[MilCom] FA-22 irrelevent?

[Amtrak35 at aol.com]

 Off topic....

Media liberal bias against new mil aircraft never ceases to amaze me.Yes the 
Cold War is over and yes it is an expensive aircraft but who can predict the 
future?
 If Kerry gets elected they will probably cancel this fine aircraft.
  
 
  
US rolls out most expensive jet 
By David Bamford 
BBC Defence and Security correspondent  

The first of a fleet of the world's most expensive fighter jet, the FA-22 
Raptor, is being commissioned into the United States Air Force. The US military 
has ordered 277 planes, the first of which was due to roll out onto the tarmac 
at its manufacturing base in Georgia on Wednesday. 

It is to join a fighter squadron based close to the capital, Washington DC. 

The FA-22 stealth fighter can fly at 1500 km/h and still remain undetected by 
radar. 

It fires precisely targeted smart bombs and can engage hostile aircraft far 
beyond the pilot's vision. 

That is the impressive part of the story. 

Irrelevant? 

The other part is that, at a cost of about $260m (£142m) each, the Raptor is 
designed to fight a potential Soviet enemy that no longer exists, and a Third 
World War that - if it ever happens - will be very different from what could 
have been imagined in 1981. 

Some years ago there was a serious attempt in the Congress to scrap the whole 
project, especially as the revised cost exceeded four times the original 
estimate. 

It failed largely because of pressure from military contractors and labour 
unions in states that will directly benefit from this multi-billion dollar 
programme. 

The introduction of the new fighter jet comes in the same week that its 
manufacturer, Lockheed-Martin, announced a 40% rise in profits as it processes 
orders for its next generation of fighter aircraft, the F-35. 


Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/americas/3959673.stm

Published: 2004/10/27 17:20:27 GMT