Procurement and Sales

The United States Air Force originally planned to order 750 ATFs, with production beginning in 1994. The 1990 Major Aircraft Review altered the plan to 648 aircraft beginning in 1996. The goal changed again in 1994, when it became 442 planes entering service in 2003 or 2004. A 1997 Department of Defense report put the purchase at 339. In 2003, the Air Force said that the existing congressional cost cap limited the purchase to 277. In 2006, the Pentagon is saying it will buy 183 aircraft, which would save $15 billion but raise the cost of each plane. This plan has been de facto approved by Congress in the form of a multi-year procurement plan, which still holds open the possibility for new orders past that point. Lockheed Martin has stated that it would need to know by FY 2009 whether more planes would be bought, to place orders for long-lead items.

In April 2006 the cost for each F-22A is assessed by the Government Accountability Office to be $361 million per aircraft. This cost reflects the F-22A total program cost, divided by the number of jets the Air Force is programmed to buy. So far, the Air Force has invested as much as $28 billion in the Raptor's research, development and testing. That money, referred to as a "sunk cost," is already spent and is separate from money used for future decision-making, including procuring a copy of the jet.

By the time all 183 jets have been purchased, around $28 billion will have been spent on research and development, with an additional $34 billion spent on actually procuring the aircraft. This will result in a cost of about $339 million per aircraft including program. The current cost, or "fly away cost" for one additional F-22 stands at about $120 million (a.k.a. incremental cost). If the Air Force were to buy 100 more F-22s today, each plane would be less than $117 million and would continue to drop with additional aircraft purchases.[7]

The F-22 is not the most expensive plane aloft; that distinction likely belongs to the roughly $2.2 billion-per-unit B-2 Spirit; though the incremental cost was under 1 billion USD. In fairness, orders for the B-2 went from hundreds to a couple dozen when the Cold War ended thus making the unit-cost skyrocket. The F-22 uses fewer radar absorbent materials than the B-2 or F-117 Nighthawk, which is expected to translate into lower maintenance costs.

Proposed foreign sales

Like many past tactical fighters for a long period, the opportunity for export is currently non-existent because the export sale of the F-22 is barred by federal law. There was a time in the 1970s when the then-new F-16 had many restrictions also. However, regardless of restrictions, very few allies would even be considered for export sale because it is such a sensitive and expensive system. Most current customers for US fighters are either acquiring earlier designs like the F-15 or F-16 or are waiting to acquire the F-35, which contains much of the F-22's technology but is designed to be cheaper and more flexible.

More recently Japan reportedly showed some interest in buying F-22As in its Replacement-Fighter program for its Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF).[8] In such an event, it would most likely involve a "watered-down" export variant while still retaining most of its advanced avionics and stealth characteristics. However, such a proposal would still need approval from the Pentagon, State Department and Congress.

Some Australian defense commentators have proposed that Australia purchase F-22 aircraft instead of the F-35.[9] This proposal is supported by the Australian Labor Party, which is Australia's main opposition party, on the grounds that the F-22 is a proven and highly capable aircraft while the F-35 is still under development.[10] The Australian Government, however, has ruled out seeking the purchase of F-22s on the grounds that it isunlikely to be released for export and does not meet Australia's requirements for a strike aircraft.[11] This assessment is supported by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, which is a non-partisan government-funded think-tank, which argues that the F-22 "has insufficient multi-role capability at too high a price" for Australia.[12]

In a joint conference between the US House of Representatives and the Senate on September 27, 2006, the ban on F-22 Raptor foreign sales was upheld.[13]