Nellis getting ready for new Raptors to seize first home: Hangars being prepared for Air Force’s stealthy F-22

Angela Soo

Tuesday, May 1, 2001 | 10:07 a.m.

The operations center is ready and hangars are almost done.

Now all that the 422nd Night Fighter Squadron at Nellis Air Force Base needs are planes.

Eight new F-22 Raptors are due to arrive at Nellis next year, the first permanent home for the new stealth fighters.

The new aircraft will replace the aging F-15 Eagle, which is used by the Air Force to maintain air superiority in combat, and has an average age of 17 1/2 years, according to Air Force officials. F-22s are more capable than the older aircraft, and will remain technologically superior for the next 30 years, they say.

"By the time we get our first F-22 wing fully operational, the F-15 will be pushing 25," Gen. Michael Ryan, Air Force chief of staff, said. "The F-15 has gotten a little old for our frontline kick-down-the-door kinds of capability. The F-22 is ready, and that's why we need it."

The F-22s bring to the fight a supercruise feature that allows the aircraft to travel at supersonic speed without using its afterburner.

"It (F-22) doesn't need to use a lot of fuel or put out a lot of heat," Ramey said. "It's more fuel efficient."

The F-22 also has an integrated avionics system that allows the pilot to collect vital battle information and the ability to thrust vectoring engines, which significantly increases maneuverability, Air Force officials said last week as they dedicated Johnson Hall, the squadron's operations center.

The first six F-22 Raptors are scheduled to arrive at Nellis next year. The last two are scheduled for delivery in spring 2003.

Operational testing, development of combat tactics and training for the initial F-22 pilots and maintainers will begin once the aircraft are delivered to the base.

The long-term plan is for 339 Raptors, but getting congressional approval to fund them all might be the new aircraft's toughest battle.

Critics have lambasted the program as too expensive, costing an estimated $200 million each in some reports. Additionally, the threat of air-to-air warfare has significantly decreased since the end of the Cold War, making the F-22 a questionable investment, critics say.

However, the likelihood of Congress approving the production line for 339 F-22 looks "very good," Lt. Col. Alvina Mitchell, an Air Force F-22 spokeswoman, said.

"Congress approved the release of $675 million to fund the F-22 program through fiscal year 01," Mitchell said. "The Air Force successfully completed all the 2000 criteria necessary for the Defense Department's Acquisition Board to make a decision to enter F-22 production."

But Mitchell added that securing future funding for the F-22s is contingent upon the new administration completing its own analysis of the aircraft.

"No further action will be taken until completion of the new administration's Defense Department top-to-bottom review of all defense acquisition programs, which is expected in the next few months."

Manufacturer Lockheed Martin challenges the claims that the F-22 will cost as much as $200 million each.

Greg Caires, a Lockheed Martin official, noted the "higher estimates factored in all the costs associated with the F-22, and not just the aircraft itself."

"The operations facility and training of fighter pilots were factored into the estimate," Caires said. "When you price a car, you don't include such things as car insurance into the price."

Air Force officials also said there were discrepancies in a General Accounting Office report on the F-22 budget that showed cost overruns of almost $9 billion.

"Air Force officials disagree with estimates that suggest the program is $9 billion over the cap," Mitchell said. "Out most recent projections indicate the cap will be exceeded by $2 billion."

However, the Air Force is evaluating a plan to delay the production of several aircraft in the early stages of production in order to invest more than $200 million in more efficient manufacturing methods, Mitchell said.

"The F-22 has performed marvelously," Ryan said. "It continues to do everything that we expect it to do."