Reports of a flaw in the aft fuselage design of the F-22A Raptor prompted Congressional Research Service analyst Christopher Bolkcom to tell a Senate armed services subcommittee Tuesday that the Air Force’s failure to adequately track the F-22A progress exposes the program to “risk.” The Air Staff military deputy for acquisition, Lt. Gen. Donald Hoffman, countered that the flaw was the result of a “misapplied” standard that calls for the titanium in the forward aft boom to be heat-treated to aid in conduction of the massive amount of heat radiated through the aft portion of the fighter. He maintained, “We have not restricted the aircraft and do not believe it is a safety issue.” Hoffman concurred with the assessment by Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) that “the design is completely stable.”
The Air Force and Boeing agreed to a nearly $2.4 billion contract for a new lot of KC-46 aerial tankers on Nov. 21. The deal, announced by the Pentagon, is for 15 new aircraft in Lot 11 at a cost of $2.389 billion—some $159 million per tail.