The Air Force
states that:
Fifth generation fighters like the F-22A and the F-35 are key elements of our Nation’s
defense and ability for deterrence. As long as hostile nations recognize that U.S. airpower
can strike their vital centers with impunity, all other U.S. Government efforts are enhanced,
which reduces the need for military confrontation....
Both the F-22A and the F-35 represent our latest generation of fighter aircraft. We need both
aircraft to maintain the margin of superiority we have come to depend upon, the margin that
has granted our forces in the air and on the ground freedom to maneuver and to attack. The
F-22A and F-35 each possess unique, complementary, and essential capabilities that together
provide the synergistic effects required to maintain that margin of superiority across the
spectrum of conflict....
The F-22A Raptor is the Air Force’s primary air superiority fighter, providing unmatched
capabilities for air supremacy, homeland defense and cruise missile defense for the Joint
team. The multi-role F-22A’s combination of speed, stealth, maneuverability and integrated
avionics gives this remarkable aircraft the ability to gain access to, and survive in, high threat
environments. Its ability to find, fix, track, and target enemy air- and surface-based threats
ensures air dominance and freedom of maneuver for all Joint forces.26
22
A November 2009 press report states that the first flight of Russia’s first fifth-generation fighter—the Sukhoi T-50
prototype—was slipping from late 2009 into 2010, and that an operational version of the aircraft was expected to enter
service with the Russian air force in the latter half of the next decade. (Douglas Barrie, “Russian Fifth-Gen Fighter Will
Not Fly This Year,” Aerospace Daily & Defense Report, November 19, 2009: 2.) An August 2009 press report quoted
the aircraft’s designer as stating that the aircraft was scheduled to make its first flight by the end of 2009, or perhaps in
January or February 2010. (Dmitry Solovyov, “Sukhoi Says New Fighter Will Fly In ’09,” Moscow Times, August 21,
2009.)
23
A November 13, 2009, press article states that “the F-22 had a -40dBsm all-aspect reduction requirement [i.e., a
requirement to reduce the radar reflectivity of the F-22 when viewed from all angles by 40 decibels per square meter],
while the F-35 came in at -30dBsm with some gaps in coverage.” (David A. Fulghum and Bradley Perrett, “Experts
Doubt Chinese Stealth Fighter Timeline,” Aerospace Daily & Defense Report, November 13, 2009: 1-2.)
24
For more on the F-35 program, see CRS Report RL30563, F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) Program, by Jeremiah
Gertler.
25
The term high-low mix refers to a force consisting of a combination of high-cost, high-capability aircraft and lower-
cost, more-affordable aircraft. Procuring a high-low mix is a strategy for attempting to balance the goals of having a
certain minimum number of very high capability tactical aircraft to take on the most challenging projected missions and
of being able to procure tactical aircraft sufficient in total numbers within available resources to perform all projected
missions.
26
Department of the Air Force Presentation to the House Armed Services Committee Subcommittee on Air and Land
Forces, United States House of Representatives, Subject: Air Force Programs, Combined Statement of: Lieutenant
(continued...)
9. Air Force F-22 Fighter Program
Congressional Research Service 5
Program Origin and Milestones
The F-22 program was initiated in the early 1980s with the aim of developing a highly capable
successor to the F-15 that would be capable of defeating all known and projected enemy fighters,
including those being developed at the time by the Soviet Union.27
The F-22 program was given
Milestone I approval in October 1986. The first flight of an F-22 industry prototype occurred in
August 1990,28
and the first flight of a development version of the aircraft occurred in September
1997.29
The program was granted approval for Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) in August
2001, and the first LRIP F-22 was delivered in June 2003. The F-22 achieved Initial Operational
Capability (IOC) in December 2005.30
Operational F-22s are currently assigned to Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia; Joint Base
Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska; Holloman Air Force Base (AFB), New Mexico; and Joint Base
Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii. A training unit is at Tyndall AFB, Florida. Tactics development is
conducted at Nellis AFB, Nevada, and some testing continues at Edwards AFB, California.31
Lockheed Martin in the past has studied the idea of a fighter-bomber version of the F-22 called
the FB-22, but the Air Force currently has no program to develop or acquire such an aircraft.32
(...continued)
General Daniel J. Darnell, Air Force Deputy Chief Of Staff For Air, Space and Information Operations, Plans And
Requirements (AF/A3/5), Lieutenant General Mark D. Shackelford, Military Deputy, Office of the Assistant Secretary
of the Air Force for Acquisition (SAF/AQ), [and] Lieutenant General Raymond E. Johns, Jr., Air Force Deputy Chief
of Staff for Strategic Plans And Programs (AF/A8), May 20, 2009, pp. 7-8.
27
In the early 1980s, the Air Force began to develop a stealth aircraft called the Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF),
which was then expected to enter service in the 1990s as the replacement for the F-15. The ATF program was initiated
in response to advances in Soviet combat aircraft that were expected to occur in the 1990s. A naval variant of the ATF
that could operate from aircraft carriers—the NATF—was initiated as the replacement for the Navy’s F-14 fighter, but
the NATF program was subsequently terminated.
28
To help control ATF costs, DOD used competitive prototypes for ATF airframes, engines, and avionics. The Air
Force selected two teams of contractors to develop ATF airframe prototypes: Lockheed teamed with Boeing and
General Dynamics; and Northrop teamed with McDonnell Douglas. On October 31, 1986, the Air Force awarded each
team a $691-million fixed-price contract to build two prototypes. Lockheed’s prototype was designated the YF-22,
while Northrop’s was designated the YF-23. The prototypes were powered by new-design engines. One YF-22
prototype and one YF-23 prototype were powered by Pratt & Whitney’s F119 engine, while the other YF-22 prototype
and YF-23 prototype were powered by General Electric’s F120 engine. The Air Force announced in 1989 that the full-
scale development phase would be delayed to allow more time for development of engines and avionics. Each
contractor team reportedly spent over $1 billion in company funds to develop competing their prototypes, which were
flight-tested and evaluated in late 1990.
29
On April 23, 1991, the Air Force selected the Lockheed’s YF-22 design, as powered by Pratt & Whitney’s F119
engine, for development as the F-22. Air Force Secretary Donald Rice stated that the choice was based on confidence
in the ability of the Lockheed team and Pratt & Whitney to produce the aircraft and its engine at projected costs. Rice
emphasized the importance of the Lockheed team’s management and production plans, and added that the YF-22
offered better reliability and maintainability. Neither design was judged significantly more maneuverable or stealthy
than the other. On August 2, 1991, contracts totaling $11 billion were awarded to Lockheed and Pratt & Whitney for
engineering and manufacturing development (EMD) of the F-22, then including 11 development/prototype aircraft.
30
On December 12, 2005, the Air Force’s Air Combat Command declared that the first squadron of 12 F-22s—27th
Fighter Squadron of the 1st
Fighter Wing, based at Langley Air Force Base (AFB)—had achieved Initial Operational
Capability (IOC). On January 21, 2006, the F-22 flew its first operational sorties, taking part in an on-going air
superiority mission over the United States.
31
Stephanie Stinn, “Last of the Line: Raptor 4195 Delivered,” Code One, Vol. 27, Number 2 2012, p. 3.
32
The FB-22, which would employ a delta wing (i.e., a triangular shaped wing), would have double the F-22’s range
and a significantly larger internal payload. Some observers have estimated that the FB-22 could carry up to 30 250-lb
(continued...)
