An internal Pentagon study reviewing the procurement of new F-22A Raptors says the Air Force could save more than $500 million if it buys 40 more fighters than the 183 now specified by DOD. Reuters news service surfaced this finding based on comment from an unnamed source that has seen the draft of the study conducted by the Program Analysis and Evaluation Office. The conclusion—if upheld—mirrors that of an independent review conducted by the consulting firm Whitney, Bradley, & Brown. Commissioned last fall by Defense Undersecretary Gordon England, the WBB study is due next month, but word of its “surprising” finding leaked last month.
The Air Force’s Experimental Operations Unit hosted a change of command ceremony recently, another sign of how the CCA concept is maturing and becoming entrenched in the Air Force’s structure, to the point where exercises have generated multiple sorties in a single day to simulate high-tempo combat operations.