New USAF Program To Execute F-22A Pre-Planned Improvement Package

摘要

The Air Force has launched a five-year effort to develop a package of new improvements for its stealth Raptors, a project substantial enough for the Office of the Secretary of Defense to establish the F-22A Increment 3.2B program as a stand-alone major acquisition that will be retrofitted into the marquee fighter fleet beginning in 2018, according to Pentagon officials. On Dec. 12, the Defense Acquisition Board -- chaired by the Pentagon's acquisition executive - granted the Air Force a material development decision for the modernization effort, a previously unreported decision that allows the service to proceed with with a program that will cost approximately $1.5 billion, according to service officials.