RAND New F/A-22 Report

Via Defense Industry Daily, the esteemed RAND Corporation has released their report (pdf) comparing acquisition strategies of the F/A-22 Raptor and the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet.  The Raptor has been plagued with cost overruns and delays galore, while the Super Hornet met its cost estimates without major delays.  If you're short on time, RAND offers a summary, or alternately, you can read DID's more detailed summary.

POGO noted this August that at a meeting of the Defense Acquisition Performance Assessment (DAPA) Project, retired Air Force General Lawrence Farrell said that the F-16 fighter program was the model weapons acquisition program.  How do these two programs, the F/A-18 and F/A-22, compare to Farrell's model F-16 program?

Defense acquisition professionals, senior level defense officials and members of Congress all should take interest in the RAND Project Air Force report.  With a major Pentagon budget crunch possibly on its way, smart decisions will have to be made in order to maximize the interests of both the warfighter and the taxpayer.