The Air Force hasn’t asked Lockheed Martin for any special pricing on another three-year multiyear procurement of the F-22, company program manager Larry Lawson reported yesterday. The F-22 will be judged on current costs, which stem from the current multiyear deal. The flyaway unit cost of a Raptor is $140 million, Lawson said during an interview, and could go down some more. However, given that the F-22 is replacing about 880 F-15s, it’s a relative bargain when factoring the highly increased survivability it offers over fourth-generation fighters, he said. (Note: New-build F-15s cost about $100 million apiece, based on the most recent sales to Singapore and South Korea.)
The U.S. military is maintaining a beefed-up presence in the Middle East, including fighters and air defense assets, following the U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities June 22 and subsequent retaliation by the Iranians against Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.
