Le Bourget, France —The Air Force is conducting a “should cost” analysis on the F-22 improvement program, said USAF acquisition executive David Van Buren here Tuesday at the Paris Air Show. Van Buren acknowledged that outyears funding for F-22 enhancements has declined from about $7 billion to less than $4 billion. He said much of that has to do with the fact that “some content has shifted out.” Among that content were data links. However, the F-22 is still “robustly funded” and the deleted items “may come back later,” he said. The F-22 is one of several high-priority programs for which Air Force officials are performing the “should cost” analysis, he said. Van Buren expects to get some answers on an upcoming trip to Marietta, Ga., where Lockheed Martin assembles the F-22.
A combined Navy and Air Force program is seeking to build a smaller version of a ubiquitous air-to-air missile that could give advanced aircraft, such as the Collaborative Combat Aircraft, greater magazine depth in a high-end fight.