F-22 CRS report

Here is the latest report on the F-22 from the Congressional Research Service (CRS).

Below is some of the language the report has gathered from  The Hill in relation to sustainment of the aircraft:

F-22A Raptor Sustainment


In addition to the near-term modernization, sustainment over the life cycle of a weapon system represents a significant expenditure of resources. On average, about two-thirds of the total life cycle cost of a major defense system lies in post-production—in its operation and sustainment over its useful life. If that rule were to hold true, with a charge of roughly $79.0 billion to buy the F-22A, the Air Force could be facing a demand for roughly $160.0 billion in F-22A sustainment costs. Moreover, under its `structures retrofit program’, over the next few years the Air Force will need more than $100.0 million to retrofit the F-22A fleet just to ensure these aircraft can fly for the full 8,000 hours for which they were designed. Over just the last 2 years, the Air Force issued sole-source contracts for sustainment of the F-22A fleet to the prime contractor totaling almost $1.4 billion.

The Air Force recently completed an F-22A sustainment strategy review that concluded that a joint contractor/government approach could save more than $1.0 billion in sustainment costs over the life of the aircraft. The committee believes that the Air Force must transition its sustainment strategy to adopt the least expensive sustainment strategy now, while continuing to be aggressive in exploring opportunities to compete F-22A sustainment work.

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My worries are still:

1. Various airframe fatigue issues.
2. Corrosion issues of all types; not just L.O. but other areas of the aircraft.