F-22 fighter jet crashed in the California desert Wednesday, the Air Force said, coming at a time the Obama administration is deciding whether to extend Lockheed Martin Corp's F-22 production line.
The decision on the production line is due in a month or so as part of the White House's detailed fiscal 2010 budget request to Congress.
Lockheed has said it plans to start phasing out its supplier base unless President Barack Obama opts to buy more than the 183 F-22s currently budgeted.
The aircraft, designed to be the world's top dogfighter, went down about 35 miles northeast of Edwards Air Force Base, where it had been based, the Air Force said in a statement. Edwards lies in the Mojave Desert, adjacent to Rogers Dry Lakebed, the largest dry lakebed in North America.
The Air Force said the condition of the aircraft's lone pilot was not immediately known.
To date, the Air Force has accepted 135 F-22s from Lockheed Martin, Lt. Gen. Mark Schackelford, the Air Force's top uniformed acquisition officer, told Congress Wednesday.
This is the second time an F-22 has crashed.
The first was during a test and evaluation period in December 2004, also at Edwards, the Air Force said. In that case, the pilot ejected safely.
(Reporting by Jim Wolf; editing by Gerald E. McCormick, Bernard Orr)
Thursday, March 26, 2009
U.S. Air Force F-22 fighter Jet Crashes, Program Questioned
U.S. Air Force F-22 fighter Jet Crashes, Program Questioned
* Production line to close without more F-22 orders
* U.S. has budgeted for 183 of the aircraft
* Condition of pilot in crash unknown (Adds details on F-22 production decision, byline)
By Jim Wolf
(NSI News Source Info) WASHINGTON - March 26, 2009: A U.S. Air Force
F-22 fighter jet crashed in the California desert Wednesday, the Air Force said, coming at a time the Obama administration is deciding whether to extend Lockheed Martin Corp's F-22 production line.
The decision on the production line is due in a month or so as part of the White House's detailed fiscal 2010 budget request to Congress.
Lockheed has said it plans to start phasing out its supplier base unless President Barack Obama opts to buy more than the 183 F-22s currently budgeted.
The aircraft, designed to be the world's top dogfighter, went down about 35 miles northeast of Edwards Air Force Base, where it had been based, the Air Force said in a statement. Edwards lies in the Mojave Desert, adjacent to Rogers Dry Lakebed, the largest dry lakebed in North America.
The Air Force said the condition of the aircraft's lone pilot was not immediately known.
To date, the Air Force has accepted 135 F-22s from Lockheed Martin, Lt. Gen. Mark Schackelford, the Air Force's top uniformed acquisition officer, told Congress Wednesday.
This is the second time an F-22 has crashed.
The first was during a test and evaluation period in December 2004, also at Edwards, the Air Force said. In that case, the pilot ejected safely.
(Reporting by Jim Wolf; editing by Gerald E. McCormick, Bernard Orr)
F-22 fighter jet crashed in the California desert Wednesday, the Air Force said, coming at a time the Obama administration is deciding whether to extend Lockheed Martin Corp's F-22 production line.
The decision on the production line is due in a month or so as part of the White House's detailed fiscal 2010 budget request to Congress.
Lockheed has said it plans to start phasing out its supplier base unless President Barack Obama opts to buy more than the 183 F-22s currently budgeted.
The aircraft, designed to be the world's top dogfighter, went down about 35 miles northeast of Edwards Air Force Base, where it had been based, the Air Force said in a statement. Edwards lies in the Mojave Desert, adjacent to Rogers Dry Lakebed, the largest dry lakebed in North America.
The Air Force said the condition of the aircraft's lone pilot was not immediately known.
To date, the Air Force has accepted 135 F-22s from Lockheed Martin, Lt. Gen. Mark Schackelford, the Air Force's top uniformed acquisition officer, told Congress Wednesday.
This is the second time an F-22 has crashed.
The first was during a test and evaluation period in December 2004, also at Edwards, the Air Force said. In that case, the pilot ejected safely.
(Reporting by Jim Wolf; editing by Gerald E. McCormick, Bernard Orr)
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