US Air Force Eyes Fleet of 183 F-22 Fighters

Posted on: Dec. 14th, 2005 || Source: today.reuters.com | E-mail Article | Print Article

WASHINGTON: Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Michael Moseley on Tuesday said he hopes to buy 183 Lockheed Martin's F-22A fighter jets, four more than currently budgeted for, but still far less than the 381 the Air Force once said it needed.

Moseley said the Air Force would be able to pay for the additional jets by freezing further developments or "spirals" of the jet and rolling those funds back into the current program, with the aim of extending production -- now slated to end in 2008 -- to 2010.

"By freezing the A-model configuration, you're able to take a lot of the spiral development money, roll it back," Moseley told reporters after a briefing. "So you're not surprised with another bill down the road ... By doing that you can squeeze another four airplanes out and take you out to 2010."

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