10. Air Force F-22 Fighter Program
Congressional Research Service 6
F-22 Contractors and Employment
Contractors
The major contractors for the F-22 program were Lockheed Martin of Marietta, GA, and Fort
Worth, TX, along with Boeing of Seattle, WA, for the F-22’s airframe; and United Technologies
of East Hartford, CT (the parent firm of engine maker Pratt & Whitney) for the F-22’s F119
engines.
A map provided by Lockheed shows a total of roughly 1,040 F-22 supplier firms in 44 states (all
but Alaska, Hawaii, North Dakota, South Dakota, West Virginia, and Wyoming).33
Employment
Lockheed stated that as of 2009, the F-22 program supported a total of 8,800 direct jobs at
Lockheed’s Marietta, GA, and Fort Worth, TX, locations, and at Boeing and Pratt & Whitney.
Lockheed estimated, on the basis of purchase order receipts, that the F-22 program supported an
additional 16,200 supplier-firm jobs in 44 states around the country. Lockheed combined these
two figures to estimate that the F-22 supported a total of about 25,000 direct jobs. Using a
multiplier of 2.8 to estimate jobs elsewhere in the economy that were indirectly supported by
these 25,000 jobs, Lockheed estimated that an additional 70,000 jobs were indirectly supported
by the F-22 program. Lockheed combined the figures of 25,000 and 70,000 to estimate that a total
of 95,000 jobs were supported either directly or indirectly by the F-22 program.34
A map provided by Lockheed shows roughly 25,800 direct F-22-related jobs in 44 states.
According to the map, states with more than 1,000 direct F-22-related jobs included California
(...continued)
Small Diameter Bombs. (Richard Whittle, “F-22 Bomber Studied,” Dallas Morning News, July 30, 2002; Frank Wolfe,
“Sambur: F-22 Must Prove Itself Before FB-22 Becomes Formal Program,” Defense Daily, March 4, 2002.) These
potential improvements in range and internal payload would likely result in reduced performance compared to the F-22
in other areas, such as acceleration and maneuverability.
Some Air Force leaders in the past have expressed some enthusiasm for the FB-22 idea. In 2002, Secretary of the Air
Force James Roche reportedly favored the FB-22 as the potential platform of choice for providing better close air
support for tomorrow’s ground forces. (Ron Laurenzo, “Roche Envisions Close Air Support F-22,” Defense Week, July
1, 2002.) Roche suggested in testimony to Congress in 2003 that up to 150 FB-22s could be procured, with full-rate
production achievable by FY2011, if development funds were committed in FY2004. (Lorenzo Cortes, “Air Force
Issues Clarification on FB-22, FY’11 Delivery Date Possible,” Defense Daily, March 10, 2003.) Some Air Force
leaders in the past have said the FB-22 could serve as a bridge between the current bomber force and a next-generation
long-range bomber. Other Air Force leaders have reportedly shown less enthusiasm in the FB-22 concept. Air Force
acquisition chief Marvin Sambur said in 2002 that the F-22A’s difficulties would have to be solved before the FB-22
could be considered. (Bill Sweetman. “Smarter Bomber,” Popular Science, June 25, 2002.)
Some observers argue that the FB-22 could be developed and produced economically by reusing the F-22’s cockpit,
engines, computer systems, production methods, and materials. Other observers argue that redesigning an aircraft to
perform a new mission is difficult and usually expensive. Some observers estimate that developing the FB-22’s
modified airframe could cost up to $1 billion. Other observers have questioned the potential cost effectiveness
attractiveness of a medium-range bomber with a payload smaller than that of current long-range bombers.
33
Lockheed map entitled “F-22 Raptor[:] The 2009 Industrial Base,” provided to CRS by e-mail on July 13, 2009. The
map shows four states with no suppliers (North Dakota, South Dakota, West Virginia, Wyoming) and does not depict
two other states (Alaska and Hawaii).
34
Source: Lockheed e-mail to CRS, July 13, 2009.
11. Air Force F-22 Fighter Program
Congressional Research Service 7
(6,532 jobs), Texas (3,526), Georgia (2,821), Connecticut (2,205), New Hampshire (2,197),
Washington (1,491), and Florida (1,025). The map shows several states with a few hundred to
several hundred direct F-22-related jobs each, and a number of states with fewer than 100 (in
some cases fewer than 25) direct F-22-related jobs each. The map shows four states—North
Dakota, South Dakota, West Virginia, and Wyoming—as having no direct F-22-related jobs in
2009. The map does not depict Alaska or Hawaii.35
Procurement Quantities
Planned Total Procurement Quantity
Since the submission to Congress in early 2005 of the FY2006 budget, DOD plans called for
procuring a total of about 187 operational F-22s. The final figure of 195 includes
• 177 production aircraft,
• 15 Production Representative Test Vehicle (PRTV) aircraft,
• 1 replacement test aircraft, and
• 2 Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) aircraft funded with
research and development funding.36
The final figure of 177 production aircraft includes 4 F-22s whose procurement was included in
the FY2009 supplemental appropriations act.
The Air Force originally envisaged a production run of 750 F-22s. The figure was reduced to 648
in 1991. DOD’s 1993 Bottom-Up Review reduced the planned number of production F-22s to
438 (plus 4 pre-production versions, later reduced to 2), which was enough to support 4 F-22
fighter wings in a total Air Force force structure of 20 wings (13 active; 7 Reserve/National
Guard). The 1997 Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) reduced the planned number of
production F-22s to 339, which was enough to support three F-22 fighter wings in a 20-wing
force structure (12 active; 8 Reserve/National Guard). Table 1 shows planned total numbers of F-
22s in the budget submissions for FY1999 to FY2010.
35
Lockheed map entitled “F-22 Raptor[:] The 2009 Industrial Base,” provided to CRS by e-mail on July 13, 2009.
36
Some DOD documents show slightly different planned procurement totals, such as 184 (a figure that includes one
replacement test aircraft) or 181 (a figure that that includes 172 production aircraft and 9 non-production aircraft). The
most commonly cited figure is 183.
12. Air Force F-22 Fighter Program
Congressional Research Service 8
Table 1. PlannedTotal Number of Production F-22s
As shown in budget submissions for FY1991 to FY2010
Budget
submission
Planned number of
production F-22s
Planned total
number of F-22sa
FY1991 648 n/a
FY1992 648 n/a
FY1993 442 n/a
FY1994 442 n/a
FY1995 442 n/a
FY1996 442 n/a
FY1997 442 n/a
FY1998 341 n/a
FY1999 339 n/a
FY2000 339 n/a
FY2001 333 n/a
FY2002 333 339
FY2003 333 339
FY2004 270 276
FY2005 271 277
FY2006 172 179
FY2007 176 183
FY2008 175 183
FY2009 175 183
FY2010 175b 183b
Source: Prepared by CRS based on Air Force information paper of July 8, 2009, provided to CRS on July 9,
2009 (for FY1991-FY1998), and DOD budget submissions (for FY1999-FY2010).
a. This total includes production F-22s from the previous column, plus 6 Production Representative Test
Vehicle (PRTV) II aircraft, plus (beginning in FY2006) 1 or 2 EMD aircraft funded with research and
development funding.
b. The proposed FY2010 budget was submitted to Congress in early May 2009, prior to the completion of
action on the FY2009 supplemental appropriations act, and consequently does not reflect four additional F-
22s whose procurement cost was completed in the FY2009 supplemental appropriations act. If these four
aircraft had been included in the FY2010 budget submission, the submission would have shown 179
production F-22s and a total of 187 F-22s.
