GAO hits fighter jet on problems, cost
WASHINGTON --
The spiraling costs of the F/A-22 Raptor jet and spending limits imposed by Congress will limit the Pentagon to only 218 of the state-of-the-art aircraft, according to the General Accounting Office, compared with its original order of 750 almost two decades ago. The average purchase price for each aircraft has grown to $153 million, the GAO said, although that figure swells to $330 million when the program's total development costs are factored in.
"The F/A-22 program is not meeting its requirements for a reliable aircraft, and it is not using a best-practice approach," the study found. The GAO is the investigative arm of Congress.
"This shows a complete disregard on the part of the Pentagon to maintain cost controls," said Keith Ashdown, vice president of policy and communications at Taxpayers for Common Sense, a watchdog agency. "Congress needs to eliminate this platinum-plated boondoggle."
The Pentagon said it was studying the report and was preparing a response. Lockheed spokesman Greg Caires said the company "appreciates the oversight the GAO provides and is ready to support the Air Force in any discussion it may have with regards to the means and exact quantities of the F/A-22."
The GAO's findings should provide ammunition to lawmakers critical of the Defense Department's record procurement budget and arise as even Pentagon allies in Congress are questioning the sustainability of its spending. Last week, Congress met the Pentagon's budget request only after reversing at the last minute demands for cuts. Lawmakers have also called on the Bush administration to delay implementation of its multibillion-dollar antimissile system until the technology behind it has been refined and fully tested.
"I would hope this would get people's attention," Representative John Tierney, Democrat of Massachusetts, said of the GAO study. "Patience is wearing thin, and this could be the straw that breaks the camel's back."
Analysts said they doubted the F/A-22 would meet with the same fate as the Comanche helicopter program, which the Army canceled last month after 21 years and $7 billion in development costs. Congress rarely cancels new weapons already in production -- Lockheed is expected to roll out the first two dozen F/A-22s by the end of this year -- and the fact that the aircraft is assembled from factories in 41 states makes it politically difficult to kill.
The Air Force is vigorously defending the aircraft as a vital replacement for the country's aging fighters. The F/A-22, which is capable of evading enemy radar and can cruise at supersonic speeds for extended periods, was designed to complement the new Joint Strike Fighter, which is also stalled amid rising development and production costs.
Analysts said, however, that further cuts in the F/A-22 fleet following the GAO report are likely.
"It's not a question of canceling, but it is a question of scaling it back," said Steven Kosiak, director of budget studies at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. "If you look at the overall fiscal pressure on spending as a result of the budget deficit, there will clearly be a squeeze on any major acquisition programs in the next five years or so."
The GAO report recommended the Pentagon submit to Congress a "business case" that adequately addresses Lockheed's ability to deliver a capable and reliable aircraft without additional cost overruns and the need for such an aircraft more than a decade after the end of the Cold War.
"In light of the uncertainty concerning how many aircraft are needed in today's environment, the large investments that remain, and unknown outcomes of planned operational testing, GAO continues to have concerns regarding the DOD's readiness to make a full rate production decision," the report states.
The F/A-22, which is scheduled to be in full service by December 2005, has had a turbulent history since it was conceived as a counterweight to next-generation Soviet fighters. The number of aircraft to be built has been cut six times. Technical problems snagged early prototypes, and the program's ballooning production budget was capped at $37 billion after a congressional committee discovered $13 billion in unanticipated cost growth. Failures and shutdowns continue to hobble the F/A-22's avionics and maintenance-support systems, according to the GAO, and a decision to employ immature technologies and untested systems has contributed to delays, runaway costs, and frequent breakdowns.
As late as last summer, the Air Force said it would respect the F/A-22's budget cap. According to the GAO report, however, the Pentagon plans to order 277 copies of the aircraft eventually, presumably after it has proved itself in test flights. In addition, the report finds, the Pentagon wants to transform the F/A-22 from an air-to-air fighter into a more versatile aircraft with air-to-ground capability. While such a weapon could provide the kind of troop support useful in the hunt for terrorist groups, it will require an additional $11.7 billion, according to the report, well above the $3.5 billion modernization budget it submitted last March.
Converting the F/A-22 into a fighter-bomber, according to the GAO, "will be costly and add risk to the program."
Stephen J. Glain can be reached at glain@globe.com. 
