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 March 24, 2005 |
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March 24, 2005 Dear Defense Acquisition Board Member: As a participant in another critical Department of Defense review of the F/A-22 tactical fighter, you have an important decision to make at your meeting scheduled for March 29. We understand that you will be discussing whether to approve or postpone a full-rate production decision on the Raptor. We urge you to not approve full-rate production of the F/A-22. Not only is there increasing evidence that the Raptor program is experiencing an array of serious problems, but a production decision would be premature in light of an upcoming comprehensive Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) that will update the nation’s military force structure, mission requirements, and modernization plans. Without this input, it would be a mistake to move forward with current plans for the F/A-22 program. We agree with the Government Accountability Office (GAO) that the 2005 QDR could have a profound effect on the F/A-22's “business case.” In the end, we hope you will agree with a growing number of experts, good government groups, and Members of Congress who support canceling this overpriced aircraft whose mission crumbled when the Cold War ended. Indeed, a March 15, 2005, review of the F/A-22 by the GAOconcludes that the program is in need of a new business model. The GAO report sets the new F/A-22 per-unit acquisition unit price at $345 million, making it by far the most expensive fighter aircraft ever. The report also questions whether the Raptor will actually fit into future force structure plans. “Over the 19 years that the program has been in development, the world threat environment has changed and the capabilities the Air Force once needed and planned for in the F-22 may not satisfy the warfighter’s future needs,” the report concludes. “Additionally, cost growth over time and affordability concerns have driven down planned aircraft quantities from 750 to 178 aircraft. The Air Force is now planning a modernization program that will substantially change the role of the F/A-22. Because of budget cuts in the program that have eliminated F/A-22 procurement after 2008 the modernization program as planned is obsolete.” To buttress our position on the Raptor program, we are providing you a copy of a new report written by Colonel Everest Riccioni, a distinguished former fighter pilot and key designer of the F-16 lightweight fighter aircraft. In his report, Colonel Riccioni argues that the F/A-22 program is broken and too expensive to fix. He also suggests that plans to develop a bomber version of the F-22 will not work since a redesign might reduce its stealth and because the number of bombs it could carry would be limited by its small internal weapons bay, designed purely for airbattle missiles. According to Riccioni, the F/A-22 was designed and conceived during the Cold War to penetrate deep into Russia and will be of little value in the war on terrorism. “Al Qaeda doesn’t train, enlist, or use fighter pilots,” he writes. “Terrorists do not employ fighter forces. There is no need for new air superiority fighters.” These are a few of the reasons we hope you will decide against the continued procurement of the unneeded and overpriced F/A-22. Sincerely, Danielle Brian Executive Director
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