The F/A-22 is planned to be an air superiority and ground attack aircraft with advanced features to make it less detectable to adversaries (stealth characteristics) and capable of high speeds for long ranges. It has integrated avionics that greatly improve pilots’ awareness of the situation surrounding them. The objectives of the F/A-22 development program are to (1) design, fabricate, test, and deliver 9 F/A-22 development test aircraft, 2 nonflying structural test aircraft, 6 production representative test aircraft, and 37 flight-qualified engines; (2) design, fabricate, integrate, and test the avionics; and (3) design, develop, and test the support and training systems. The F/A-22 is being developed under contracts with Lockheed Martin Corporation, the prime contractor (for the aircraft),and Pratt & Whitney Corporation (for the engine). Following a history of increasing cost estimates to complete the development phase of the F/A-22 program, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1998 established a cost limitation for both the development and the production. Subsequently, the National Defense Authorization Act of 2002 eliminated the cost limitation for the development, but it left the cost limit for the production. The production program is now limited to $36.8 billion. The current cost estimate of the development program is $28.7 billion. Currently, the F/A-22 program is both in development and production. Development is in its final stages, and production has been ongoing since fiscal year 1999. The aircraft’s development problems and schedule delays in completing flight testing have led to congressional concerns. The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2004 prohibited the obligation of $136 million in procurement funds until the Under Secretary of Defense, Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics, submitted to the congressional defense committees, among other things, a certification that the avionics software installed on test aircraft can operate at least 5 hours on average before certain types of avionics anomalies occur. The Under Secretary of Defense, Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics, the final authority in making acquisition decisions in DOD, has also included this criterion as a requirement for the F/A-22 program before entering IOT&E . The F/A-22 program has experienced several significant changes since it began development in 1986. First, the Air Force cannot afford to purchase the quantities of aircraft that were originally planned 18 years ago. This reduction in buying power is attributed, in a large part, to increases in development time and cost due to the program’s failure to employ a knowledge-based acquisition approach to developing the F/A-22. Second, in September 2002, the Air Force decided to add a more robust air-to-ground attack capability than previously envisioned but now deemed needed to increase the utility of the aircraft. This capability will add significant cost to the program over the next 10 years. Lastly, the Air Force has determined that new computer processors and architecture are needed to support some planned enhancements, which will further increase program costs and risk. Since the F/A-22 acquisition program started in 1986, cost and schedule estimates have grown significantly, thus contributing to a loss in buying power. Development costs are now estimated at $28.7 billion, a 127 percent increase over the 1986 estimates. Planned development cycle time has grown from 9 years to 19 years, and the initial operational capability date has slipped over 9 years, from March 1996 to December 2005. These schedule extensions, delays, and cost increases were major contributors to changes in the Air Force’s initial plan to purchase 750 aircraft. Current Air Force budget estimates include plans to purchase 277 aircraft. Table 1 shows the changes in the F/A-22 program since its start in 1986 based on information provided in Selected Acquisition Reports over time. In our 1988 report, the average unit procurement cost was estimated by the Air Force to be $69 million. Today, after schedule delays and development problems, the estimated average unit procurement costs have grown to $153 million—almost a 122 percent increase. The Air Force does not expect the development program to be completed until 2005 and with IOT&E still to be completed, the possibility of additional changes and costs is likely. As we previously reported, the acquisition approach of the F/A-22 program has contributed to cost increases and delays in schedule. Leading commercial firms that we studied employ an acquisition approach that evolves a product to its ultimate capabilities on the basis of mature technologies and available resources. Further, product enhancements are planned for subsequent development efforts only when technologies are proven to be mature and other resources are available. Our work has shown that commercial firms ensure that high levels of knowledge exist at three critical junctures in a development program. First, a match must be made between a customer’s needs and the available resources— technology, engineering knowledge, time, and funding—before a new development program is launched. Second, a product’s design must demonstrate its ability to meet performance requirements and be stable about midway through development. Third, the developer must show that the product can be manufactured within cost, schedule, and quality targets and is demonstrated to be reliable before production begins. In contrast, the F-22 acquisition strategy from the outset was to achieve full capability in a “big bang” approach instead of evolving development in manageable increments of new capability. By not using an evolutionary approach, the Air Force took on significant risk and onerous technology challenges. The three critical technologies that were immature at the start of the program included low-observable materials, propulsion, and integrated avionics. Integrated avionics has been a source of major schedule delays and cost increases in the F/A-22 program. Starting the program with these immature technologies prevented the program from knowing cost, schedule, and performance ramifications until late in the development program, after significant investments had already been made. Efforts to mature technology cascaded into development, delaying attainment of design and production maturity. The overall result has been significant delays and substantially higher investments to buy over 60 percent fewer aircraft. Developing an expanded air-to-ground attack capability for the F/A-22 will be costly and add risk to the program. The Air Force began development of the F/A-22 as a replacement for the F-15 air superiority fighter with primary emphasis on the air-to-air role. It was never intended to have robust air-to-ground capability. Its need was based on a projection that the Soviet Union would develop and produce large numbers of advanced fighter aircraft. The F/A-22 was intended to identify, track, and kill advanced fighters before it was targeted, giving it the edge and making it a more lethal and survivable aircraft than an F-15. However, the original Soviet threat never materialized. To enhance the utility of the F/A-22, the Air Force plans to develop a robust air-to-ground attack capability to be able to engage a greater variety of ground targets, such as surface-to-air missile systems, that have posed a significant threat to U.S. aircraft in recent years. The Air Force has a modernization program to improve the capabilities of the F/A-22 focused largely on a new robust air-to-ground capability. It has five developmental spirals planned over more than a 10-year period, with the initial spiral started in 2003. Table 2 shows each spiral as currently planned. In March 2003, the Office of Secretary of Defense’s Cost Analysis Improvement Group (CAIG) estimated that the Air Force would need $11.7 billion for the planned modernization program. The CAIG estimate included costs for development, production, and the retrofit of some aircraft. As of March 2003, the Air Force F/A-22 approved program baseline did not include estimated costs for the full modernization effort. Instead, the Air Force estimate included $3.5 billion for modernization efforts planned through fiscal year 2009. To support the F/A-22’s expanded capability beyond Global Strike Enhanced, the Air Force has determined that its baseline computer architecture and critical avionics processors will need to be replaced. Current processors are old and obsolete, cannot be supported, and do not have sufficient capacity to meet the increased processing demands required for planned new air-to-ground capabilities beyond Global Strike Enhanced. As a bridge to meet this expanded capability, the Air Force plans to modify some avionics processors and purchase sufficient quantities to support production of the first 155 F/A-22 aircraft. The F/A-22 is dependent on its onboard computers and software to perform its mission. Unlike other fighter aircraft, it has a highly advanced, integrated avionics system capable of detecting, identifying, and engaging the enemy at ranges beyond a pilot’s vision. The key to the F/A-22 avionics lies in its fully integrated core architecture and its two central, networked computers called common integrated processors (CIP). CIPs use very high-speed integrated circuits to collect, process, and integrate data and signals from the aircraft’s sensors. CIP serves as the “brains” for the F/A-22’s integrated avionics system and is unique to this aircraft. The primary processor in CIP is the Intel i960MX microprocessor, which is used strictly for avionics processing. This microprocessor is based on 1990’s technology and has a 32-bit processor that operates at speeds of 25mhz. By today’s technology standards, the processor is considered obsolete and cannot support spiral developments beyond the Global Strike Enhanced. In mid-2003, the manufacturer of the microprocessor informed the Air Force that it planned to permanently shut down the i960MX production line by January 2004 because the microprocessor was no longer a viable product for the company.