Not aware of any potential sale of F-22 to India: Pentagon

The Pentagon has said that it is not aware of any potential sale of F-22 fighter jets to India.

''I'm not aware of a potential F-22 sale to India,'' the Pentagon Press Secretary, George Little, told reporters at a news conference.

"I'll let you know if I hear differently," Little said when asked about the possibility of sale of F-22 to India.

F-22 Raptor is a single-seat, twin-engine fifth-generation super maneuverable fighter aircraft that uses stealth technology.

It was designed primarily as an air superiority fighter, but has additional capabilities that include ground attack, electronic warfare, and signals intelligence roles.

Despite that countries like Japan and Australia have shown interest in it, the export of F-22 is barred by American federal law.

Current customers for US fighters are either acquiring earlier designs such as the F-15, F-16 Fighting Falcon, and Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, or are waiting to acquire the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II (Joint Strike Fighter), which contains technology from the F-22 but is designed to be cheaper, more flexible, and available for export.

F-22's oxygen-deprivation problem worse than previously reported

Two members of Congress said Thursday that new information provided by the Air Force shows that an oxygen-deficit problem on F-22 fighter jets is worse than previously disclosed.

Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., and Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., said the Air Force reported about 26 incidents of apparent oxygen deprivation per 100,000 flight hours through May 31. That's a rate at least 10 times higher than that involving any other Air Force aircraft, they said.

Warner and Kinzinger said that as recently as this week, the Air Force maintained that the rate of F-22 oxygen-related problems was "relatively low."

"I don't want to say they're hiding anything, and I don't believe there's a cover-up or anything like that," Kinzinger, a former Air Force pilot, said in a teleconference with journalists. But he said he would like to see the Air Force "just be very open with the American people" about the seriousness of the problem and plans for fixing it.

An Air Force spokesman did not immediately respond to a voice message seeking comment.

The Air Force grounded its F-22s for about four months last year because of the oxygen-deficit problem.

In May, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta ordered new flight restrictions on the F-22 and directed the Air Force to enlist the help of Navy and NASA experts to determine why some pilots continue to experience dizziness and other symptoms while flying.

Warner and Kinzinger said the new information came from the Air Force in response to questions they submitted last month after a CBS 60 Minutes report featured two F-22 pilots from the Virginia Air National Guard who said that they and other pilots had experienced oxygen deprivation, disorientation and other problems during some flights.

The lawmakers said they are concerned that disciplinary measures are still pending against one of the pilots for going public.

"They should not be penalized for expressing those kinds of concerns," Kinzinger said. He said 10 others have since come forward to talk about the hypoxialike symptoms they experienced aboard the F-22.

Warner and Kinzinger also said that in response to one of their questions, the Air Force said an early 2011 survey found that a majority of F-22 pilots did not feel confident with the aircraft's oxygen system.

The Air Force ordered installation of new charcoal filters before returning the F-22 to full operations in September 2011, but that seemed to make matters worse -- an outcome verified in testing by the Boeing Co., which recommended discontinuing their use. The Air Force complied.

Now, attention is directed to an upper pressure vest -- part of the survival gear worn by F-22 pilots. Navy tests have shown a high failure rate for the vests, Warner said. But he said it's too early to pin the blame entirely on that equipment.

Kinzinger and Warner said they will continue pressing the Air Force to correct the problem.

The lawmakers stopped short of saying the F-22 fleet should be temporarily grounded again and praised Panetta for last month's directive, which said F-22 flights must remain "within proximity of potential landing locations" so pilots can land quickly if they experience an oxygen-deficit problem.

The F-22 was manufactured by Lockheed Martin, with the midfuselage built in Fort Worth. Production of all F-22 aircraft has been completed.

Lawmakers to Air Force: Deal with F-22 issues

The Air Force needs to “come to grips” with the unacceptably high number of hypoxia-like incidents affecting F-22 pilots, congressional leaders said Thursday, while announcing a new theory that could explain the breathing problems: life-protecting vests worn in flight.

Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., and Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., said the Air Force has not accepted that the F-22 has a high rate of hypoxia events — more than 10 times that of any other fighter, according to an Air Force information sheet sent to the lawmakers this week.

The undated letter, signed by Maj. Gen. Edward L. Bolton, the Air Force deputy assistant secretary for budget, also mentions the vests as a potential problem.

Studies by the Navy’s Experimental Dive Unit have identified a failure rate in the pressure suits — including the vests — that pilots wear in flight, Bolton wrote.

That prompted Air Combat Command this week to order that all pilots in training not wear the vests, while pilots in nontraining flights must wear them, ACC spokesman Lt. Col. Tadd Sholtis said in a statement to Air Force Times.

“[It’s the] beginning of some causation,” Warner told reporters Thursday. “An overwhelming number of test suits have an enormous failure rate. … I am hopeful we may be on the path of resolving this issue and finding a solution.”

In the letter to the lawmakers, Bolton said that the NEDU’s Life Support “Work of Breathing” tests have provided early insight in altitude chamber and centrifuge testing that a “combination of factors in the life support systems is contributing to restricted breathing and/or less than optimum delivery of oxygen to the pilot.”

Maj. Gen. Charles Lyon told The Associated Press on Thursday that the Air Force isn’t ready to declare victory, but the vest restriction is a possible root cause of the problem. Additionally, leaking hose and hose connectors could also be restricting the amount of oxygen getting to the pilot’s lungs.

Lyon said the Air Force is also close to ruling out the possibility that contaminants were getting into the pilot’s lungs.

In addition to the Navy’s work, NASA is conducting an independent analysis of the F-22 Life Support System anomalies, with an estimated completion date of this summer, according to Bolton.

The letter also said a survey conducted in 2011 by ACC’s surgeon general found that the majority of F-22 pilots asked were not confident in the Raptor’s on-board oxygen generating system. The survey contributed to a May 2011 stand down of the fleet that lasted four months.

“[It is] totally unacceptable, and really means that we have to get to the bottom of this issue,” Warner said.

The 2011 stand down was the only time the Air Force grounded the planes servicewide, but there have been commander-directed groundings. As recently as March, F-22s at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, were kept out of the air to address pilot concerns following a “cluster” of hypoxia-like incidents. In October, F-22s at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va., were grounded following two hypoxia-like incidents in the same day. That prompted Elmendorf and Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, commanders to briefly pause flights, according to Bolton’s letter.

In addition to the unexplained hypoxia-like incidents involving pilots, there have been six ground maintainers who have experienced similar symptoms. Kinzinger said Thursday that the Air Force seems to say that the symptoms are not equivalent to those of the pilots, a statement “that remains to be seen, and I have yet to be sold.”

About one month ago, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta ordered the Air Force to limit F-22 flights in regions where it would be difficult for pilots to land if they experience signs of oxygen deficiency.

On May 31, an F-22 was involved in a mishap at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., when the pilot in training caused a “ground incident” during touch-and-go training. The pilot was not injured.

The pilot had transferred from another airframe and was in training with the 43rd Fighter Squadron. He was on his second flight, after 10 simulator training exercises and more than 100 hours in academic training, Tyndall spokeswoman Lt. Melanie Holliday said.

The Air Force has started an investigation into the crash and has not classified the type of mishap.