GAO Slams F-22 Costs, Urges Congress To Oppose Bulk Buy

Posted on: Jun. 21st, 2006 || Source: money.aol.com | E-mail Article | Print Article

WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--The Government Accountability Office on Tuesday slammed Lockheed Martin Corp.'s (LMT) F-22 stealth fighter and urged Congress to block a proposed long-term purchase contract, according to a new unreleased report obtained by Dow Jones Newswires.

GAO's blast came as supporters rallied around the Pentagon's funding plan for the state-of-the-art fighters, which cost more than $130 million each. The Air Force wants to buy 60 planes over three years but needs special permission from Congress to ink the deal.

On Tuesday, GAO wrote House of Representatives appropriators that the Pentagon should be sanctioned for poor analysis and weak program management. U.S. Comptroller General David Walker, who heads the congressional watchdog agency, said the Pentagon has withheld studies justifying the Defense Department proposals. Also, the F-22 program doesn't meet the standards required for bulk purchasing under federal law, GAO said.

Read the full article

• Lockheed Demonstrates Intelligent Autonomous Control of Multiple UAVs
• Russian Navy aircraft test new equipment over the Arctic
• Russia may push forward with S-300 sales to Iran
• Boeing, US Navy Offer Super Hornet for Denmark Fighter Competition
• Boeing Awarded US Army Contract for 191 CH-47F Chinook Helicopters
• The Netherlands shows interest in Gripen
• 4th F-35 Lightning II Rolls Out As Production Line Fills Up At Lockheed
• Lockheed Martin C-5m Super Galaxy Completes Flight Test
• Air Guard Predator pilots increase combat air patrols
• Predator passes 400,000 hours
• Future Predator/Reaper Formal Training Unit announced
• Saab/Gripen team completes Hungarian offset contract
• South African Gripen deliveries on track
• Boeing Delivers Super Hornet Proposal to Brazil For F-X2 Competition
• Northrop to Support NASA's Global Hawk Earth Science Research Aircraft