Annual Procurement Quantities
Table 2 shows annual procurement quantities for the 195 F-22s procured through FY2009.
The 64 F-22s procured in FY2007-FY2009 include 20 F-22s per year that were procured under a
multiyear procurement (MYP) arrangement, plus the four additional F-22s whose procurement
cost was completed in the FY2009 supplemental appropriations act.
13. Air Force F-22 Fighter Program
Congressional Research Service 9
Table 2.Annual Procurement Quantities of F-22s
FY Quantity Planned Quantity Produced
FY91 0 9a
FY99 2 2
FY00 0 6b
FY01 10 10
FY02 13 13
FY03 21 21
FY04 22 22
FY05 24 21
FY06 23 23
FY07 20 21c
FY08 20 20
FY09 20 24d
Total through FY09 188 195
Source: Prepared by CRS based on DOD and Lockheed Martin data.
a. The nine Production Representative Test Vehicle I aircraft funded in FY91 were not originally intended as
operational aircraft, but were counted as such in subsequent budget submissions.
b. The six Production Representative Test Vehicle II aircraft funded in FY00 were not counted as operational
in subsequent budget submissions.
c. The FY07 total includes one additional F-22 to replace a lost test aircraft.
d. Four aircraft were funded through the FY09 supplemental appropriation.
Costs and Funding
Estimated Total Program Cost37
As of December 31, 2010, the final Selected Acquisition Report for F-22 procurement, DOD
estimated the total acquisition cost (meaning the sum of research and development cost,
procurement cost, and military construction [MilCon] cost) of a 179-aircraft F-22 program at
about $67.3 billion in then-year dollars (meaning dollars across various years that are not adjusted
for inflation). This figure includes about $32.4 billion in research and development costs, about
$34.2 billion in procurement costs, and $676.6 million in MilCon costs.
As of December 31, 2010, the 179-aircraft F-22 program had a Program Acquisition Unit Cost (or
PAUC, which is the program’s total acquisition cost divided by the total number of aircraft
acquired [including non-production aircraft]) of $369.5 million in then-year dollars, and an
Average Unit Procurement Cost (which is the program’s total procurement cost divided by 179
production aircraft) of $185.7 million in then-year dollars.
37
Figures in this section are taken from the December 31, 2010, Selected Acquisition Report (SAR) for the F-22
program.
14. Air Force F-22 Fighter Program
Congressional Research Service 10
Legislated Limits on F-22 Costs
Beginning in FY1998, the F-22 program operated under legislated limits on total engineering and
manufacturing development (EMD) cost and on total production cost. The limit on EMD cost was
repealed as part of action on the FY2002 defense budget, leaving in place the limit on total
production cost.38
The limit on total production cost is adjustable for inflation after September 30,
1997, and for changes in federal, state, and local laws enacted after September 30, 1997. For
FY2009, the adjusted limit on total production cost was $37.6432 billion in then-year dollars.39
The 187-aircraft F-22 program appears to be more than $3 billion below this cap.40
38
The history of the legislated limits is as follows:
• Section 217 of the FY1998 defense authorization act (H.R. 1119/P.L. 105-85 of November 18,
1997) limited the total cost of the F-22 program’s engineering and manufacturing development
(EMD) phase to $18.688 billion, and the total cost of the F-22 program’s production phase to
$43.4 billion. The section stated that both of these figures could be adjusted for inflation after
September 30, 1997, and for changes in federal, state, and local laws enacted after September
30, 1997.
• Section 8125 of the FY2001 defense appropriations act (H.R. 4576/P.L. 106-259 of August 9,
2000) limited the combined cost of the F-22 program’s EMD and production phases to
$58.0282 billion. The section stated that figure could be adjusted for inflation as under Section
217 of the FY1998 defense authorization act (i.e., for inflation and for changes in federal,
state, and local laws). In an apparent reference to Section 217 of the FY1998 defense
authorization act (see above), Section 8125 also stated that “This section supersedes any
limitation previously provided by law on the amount that may be obligated or expended for
engineering and manufacturing development under the F-22 aircraft program and any
limitation previously provided by law on the amount that may be obligated or expended for
the F-22 production program.”
• Section 219 of the FY2001 defense authorization act (H.R. 4205/P.L. 106-398 of October 30,
2000—the conference report on H.R. 4205 [H.Rept. 106-945 of October 6, 2000] enacted the
provisions of H.R. 5408), which was signed into law after the FY2001 defense appropriations
act (see above)—amended Section 217 of the FY1998 defense authorization act by permitting
the cost limit on the F-22 program’s EMD phase to be increased by not more than 1.5% if the
Director of Operational Test and Evaluation, after consulting with the Under Secretary of
Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics, determines that the increase is necessary
in order to ensure adequate testing. In an apparent reference to Section 8125 of the FY2001
defense appropriations act (see above), Section 219 also stated that the individual cost limits
on the EMD and production phases of the F-22 program established by Section 217 of the
FY1998 defense authorization act shall continue to apply “without regard to any provision of
law establishing a single limitation on amounts obligated and expended for engineering and
manufacturing development and for production for that program.”
• Section 213 of the FY2002 defense authorization act (S. 1438/P.L. 107-107 of December 28,
2001) repealed the limit on the total cost of the F-22 program’s EMD phase established by
Section 217 of the FY1998 defense authorization act, leaving in place Section 217’s limit on
the total cost of the F-22 program’s phase. Section 213 also repealed Section 8125 of the
FY2001 defense appropriations act, and repealed the part of Section 219 of the FY2001
defense authorization act that stated (in an apparent reference to Section 8125) that the
individual cost limits on the EMD and production phases of the F-22 program established by
Section 217 of the FY1998 defense authorization act shall continue to apply “without regard to
any provision of law establishing a single limitation on amounts obligated and expended for
engineering and manufacturing development and for production for that program.”
39
Source: Air Force information paper of July 8, 2009, provided to CRS on July 9, 2009.
40
As of December 31, 2007, the 183-aircraft F-22 program had a total estimated procurement cost of $33.5 billion in
then-year dollars. The four additional F-22s whose procurement cost was completed with $600 million in funding in the
FY2009 supplemental appropriations act would increase that figure to something above $34 billion in then-year dollars.
15. Air Force F-22 Fighter Program
Congressional Research Service 11
FY2013 F-22 Funding
The Administration’s proposed FY2013 defense budget requests $283.9 million in FY2013
procurement funding for modification of in-service aircraft and $36.7 million to equip Air
Logistics Centers to perform F-22 maintenance. The Administration’s proposed FY2013 defense
budget also requests a new start program, funded at $140.1 million in research and development,
for the Increment 3.2B software; and $371.7 million in FY2013 research and development
funding for F-22A Squadrons.
Modernization and Sustainment of In-Service F-22s
The Air Force in 2003 established a program to modernize its in-service F-22s. The program
includes upgrades to the aircraft’s air-to-ground and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance
(ISR) capabilities, to be applied in four scheduled increments.
Table 3. F-22A Modernization Increments
Increment GAO descriptiona Air Force descriptionb
Increment 2 The initial phase of modernization,
addressed some requirements
deferred from the acquisition program
and added some new ground attack
capability. It has been fielded.
Allows the Block-20 planes to launch
guided Joint Direct Attack Munitions
at supersonic speeds and gives the
fighter a souped-up Advanced
Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile
capability.
