Pentagon to end F-22 jets, US presidential chopper

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Defense Secretary Robert Gates says the US Defense Department will end the F-22 fighter jet and presidential helicopter programs run by Lockheed Martin Corp. Military analysts widely expected the radar-evading supersonic jet - considered an outdated weapon system designed for the Cold War - would not go beyond the 187 already planned. The planes cost $140 million each. But Lockheed, the largest US defense contractor, has said almost 95,000 jobs could be at stake if the Pentagon did not buy more of the planes. The new fleet of presidential helicopters - with a price tag of $11.2 billion that was nearly double the original budget- also was considered at risk to be cut in the 2010 budget.