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October 13, 2000

Despite its shrinking size, the US Air Force is watching its aircraft maintenance budget climb 4% per year as the fleet gets older. This cost will reach $20 billion in 2005, where only $13 billion is budgeted for it. That $7 billion will have to come out of something, presumably procurement or research. And virtually no one believes the promises that the complex F22 and JSF will be cheaper to maintain than the current fleet.--Stephen V Cole