Increment 3.1 Began fielding in November 2011 and
adds enhanced radar and enhanced
air-to-ground attack capabilities.
Upgrades the APG-77 AESA radar to
enable synthetic aperture radar
ground mapping capability, provides
the ability to self-target JDAMs using
on-board sensors, and allows F-22As
to carry and employ eight Small
Diameter Bombs (SDB).
Increment 3.2A A software upgrade to increase the F-
22A’s electronic protection, combat
identification, and Link-16
communications and data link
capabilities.
(Increments 3.2A and B) Features the
next generation data-link, improved
SDB employment capability, improved
targeting using multi-ship geo-location,
automatic ground collision avoidance
system (Auto GCAS) and the
capability to employ our enhanced air-
to-air weapons (AIM-120D and AIM-
9X).
Increment 3.2B Will increase the F-22A’s electronic
protection, geo-location, and Intra
Flight Data Link (IFDL) capabilities,
and adds AIM-9X and AIM-120D
missiles.
a. U.S. Government Accountability Office, Tactical Aircraft: F-22A Modernization Program Faces Cost, Technical,
and Sustainment Risks, 12-447, May 2012, http://www.gao.gov/assets/600/590593.pdf.
b. Department of the Air Force Presentation to the House Armed Services Committee Subcommittee on Air
and Land Forces, United States House of Representatives, Subject: Air Force Programs, Combined
Statement of: Lieutenant General Daniel J. Darnell, Air Force Deputy Chief Of Staff For Air, Space and
Information Operations, Plans And Requirements (AF/A3/5), Lieutenant General Mark D. Shackelford,
Military Deputy, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition (SAF/AQ), [and]
Lieutenant General Raymond E. Johns, Jr., Air Force Deputy Chief of Staff for Strategic Plans And Programs
(AF/A8), May 20, 2009, pp. 8-9.
16. Air Force F-22 Fighter Program
Congressional Research Service 12
GAO Assessment of F-22 Modernization Program
A May 2012 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report assessing major DOD weapon
acquisition programs found that “total projected cost of the F-22A modernization program and
related reliability and maintainability improvements more than doubled since the program
started–from $5.4 billion to $11.7 billion–and the schedule for delivering full capabilities slipped
7 years, from 2010 to 2017.”41
GAO cited “(1) additional requirements, (2) unexpected problems
and delays during testing, and (3) research, development, testing, and evaluation funding
fluctuations” as contributing to the cost increases and delays. GAO also found that “(p)rogram
accountability and oversight have been hampered by how the modernization program was
established, managed, and funded,” as the F-22 modernization program has not been treated as a
major defense acquisition program (MDAP). Beginning with Increment 3.2B, future F-22
modernization programs will be managed as MDAPs. Further, in its report accompanying the
FY2013 Defense Authorization Act, the Senate Armed Services Committee included language
stating, “The committee believes the category ‘major defense acquisition programs’ is not limited
only to programs that are acquiring brand new weapon systems, and that any F-22A program for
modifications or upgrades, if it would otherwise meet the statutory definition of a major defense
acquisition program, should be treated that way.”42
Senate Armed Services Language on F-22 Sustainment
F-22 sustainment costs—the funds expended to maintain and operate a system following its
procurement—have also attracted congressional attention. In its report accompanying the FY2013
defense authorization act, the Senate Armed Services Committee included language concerning
alternate methods of sustaining the F-22 fleet:
F-22A Raptor Sustainment
In addition to the near-term modernization, sustainment over the life cycle of a weapon
system represents a significant expenditure of resources. On average, about two-thirds of the
total life cycle cost of a major defense system lies in post-production—in its operation and
sustainment over its useful life. If that rule were to hold true, with a charge of roughly $79.0
billion to buy the F-22A, the Air Force could be facing a demand for roughly $160.0 billion
in F-22A sustainment costs. Moreover, under its `structures retrofit program’, over the next
few years the Air Force will need more than $100.0 million to retrofit the F-22A fleet just to
ensure these aircraft can fly for the full 8,000 hours for which they were designed. Over just
the last 2 years, the Air Force issued sole-source contracts for sustainment of the F-22A fleet
to the prime contractor totaling almost $1.4 billion.
The Air Force recently completed an F-22A sustainment strategy review that concluded that
a joint contractor/government approach could save more than $1.0 billion in sustainment
costs over the life of the aircraft. The committee believes that the Air Force must transition
its sustainment strategy to adopt the least expensive sustainment strategy now, while
continuing to be aggressive in exploring opportunities to compete F-22A sustainment work.43
41
U.S. Government Accountability Office, Tactical Aircraft: F-22A Modernization Program Faces Cost, Technical,
and Sustainment Risks, 12-447, May 2012, http://www.gao.gov/assets/600/590593.pdf.
42
U.S. Congress, Senate Committee on Armed Services, Report to accompany S. 3254, the National Defense
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013, 112th
Cong., June 4, 2012, S.Rept. 112-173.
43
U.S. Congress, Senate Committee on Armed Services, Report to accompany S. 3254, the National Defense
(continued...)
17. Air Force F-22 Fighter Program
Congressional Research Service 13
Potential Sale of F-22s to Other Countries
Annual Provision Prohibiting Foreign Sales of F-22s (Obey Amendment)
Annual DOD appropriations acts since FY1998 have included a provision known as the Obey
amendment that prohibits the use of funds made available in each act to approve or license the
sale of the F-22 to any foreign government.44
Congress from time to time has reconsidered this
annual prohibition. The Senate Appropriations Committee mark of H.R. 5856, the Department of
Defense Appropriations Bill, 2013, includes this language.
Potential Interest of Other Countries in Purchasing F-22s
Japan’s fighter force includes, among other aircraft, about 200 F-15s and about 90 aging F-4s. To
replace the F-4s, Japan reportedly wanted to purchase 40 to 50 new fighters. The effort to procure
the replacement fighters is called the FX program. (A projected subsequent effort to replace the F-
15s is known as the FXX program.)
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates reportedly recommended the F-35 Lightning II over the F-22
and other candidates in a meeting with Japan’s defense minister on May 1, 2009, but Japan
reportedly still preferred to purchase the F-22. In December, 2011, Japan chose the F-35.
Congress was notified of the proposed sale in May 2012.45
However, former Air Force Secretary
Michael Wynne “said by email that Japan and Australia would ‘immediately partner’ to restart the
line if Congress lifted the F-22 export ban.”46
Japan may not be the only foreign country interested in purchasing F-22s. A November 9, 2009,
press report states:
Legally, the F-22 Raptor cannot be sold outside the United States. But the plane will be at
the Dubai Air Show after having been absent from the Paris Air Show this summer.
Why the Raptor will fly in Dubai and didn’t fly in Paris has to do with the debate over how
many F-22s the U.S. Air Force is buying, observers said.
Leading up to the Paris Air Show, discussion was still heated over that number. Nowthat the
total has been effectively limited, bringing the plane to an international air show is a less
sensitive proposition, said defense and aerospace analyst Loren Thompson of the Lexington
Institute in Arlington, Va.
“The F-22 did not make it to the Iraq war and did not make it to the Paris Air Show, but now
that it’s dead, it is making an appearance at Dubai,” he said. “I think the message is very
(...continued)
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013, 112th
Cong., June 4, 2012, S.Rept. 112-173.
