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Air Force chiefs want their new stealth fighters, bad -- so bad, they're willing to scrap some of their best-performing planes early, in order to free up cash for their controversial, next-generation jet.
Inside Defense reports that "nearly half the B-52 bomber force and the full U-2 spy plane and F-117 stealth fighter fleets" will be retired ahead of schedule, under a Pentagon budget plan endorsed by the Air Force. It's part of "a bid to save $16.4 billion and boost spending" for the F-22 Raptor program.
About a year ago, a similar Pentagon "Program Budget Decision," or PBD, cut $10 billion out of the F-22's budget. Originally designed to duel with Soviet fighters, the Raptor seemed to be a plane without a mission; the Air Force touted the F-22 as everything from a cargo lifter to an IED-stopper. A fleet of 277 Raptors was downsized to 179 -- despite a massive PR campaign from the Air Force.
You remember the F-117 the Stealth Fighter made famous during the gulf War , well they are all gone now, guess who is sitting on the Armed Service Committee?
The Air Force retired the F-117 on 22 April 2008,[2] primarily due to the purchasing and eventual deployment of the more effective F-22 Raptor[5][6] and F-35 Lightning II.
Inside Defense reports that "nearly half the B-52 bomber force and the full U-2 spy plane and F-117 stealth fighter fleets" will be retired ahead of schedule, under a Pentagon budget plan endorsed by the Air Force. It's part of "a bid to save $16.4 billion and boost spending" for the F-22 Raptor program.
About a year ago, a similar Pentagon "Program Budget Decision," or PBD, cut $10 billion out of the F-22's budget. Originally designed to duel with Soviet fighters, the Raptor seemed to be a plane without a mission; the Air Force touted the F-22 as everything from a cargo lifter to an IED-stopper. A fleet of 277 Raptors was downsized to 179 -- despite a massive PR campaign from the Air Force.
You remember the F-117 the Stealth Fighter made famous during the gulf War , well they are all gone now, guess who is sitting on the Armed Service Committee?
The Air Force retired the F-117 on 22 April 2008,[2] primarily due to the purchasing and eventual deployment of the more effective F-22 Raptor[5][6] and F-35 Lightning II.