The Air Force plans to ask for 20 more F-22A Raptors, extending the shut down of the production line from 2011 to 2012, reports the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Kenneth Miller, the Air Force Secretary’s special assistant for acquisition governance and transparency, told the Star-Telegram that the request would be in the Fiscal 2008 budget. If approved that would raise the total buy—currently capped at 183—to 203. That is still shy of the 381 Raptors the Air Force says it should have to cover its 10 Air and Space Expeditionary Forces and have enough for training, testing, etc.
The Pentagon is counting on Congress to navigate a legislative tightrope and pass a party-line bill to fund nearly a quarter of its $1.5 trillion budget request for fiscal 2027, including billions of dollars for top priorities like Golden Dome, the F-35, munitions, and unmanned systems. Experts and lawmakers from…