44
The provision typically states, “None of the funds made available in this Act may be used to approve or license the
sale of the F-22 advanced tactical fighter to any foreign government.” (In Section 8067 of the FY2006 defense
appropriations act, the aircraft’s designation was changed to F/A-22. For a discussion of this designation, see footnote
18. The aircraft’s designation reverted to F-22 in Section 8058 of the FY2007 defense appropriations act.)
45
“Proposed Japanese F-35 Sale Announced,” Airforce-magazine.com, May 4, 2012.
46
Jim Wolf, “U.S. to mothball gear to build top F-22 fighter,” Reuters.com, December 13, 2011.
18. Air Force F-22 Fighter Program
Congressional Research Service 14
clear: The political types over in the Pentagon wanted it gone. Now, it’s not a problem for
them any more.” There was discussion of sending the plane to Paris, but around the time of
the Paris Air Show, “what [Defense] Secretary [Robert] Gates and people around himdid not
want was to underscore how valuable the plane was at a time when they were trying to kill
it,” Thompson said.
Now that the Air Force’s purchase has been limited to 187 planes, showing off the United
States’ most advanced fighter jet is less sensitive.
On the other hand, the F-22’s appearance at the Dubai show will come shortly after President
Barack Obama signed the Defense Authorization Act for 2010, which includes language
about a version of the aircraft for export.
By about six months from now, Gates, coordinating with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton,
is to submit a report to Congress on potential foreign military sales of the restricted aircraft.
The report will include cost estimates for developing an “exportable version” of the F-22 and
analysis of the strate-gic implications for the United States of such sales.
A second report will look at the impact on the U.S. aerospace industry of foreign F-22 sales,
and the advantages and disadvantages of such sales for sustaining that industry.
“I don’t think that we’ve heard the end of the story on the F-22,” said John Pike, director of
Global-Security.org, an Alexandria, Va., think tank focused on defense and intelligence.
“There are people in the Air Force who still think we need twice as many [F-22s] as we’ve
got on order. They are continuing to look for options as to how to keep that alive” and keep
the production line open.
One option would be foreign sales, of course, and interested countries could include Israel
and Japan.
“To maintain air supremacy beyond the foreseeable future, you go with the F-22,” Pike said.
“Who wants to do that? The Israelis do and the Japanese do.” But representatives from
Lockheed Martin, the maker of the F-22, and the Air Force didn’t bite when asked about
what the plane’s appearance in Dubai means for potential foreign sales.
“Our one customer is the U.S. Air Force, and any sales of F-22s to other countries would be
determined by the USAF, Department of Defense and State Department, subject to
congressional approval,” said Lock-heed spokesman Jeffery Adams.
“The U.S. policy on foreign military sales for the F-22 weapons programremains restricted,”
a U.S. Air Force spokeswoman said. “The F-22 is a cutting-edge, fifth-generation fighter that
offers unparalleled capability. It is for this reason that F-22 will not be available for foreign
sales.” As of Oct. 1, the Air Force had 147 of the 187 planes it will receive.
The Defense Authorization Act language is no guarantee of foreign sales—not by a long
shot, Pike said. Whether that language represents something “that might have legs or
whether this is something everybody knows is a non-starter” is still an open question, he
said. Thompson dismissed the notion that an exportable version will be produced.
19. Air Force F-22 Fighter Program
Congressional Research Service 15
“There will not be a production line from which to sell F-22s overseas by the time an export
version could be created,” he said. “Most of the skill in any major weapons system resides in
the workers, and they will drift away” as production for the Air Force concludes.47
An October 23, 2009, press report states:
The Air Force has told F-22A Raptor prime contractor Lockheed Martin not to expect
foreign sales of the fifth-generation fighter, a company official acknowledged this week.
“That is the guidance that we have received for post-production planning was that we are to
assume no” foreign military sales, Tim Ryan, director of F-22A strategic plans and
sustainment for Lockheed Martin, said during an Oct. 21 presentation at an industry
conference in Vienna, VA.
“For our planning purposes, we have to go in planning worst case,” he said, noting Lockheed
has an understanding of production changes that would need to be made in order to build an
exportable version of the fighter.48
Issues for Congress
Oxygen Issues
In November 2010, an F-22 crashed in Alaska, killing its pilot. Although the official accident
report declared that hypoxia did not contribute to the accident, it determined that among other
contributing factors, oxygen flow to the pilot had been interrupted.49
The Air Force began an effort to understand why pilots were “reporting hypoxia-like symptoms in
the air. Hypoxia is a condition that can bring on nausea, headaches, fatigue or blackouts when the
body is deprived of oxygen.”50
At least 25 “physiological incidents” were recorded among F-22
pilots; 14 prior to the Raptor being grounded from May to September, 2011, for investigation of
the issue, and at least 11 subsequently.51
The Air Force pursued numerous avenues in the process of investigating the oxygen issues. An
on-board oxygen generating system was suspected of being faulty, then cleared. Charcoal
canisters were installed in F-22s to neutralize toxins that were thought to have entered the oxygen
supply.52
Operating procedures were examined to see if starting the F-22’s engines while the
plane was in its hangar allowed exhaust gases to be taken into the cockpit.53
The Air Force
47
Antonie Boessenkool, “F-22 Program’s Demise Makes Dubai Debut Possible,” Defense News, November 9, 2009:
16. Material in brackets as in original.
48
Marcus Weisgerber, “Air Force Tells Lockheed Not To Count On Foreign Sales Of F-22A,” Inside the Air Force,
October 23, 2009.
49
United States Air Force, Aircraft Accident Investigation Board Report: F-22A, T/N 06-4125, July 21, 2011,
http://usaf.aib.law.af.mil/ExecSum2011/F-22A_AK_16%20Nov%2010.pdf.
50
W.J. Hennigan, “Air Force Safety Measures Attempt To Address F-22 Raptor Concerns,” Los Angeles Times, May
12, 2011.
51
Jennifer Hlad, “Air Force Still Searching For Cause Of Sickness Among F-22 Pilots,” Stars & Stripes, May 9, 2012.
52
Dave Majumdar, “DoD: Toxins Suspected In Raptor Grounding,” Air Force Times, January 13, 2012.
53
Dave Majumdar, “Carbon monoxide suspected in F-22 grounding,” Air Force Times, July 21, 2011.
20. Air Force F-22 Fighter Program
Congressional Research Service 16
Scientific Advisory Board was convened to consider all possible explanations and recommend
corrections.
During the investigation, some Members of Congress indicated concerns regarding the oxygen
issue, whether F-22s were safe to fly, and whether pilots could decline to fly the aircraft.
