US air force F-22 Raptor stealth jet fighters are to be based in Europe. Photograph: US air force/Reuters
Robert Farley, The Diplomat: Could Restarting F-22 Raptor Production Ever Be a Good Idea?
Is there a good reason to restart production of the F-22? Without export prospects, maybe not.
Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives commissioned a study on resuming production of the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor. The F-22 completed its production run in 2011, after a controversial decision by Secretary of Defense Robert Gates to curtail the fighter in favor of simpler, less expensive projects.
As numerous analysts have pointed out, the costs of resuming the F-22 production line would be staggering. Although Lockheed Martin tried to retain all of the tooling and equipment necessary to restart the line, much of the human capital associated with assembly has been lost. Moreover, engineers have struggled to find the appropriate equipment in storage, even for the repair and maintenance of the existing fleet.
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WNU Editor: This is probably why the F-22 production line will not be restarted .... The Real Reason the U.S. Air Force Won't Build New F-22 Raptors (James hasik, National Interest).
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