Marietta F-22’s fate up in air until April

The fate of the F-22 Raptor fighter jet, assembled by Lockheed Martin Corp. in Marietta, won’t be known until April when President Obama details his budgetary priorities, administration and congressional officials said Thursday.

The president’s budget includes $534 billion for the Department of Defense, a four percent increase over the current budget. Obama and other administration officials have hinted recently, though, that money for big-dollar weapons systems like the F-22 will be cut.

The president, in his Tuesday address to Congress, promised “to reform our defense budget so that we’re not paying for Cold War-era weapons systems we don’t use.” Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-Ga.), whose district includes the airplane factory, hopes Obama wasn’t talking about the F-22.

“Given the fact that the F-22 is the most advanced fighter currently being produced in the world … it would be a mistake to call this plane a relic. The future of America’s air dominance lies in the F-22.”

The Pentagon will notify Congress by Sunday whether it will spend $90 million previously authorized to buy materials for four additional F-22s. Each jet costs at least $140 million.