In August 2012, the Air Force announced that the oxygen deprivation issue was due to “a
‘mosaic’ of interrelated cockpit equipment issues that led to a chain reaction of glitches resulting
in symptoms similar to hypoxia.”54
The equipment problems included issues with valves in vests
designed to help pilots breathe during high-g maneuvers; improper “scheduling,” or
programming, of those vests; and effects of the charcoal canisters added by the Air Force during
the investigation in order to reduce possible toxins in the oxygen supply.55
While the valve has performed satisfactorily for pilots of older F-15 and F-16 fighters, the F-
22 is designed to fly at higher altitudes, which requires continuously pumping more oxygen
to the pilots, Lyon said. The valve wasn’t strong enough to prevent that higher pressure
oxygen from inflating the pilots’ vests at lower altitudes.56
... the Air Force did “rudimentary testing” on the valve some years ago and found that it
caused the high-pressure vest to inflate early, hampering pilot mobility. However, the vest
was found to be unnecessary on the F-15 and F-16. When the vest was re-introduced on the
F-22 with the same valve, the problem wasn't detected.57
Also in response to the 2010 crash, the Air Force is “replacing handles that engage the F-22
Raptor fighter jet’s emergency oxygen system.” Difficulty in operating the backup oxygen system
was cited as contributing to the crash.58
Subsequently, some commentators indicated that they did not believe the oxygen problem had
been solved.The Senate Armed Services Committee, in its report accompanying the FY2013
Defense Authorization Act (S.Rept. 112-173), directed the Secretary of the Air Force:
to explain, no later than 90 days after enactment of this Act, how the Air Force has
implemented or will implement each of the recommendations provided by the (Air Force
Scientific Advisory Board to address F-22 oxygen issues) If the Secretary disagrees with any
of these recommendations, he should explain why and describe what other corrective actions
he may be taking to respond to the concern underlying that recommendation.
Finally, as the Air Force continues to investigate this matter, the committee will view as
unacceptable any act of retaliation against any F-22A Raptor pilot who raises concerns about
the safety of this aircraft or declines to fly it on that basis. Although the F-22 achieved IOC
54
Michael Fabey, “USAF Deciphers ‘Mosaic’ Of F-22 Oxygen Supply Problems,” Aerospace Daily, August 1, 2012.
55
Ibid.
56
David Lerman, “Air Force Targets Valve To Fix F-22 Jet’s Oxygen Problems,” Bloomberg News, August 1, 2012.
See also, inter alia, Pat Host, “Air Force Blames Faulty F-22 Pressurization ‘Schedule’ For Pilots’ Hypoxia-Like
Symptoms ,” Defense Daily, August 1, 2012; Dave Majumdar, “USAF working on ‘non-minor fix’ for F-22 oxygen
problem,” FlightGlobal.com, September 25, 2012; and Hugh Lessig, “Raptor Problems: No One Cause,” Newport
News Daily Press, August 1, 2012.
57
Hugh Lessig, “Raptor Problems: No One Cause,” Newport News Daily Press, August 1, 2012.
58
Mary Pemberton, “F-22 fighters retrofitted after Alaska crash,” Air Force Times, March 20, 2012.
21. Air Force F-22 Fighter Program
Congressional Research Service 17
in December 2005, in-service F-22s continue to experience relatively low mission-capable
rates, and are expensive to maintain.59
Procuring Additional F-22s
Introduction
Until F-22 production ended, a key issue for Congress was whether to approve ending F-22
procurement at 187 aircraft, or reject that proposal and provide funding to procure additional F-
22s in FY2010 and/or subsequent fiscal years. The issue emerged as a high-profile item of debate
on the FY2010 defense budget. The White House vowed to veto any bill that supports the
acquisition of F-22s beyond the 187 that had been procured through FY2009.
In past years, the issue of how many F-22s to procure has been a topic of apparent disagreement
between the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) and Air Force leaders, with OSD
supporting a total of 183 (now 187), and Air Force officials supporting procurement of
substantially more than that.60
Disagreement on the issue appeared to come to a head in June
2008, when Secretary of Defense Robert Gates asked the Secretary of the Air Force and the Air
Force Chief of Staff to resign. It was reported in press articles, and later confirmed by the former
Air Force Secretary, Michael Wynne, that their reluctance to support a total of no more than 183
F-22s was the key factor leading to their resignations.61
The potential costs of restarting production (discussed in “Potential Production Restart” above)
may significantly change the economic argument for procuring more F-22s, were the United
States to bear all of the restart costs. If production is restarted (e.g., to provide F-22s to a foreign
buyer), the United States might be able to acquire additional F-22s more economically than were
it to restart production solely to increase the U.S. F-22 fleet.
Summary of Arguments
Independent of the startup costs, arguments can be made both for and against increasing the size
of the U.S. F-22 fleet.
Supporters of maintaining the current fleet size could argue one or more of the following:
• Procuring additional F-22s would add to total F-22 fleet maintenance and
sustainment costs, reducing funding available for other Air Force programs.
59
U.S. Congress, Senate Committee on Armed Services, Report to accompany S. 3254, the National Defense
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013, 112th
Cong., June 4, 2012, S.Rept. 112-173.
60
The figure of 187 aircraft includes the four F-22s funded in the FY2009 supplemental appropriations bill. Prior to
this, the apparent disagreement between OSD and Air Force officials was whether to end F-22 procurement at 183
aircraft or procure substantially more than 183.
61
See, for example, “Wynne speaks out; Tell-all interview covers Iraq withdrawal, nuclear report, procurement and
more.” Air Force Times. July 21, 2008. and John T. Bennett. “Wynne Talks About His Tenure, Termination.” Defense
News. July 14, 2008.
22. Air Force F-22 Fighter Program
Congressional Research Service 18
• A projected Air Force fighter gap of up to 800 aircraft by 2024 that Air Force
officials identified in 2008 testimony62
is open to question, because the projection
is strongly influenced by assumptions on threats and whether the United States
will fight alone or as part of a coalition.63
Even if such a fighter gap does emerge,
procuring F-22s is not necessarily the most cost-effective way to address it—
other potential options for addressing the shortfall would include procuring less
expensive aircraft, such as F-35s, upgraded F-15s, or upgraded F-16s.
Advocates of acquiring additional F-22s could argue one or more of the following:
• In the fall of 2011, the Obama Administration announced a reorienting of U.S
defense strategy to focus on the Pacific. (See CRS Report R42448, Pivot to the
Pacific? The Obama Administration’s “Rebalancing” Toward Asia, coordinated
by Mark E. Manyin.) With the deployment distances and air defense
environments found in the Pacific theater, it is uncertain whether the current
number of F-22s would be sufficient to meet U.S. strategic goals.
• As the Air Force continues to gain operating experience with F-22s, the aircraft’s
mission-capable rate will increase, and F-22 maintenance costs per flight hour
will come down. F-22 mission-capable rates are increasing. (See “Reliability and
Maintainability of In-Service F-22s” below.) Although the F-22 is an expensive
aircraft to operate, the F-22’s capabilities are worth the costs.
The F-35 program64
continues to run behind schedule, and the resulting aircraft will not be as
capable as the F-22 in some scenarios, even though its unit cost is approaching that of the F-22.
Procuring additional F-22s for the U.S. Air Force could be of value in maintaining Air Force
capabilities and force structure in the event of a reduced or delayed F-35 buy. The House Armed
Services Committee stated, “The committee notes that without advanced fifth generation aircraft
that the United States may be significantly limited in its ability to project power in the future. In
addition, the committee believes that the 187 F–22 Raptors currently planned for may not alone
provide enough of this capability.”65
Reliability and Maintainability of In-Service F-22s
A second issue for Congress for the F-22 program concerns the reliability and maintainability of
in-service F-22s. Operations and sustainment now form the bulk of F-22 spending. For FY2012,
“the Air Force is spending about $803.4 million to modify and sustain the Raptor.”66
In February 2009, it was reported that the F-22’s mission capable rate (MCR), one measure of an
aircraft’s reliability and maintainability, was 60%. Critics of the F-22 noted that a 60% MCR is
62
See, for example, the testimony of Lieutenant General Daniel Darnell, Deputy Chief of Staff Air, Space and
Information Operations, Plans and Requirements, at an April 9, 2008, hearing before the Airland subcommittee of the
Senate Armed Services Committee Subcommittee on the FY2009 Budget for Air Force and Navy aviation programs.
