Originally Posted by sevenstrokeroll
The F22 is a heckuva plane...but our moron in chief (obama) is happy to cut them back
Sigh.
I voted for McCain, but I have to admit that it was not the Democrats, nor even Obama, that is responsible for the F-22 production cap.
Lets try to speak truth, instead of political lies, shall we?
It was the administration of George W. Bush (#43) that capped production of F-22 at 187 aircraft!
All Obama did was carry out this decision.
The biggest cuts to the F-22 program came during the Clinton administration where it was cut from 650+ aircraft to 438 in 1994, and then cut again in 1997 to 339 aircraft.
Due to a CONGRESSIONAL “cost cap” the procurement was reduced to 277 aircraft in 2003.
In 2004, the air force reduced the procurement to the 180+ in order to implement a multi-year procurement plan to allow for the possibility of future orders beyond the 180+ aircraft.
Every budget since then, until the 2010 budget was passed with provisions to shut down the F-22 line permanently, included requests for additional F-22s.
However, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld refused to support any further F-22 procurement... even the 4-aircraft buy that brought numbers from 183 to 187 was opposed by this Bush Cabinet member.
When Robert Gates became SecDef, he continued this policy!
In January 2008, the Pentagon announced that it would ask Congress to fund additional F-22s.
24 Sept 2008, congress passed a defense spending bill authorizing additional F-22s. However, this was to be funded in the FY2010 budget, and it was it that budget that production was instead ordered finished and the line closed.
More detailed info on specifics of the production number reductions can be found here:
F-22 Raptor Cost
Note the date of this article... just a couple of weeks after Obama took office... but note the names of "who killed the F-22 production":
16 February 2009!
Numbers Matter: Strategic Consequences of F-22 Termination
The Bush Administration’s SecDef Donald Rumsfeld arbitrarily chopped the F-22 program down to 180 aircraft.
I hate to use this organization as a citation (due to their habit of wild-eyed ranting), but the transitory nature of the internet has seen articles deleted to make room for new ones, and others edited by those with an interest in distorting history to suit their agendas, and so sources I have linked to in the past to show who chopped down the F-22 program are no longer available.