Air Force officials are backing Defense Secretary Robert Gates’ plan to phase out production on the F-22 Raptor, which could result in the loss of thousands of Connecticut jobs, industry officials warn.
Air Force officials say they cannot request an additional 60 aircraft at the cost of $13 billion when defense budgets are becoming more restrained. The Air Force, which has a fleet of 183 F-22 Raptors, last summer had reduced its original request from 381 fighters to 243.
“The F–22 is a vital tool in the military’s arsenal and will remain in our inventory for decades to come. But the time has come to move on,” Air Force secretary Michael Donley and chief of staff Gen. Norton Schwartz wrote in a Washington Post opinion piece yesterday.
Last month, United Technologies Corp. CEO Louis Chenevert warned the cancellation of the F-22 could mean the loss of 2,000 to 3,000 jobs in Connecticut. Chenevert said those job losses could jeopardize production on the next generation of F–35 fighter, which is still several years away.
The Air Force officials did not recommend extending F–22 production to bridge the gap to the F–35.
“Analysis showed that overlapping F-22 and F-35 production would not only be expensive but that while the F–35 may still experience some growing pains, there is little risk of a catastrophic failure in its production line,” they wrote.