(Source: Transcript of hearing.)
63
For a press article that presents this perspective, see William Matthews. “Coming up short; Is the Air Force’s
‘Fighter-gap’ truth or spin?” Armed Forces Journal International. July 2008. p. 26.
64
For more information on the F-35, see CRS Report RL30563, F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) Program.
65
H.Rept. 112-479, accompanying H.R. 4310, p. 36.
66
Michael Fabey, “USAF Focuses On Maintaining Raptor,” Aerospace Daily, September 25, 2012.
23. Air Force F-22 Fighter Program
Congressional Research Service 19
unacceptable by the Air Force’s own standards. Air Force leaders defended the F-22, arguing that
the aircraft was experiencing typical growing pains.67
The Government Accountability Office found in 2010 that F-22s were encountering corrosion at
unusually high rates, “and the Defense Department plans to spend $228 million through 2016 to
fix the deteriorating aluminum-skin panels.”68
A Lockheed spokesman said “the F-22s
experienced corrosion because of ‘interaction’ with stealth materials used to hide them from
enemy radar. Lockheed has developed alternative material that ‘eliminated that interaction’ and
began changing the fleet in early 2010.”69
F-22 Modernization Program
Another potential issue for Congress for the F-22 program concerns the cost effectiveness of the
F-22 modernization program (discussed in “Modernization and Sustainment of In-Service F-22s”
above). Supporters of the program could argue that upgrading the F-22’s air-to-ground and ISR
capabilities will expand the aircraft’s mission flexibility and thereby realize a greater return on the
significant investment made in developing and procuring the aircraft. Air Force officials have
emphasized the F-22’s potential to execute many of the ISR missions that UAVs have performed
in support of counter insurgency and low-intensity conflicts.70
Skeptics could argue that upgrading the F-22’s air-to-ground and ISR capabilities is not critical in
light of the substantial air-to-ground capability of the F-35, which is to be procured in large
numbers, and the ISR capabilities of other existing or planned DOD systems, including
unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). They could argue that resolving instability problems with the
F-22’s advanced avionics has been a significant contributor to the program’s development cost,
and that adding a new feature such as an air-to-ground radar or new communications capabilities
could jeopardize the progress that has been made in the F-22’s avionics software. They could
argue that controlling the F-22’s electronic emissions is a key component of making the aircraft
elusive to enemy defenses, and that if the upgrades make the F-22 less stealthy, the benefits of
these modifications might not be worth the risks.
67
“F-22 Raptor Plagued by Stealth Maintenance Woes,” National Journal’s Congress Daily PM, February 20, 2009;
Marcus Weisgerber, “F-22A Stealth Maintenance Issues Part of the Learning Process,” Inside the Air Force, February
27, 2009; Marcus Weisgerber, “Lockheed: F-22A Raptor Meets All Key Performance Parameters,” Inside the Air
Force, January 30, 2009.
68
“GAO: F-22s Are Corroding, Need Costly Fix,” Bloomberg News, December 17, 2010.
69
Ibid.
70
See, for example, Michael Bruno. “Air Force ISR Chief Foresees Downplaying ‘F’ in F-22, F-35.” Aerospace Daily
& Defense Report. June 22, 2007. Although the F-22 may have effective on-board sensors and the ability to receive
additional information from other ISR platforms, it has limited ability to transmit targeting information to other
platforms or command and control (C2
) assets. This restricted communications capability was intended to make the F-
22 more elusive to enemy defenses. In August 2008, it was reported that Air Force officials wanted to reprogram $85
million to accelerate an upgrade that would enable the F-22 to more effectively share information with other aircraft.
(Marcus Weisgerber, “Air Force Loots to Shuffle $85 Million to Accelerate F-22A Mods,” Inside the Air Force.
August 8, 2008.)
24. Air Force F-22 Fighter Program
Congressional Research Service 20
Potential Sales to Other Countries
A further issue for Congress for the F-22 program concerns the potential export of the aircraft to
other countries. As mentioned earlier, Congress from time to time has reconsidered the annual
prohibition on foreign sales of the F-22. Some Members in 2009 reportedly have expressed
interest in reconsidering the annual prohibition, although the economics of restarting the now-
closed production line may affect that calculation.71
Legislative Activity in 2012
FY2013 Funding Request
The Administration’s proposed FY2013 defense budget requests $283.9 million in FY2013
procurement funding for modification of in-service aircraft and $36.7 million to facilitize Air
Logistics Centers to perform F-22 maintenance. The Administration’s proposed FY2013 defense
budget also requests a new start program, funded at $140.1 million in research and development,
for the Increment 3.2B software; and $371.7 million in FY2013 research and development
funding for F-22A Squadrons.
FY2013 Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 4310/S. 3254)
House
The House Armed Services Committee, in its report (H.Rept. 112-479 of May 11, 2012)
accompanying H.R. 4310, recommends authorizing the requested amounts for F-22 without
amendment.
Senate
The Senate Armed Services Committee, in its report (S.Rept. 112-173 of June 4, 2012) on S.
3254, recommends authorizing the requested amounts for F-22 without amendment. The report
includes the following related provisions:
Treatment of certain programs for the F-22A Raptor aircraft as major defense acquisition
program (sec. 142)
The committee recommends a provision that would require that the Air Force report F-22A
modernization and upgrade programs under the system of the Selected Acquisition Reports
(SAR). The committee was informed that, with new production of the F-22A coming to an
71
See, for example, Marcus Weisgerber, “Rep. Granger Would Take Another Shot At Repealing F-22A Export Ban,”
Inside the Air Force, March 27, 2009; Tony Capaccio, “Inouye Wants To Study Possibility Of Lockheed F-22 Export
Model,” Bloomberg.com, June 4, 2009; Sam Lagrone, “U.S. Senator Talks of Selling F-22s to Allies,” Defense News,
June 8, 2009; Michael Bruno, “F-22 Concerns Persist In Senate,” Aerospace Daily & Defense Report,” June 10, 2009:
3; Marcus Weisgerber, “Murtha, Young to Discuss F-22 Exports with Obey,” InsideDefense.com (DefenseAlert – Daily
News), June 24, 2009; David A. Fulghum and John M. Doyle, “Japanese Officials Could Be Offered A $290 Million F-
22,” Aerospace Daily & Defense Report, June 26, 2009: 1-2.
25. Air Force F-22 Fighter Program
Congressional Research Service 21
end, the Air Force intends to stop reporting within the SAR system on the F-22A, despite the
fact that there could be as much as $11.7 billion remaining to be spent on defined F-22A
upgrade programs. The committee believes the category `major defense acquisition
programs’ is not limited only to programs that are acquiring brand new weapon systems, and
that any F-22A program for modifications or upgrades, if it would otherwise meet the
statutory definition of a major defense acquisition program, should be treated that way.
The committee believes there is ample justification for continuing to track F-22A
modernization past the end of new production.
(1) In April 2012, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a report on the
program to modernize the F-22A Raptor fleet, estimated to cost almost $10.0 billion through
2023. In this report, GAO noted that similar efforts to modernize Air Force and Navy tactical
fighters in the past involved building upgrades into newly produced jets, resulting in entirely
new, fresh airplanes.
