Rep. Bill Young (R-Fla.), chairman of the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, thinks the F-22 has fairly major structural flaw. The Air Force, on the other hand, thinks not. The contretemps—reported in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer—features Young’s claim that a problem in the aft fuselage and titanium engine casing will require a fighter redesign or major modification. The lawmaker says he’s been telling the Air Force it has to fix the problem before he’ll give his support to further procurement. The Air Force and Lockheed Martin say there is a “potential” flaw, but that it does not affect safety of flight nor require significant rework. They say they discovered the “anomaly” in December 2005. Stay tuned.
The rate of building B-21 bombers would speed up if the fiscal 2026 defense budget passes. But it remains unclear how much capacity would be added, and whether the Air Force would simply build the bombers faster, or buy more.