Agonizing Reappraisals-Martin/Boeing and Pratt & Whitney combination of airframe

By the time the Lockheed Martin/Boeing and Pratt & Whitney combination of airframe
and powerplant had culminated in the form of the single-seat F-22A and the projected
tandem-seat F-22B, world affairs had altered drastically. The Berlin Wall had been torn
down, the Cold War had ended, and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) had disbanded.
The Persian Gulf War had been easily won, primarily by an unprecedented showing
of modern airpower. Defense spending was cut back by almost 40 percent over the next
5 years. Most military aircraft production programs were being either dramatically reduced
or completely terminated.
Unfortunately, even though military aircraft production totals shrink, their program
costs often continue to rise. In the case of the F-22, the original 750-plane requirement
costing an estimated $26.2 billion was quickly reduced to 648 aircraft that was estimated to
cost some $86.6 billion. After the Bottom Up Review, completed by the DoD in September
1993, the planned quantity of F-22s was reduced to 438 aircraft at an estimated cost of
$71.6 billion. Then, in mid-May 1997, after the release of the Quadrennial Defense Review
Report, the total F-22 production amount was reduced even further to 339 aircraft. In an
effort to save funds, an F-22 production slowdown was required, which increased rather
than decreased the single-unit price of each F-22. At this writing the cost of an F-22 now
stands at about $90 million.
F-22 Production Program Slowdown
The original EMD contract called for the manufacture of seven single-seat F-22A and two
tandem-seat F-22B aircraft with the first flight of EMD airplane number 1 (an F-22A) to
take place in mid-1996. It also stipulated that the first full-production F-22A would fly by
mid-1999, and that the first operational squadron would be active in the year 2003.
However, by February 24, 1995, when the USAF approved the final design of the F-22A
aircraft, the first EMD F-22A had not flown yet, and the projected dates of the F-22A/B evolution
had drastically slipped.