(2) In another report, issued in May 2012, GAO found that the total projected cost to
modernize the F-22A Raptor fighter jet more than doubled from $5.4 billion to $11.7 billion
since the program started and the schedule for delivering full capabilities slipped 7 years
from 2010 to 2017.
(3) Upgrades to the F-22A are much more complicated than those made to other legacy
fighters, giving rise to likelihood of schedule slips and cost growth.
(4) With these factors in mind, GAO believes that many of the Air Force’s F-22A Raptors
may not get their long-promised capability upgrades until they will have, in some cases,
expended as much as 20 percent of their service lives. This could limit the amount of utility
the Air Force will be able to extract from this enormously expensive modernization program.
F-22A Raptor Sustainment
In addition to the near-term modernization, sustainment over the life cycle of a weapon
system represents a significant expenditure of resources. On average, about two-thirds of the
total life cycle cost of a major defense system lies in post-production—in its operation and
sustainment over its useful life. If that rule were to hold true, with a charge of roughly $79.0
billion to buy the F-22A, the Air Force could be facing a demand for roughly $160.0 billion
in F-22A sustainment costs. Moreover, under its `structures retrofit program’, over the next
few years the Air Force will need more than $100.0 million to retrofit the F-22A fleet just to
ensure these aircraft can fly for the full 8,000 hours for which they were designed. Over just
the last 2 years, the Air Force issued sole-source contracts for sustainment of the F-22A fleet
to the prime contractor totaling almost $1.4 billion.
The Air Force recently completed an F-22A sustainment strategy review that concluded that
a joint contractor/government approach could save more than $1.0 billion in sustainment
costs over the life of the aircraft. The committee believes that the Air Force must transition
its sustainment strategy to adopt the least expensive sustainment strategy now, while
continuing to be aggressive in exploring opportunities to compete F-22A sustainment work.
F-22A Raptor Pilot Air-Supply Problems
The Air Force has been having problems with the oxygen-supply for its F-22A Raptor pilots.
The committee is aware of, and has been closely monitoring, these problems. The Air Force
has documented 11 reported incidents of hypoxia-like symptoms in 10,000 sorties (about 0.1
percent) since late 2011, with 6 of these incidents having occurred as recently as February
and March 2012. Since reports of pilots experiencing hypoxia-like symptoms in flight first
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Congressional Research Service 22
arose, the Secretary of the Air Force, among other actions, directed the Air Force Scientific
Advisory Board (SAB) to conduct a quick-look study; gather and evaluate information; and
recommend any corrective actions on aircraft using on-board oxygen generation systems.
Unfortunately, to date, the Air Force has not been able to identify conclusively a root cause
for the problem. But, the committee has been assured that the Air Force has put in place
measures intended to ensure that these aircraft are safe to fly, including new commercial
oxygen status sensors and emergency oxygen handles in the aircraft. For this reason, after
having grounded the fleet after initial reports of hypoxia-related symptoms in its pilots late
last year, the Air Force returned the F-22A to flying under its full mission envelope and, in
fact, deployed it to Southwest Asia and the United Arab Emirates in late April. Despite that a
small number of pilots have asked not to fly the F-22A or to be reassigned because of this
issue, Air Force leadership has conveyed to the committee that, while the Air Force
continues to investigate this problem, these aircraft are safe to fly today.
Notably, the Navy had similar problems with F-18s; there were 64 incidents from 2002 to
2009, resulting in 2 deaths. Ultimately, however, the Navy overcame these problems. The
committee remains hopeful that the Air Force will be similarly successful. In the meantime,
the committee will continue to exercise close oversight of this problem and how the Air
Force addresses it. The committee directs the Secretary of the Air Force to explain, no later
than 90 days after enactment of this Act, how the Air Force has implemented or will
implement each of the recommendations provided by the SAB. If the Secretary disagrees
with any of these recommendations, he should explain why and describe what other
corrective actions he may be taking to respond to the concern underlying that
recommendation.
Finally, as the Air Force continues to investigate this matter, the committee will view as
unacceptable any act of retaliation against any F-22A Raptor pilot who raises concerns about
the safety of this aircraft or declines to fly it on that basis.
FY2013 Defense Appropriations Bill (H.R. 5856)
House
In its report (H.Rept. 112-493 of May 25, 2012) on H.R. 5856, the House Appropriations
Committee recommends authorizing $333.9 million in FY2013 for modification of in-service F-
22s, an increase of $50.0 million from the Administration’s request. The committee’s report
states:
F–22 BACKUP OXYGEN SYSTEM
The Committee is concerned by the continuing problems with hypoxia-type events involving
the F–22 and the Air Force’s inability to determine a remediable root cause for this problem.
As the military’s only operational fifth generation fighter, the F–22 is critical to the
implementation of the National Defense Strategy. Due to the small size of the F–22 fleet, and
the utmost importance of preserving the safety and readiness of F–22 pilots, the Committee
strongly supports Air Force efforts to address this problem. The Committee understands that
the Air Force is in the final stages of selecting a design for an automated backup oxygen
system as a mitigation measure. The Committee’s recommendation therefore includes
$50,000,000 only for the procurement and installation of a backup oxygen system for the F–
22. The Committee further directs the Air Force to provide regular updates to the Committee
on physiological events involving F–22 pilots, impacts on flight operations, and the progress
of efforts to discover and implement solutions.
27. Air Force F-22 Fighter Program
Congressional Research Service 23
Section 8057 would prohibit the use of funds made available in the bill from being used to
approve or license the sale of the F-22 to any foreign government. This is the so-called Obey
amendment on the F-22 program that has been included in annual DOD appropriation acts since
FY1998.
Senate
The Senate Appropriations Committee, in its report (S.Rept. 112-196 of August 2, 2012) on H.R.
5856, recommends a $4.4 million addition to the Administration’s request for FY2013
procurement funding for the modification of in-service F-22s. The recommended $4.4 million
addition includes a recommended reduction of $17.5 million for “Engine modifications –
excessive cost growth,” and a recommended addition of $21.5 million for “Backup oxygen
system.” (Page 145, line 39) The committee included the following language regarding oxygen
systems:
F–22 Automatic Backup Oxygen System [ABOS].—The fiscal year 2013 budget request
includes no funds for the F–22 ABOS. The Committee notes that following submission of
the fiscal year 2013 budget request, the Air Force was directed by the Secretary of Defense
to take additional measures to ensure the health and safety of the airmen and maintainers
operating the F–22, to include expediting the installation of an automatic backup oxygen
system. The Committee understands that the fiscal year 2013 funding requirement for the
procurement of ABOS is $21,500,000 and that the Air Force intends to defer other,
previously funded critical reliability improvements to the F–22 in order to accelerate the
procurement and installation of ABOS. The Committee does not agree with this strategy and
recommends an additional $21,500,000 in fiscal year 2013 to execute the accelerated ABOS
schedule without negatively impacting other reliability projects.
Section 8038 of H.R. 5856, as reported by the committee, would retain and modify the annual
provision regarding foreign sales of the F-22. The text of the provision as reported by the
committee is as follows:
Sec. 8038. None of the funds made available in this Act may be used to approve or license
the sale of the F-22A advanced tactical fighter to any foreign government: Provided, That the
Department of Defense may conduct or participate in studies, research, design and other
activities to develop a future export version of the F-22A that protects classified and
sensitive information, technologies and U.S. warfighting capabilities.
Author Contact Information
Jeremiah Gertler
Specialist in Military Aviation
jgertler@crs.loc.gov, 7-5107