|
I received this from an email list I belong to. I thought here might find it interesting.
Mike
Jet fighter costs go skyward as price of rival nosedives
By Tom Allard
April 20, 2006
The F-22A Raptor strike jet -- considered the best manned warplane yet -- can be bought for about the same price that Australia will pay for the first batch of F-35 Joint Strike Fighters, new figures show.
The data from the U.S. Department of Defence highlights a disturbing trend for the Government: as the price of the F-22A declines, the cost of the Joint Strike Fighter is rapidly increasing.
"It's extremely concerning," said Dennis Jensen, a Coalition MP and a former defence scientist. "What I want to know is how does Defence get the numbers so wrong?"
As well as posing fresh questions over defence costings, the new figures will rekindle debate about whether Australia will get the right aircraft to maintain its long-held air superiority in the region.
The Joint Strike Fighter is Australia's preferred option to replace its FA-18 and F-111s, at a cost of $15 billion.
However, the Chief of the Defence Force, Angus Houston, has said the F-22A "will be the most outstanding fighter aircraft ever built" and possibly the "end of the line in manned fighters".
It can travel at supersonic speeds without afterburners, has unprecedented stealthiness, and can launch missiles out of range of other fighter jets and air defence networks.
The problem has always been price. Australia's military has insisted it is at least three times as expensive as the Joint Strike Fighter and simply unaffordable.
But the latest U.S. Department of Defence selected acquisition report, released earlier this month, shows that the F-22A can be bought for $US127 million ($A172 million) each.
That is down 17 per cent on figures quoted two years ago.
In the meantime, the same report shows the total cost of the Joint Strike Fighter program has leapt 8 per cent in the past three months, with each plane costing about $US95 million ($A128 million), after stripping out development costs.
Separate figures from the US Government Accountability Office, released in March, showed the cost of the Joint Strike Fighters would be much higher for those, like Australia, who are buying planes produced early in the manufacturing cycle. Australia wants 100 planes and will order its first batch in 2010 for delivery in 2012.
According to the U.S. figures, the average cost of Joint Strike Fighters produced this year will be $US125 million. That cost gradually decreases over the 20-year life of the program.
Air Commodore John Harvey, director-general of the RAAF's new air capability project, said the cost of the variant Australia is buying would average about $100 million, including support. Even at the lower price, the F-22A would be "twice the price" of the Joint Strike Fighter, he said.
While Defence was keeping a "watching brief" on the changing price, "nothing in our analysis has fundamentally changed", he said.
But Dr Jensen said the new U.S. figures should ring alarm bells, especially as the Joint Strike Fighter -- still under development -- was untested and costs were likely to blow out further.
Labor's defence spokesman, Robert McClelland, said: "The Government should really re-examine its decision on the JSF. The [F-22A] Raptor has known capability, while the JSF's has yet to be determined."
_________________ Mike R. Henniger Aviation Enthusiast & Photographer http://www.AerialVisuals.cahttp://www.facebook.com/AerialVisualsDo you want to find locations of displayed, stored or active aircraft? Then start with the The Locator. Do you want to find or contribute to the documented history of an aircraft? If so then start with the Airframes Database.
|
Login
Register
FAQ
Search
