Post by seevee on Dec 13, 2005 18:29:11 GMT -5
www.defensenews.com/story.php?F=1409030&C=america
"Three years after the U.S. Air Force added an “A” to highlight the
F/A-22 Raptor’s ability to drop bombs, the service is dropping the extra
letter from the stealthy jet’s designator.
The plane, which is expected to officially enter service in the coming
weeks, will henceforth be called the F-22A — with the trailing letter
indicating a first variant, not an extra role.
Gen. Michael Moseley, Air Force chief of staff, who is said to have been
unhappy with the F/A-22 moniker, announced the renaming in a Dec. 12
speech to a U.S. Air National Guard senior leadership conference in
Baltimore, Md.
The decision was made in a recent meeting of senior service officials,
said Loren Thompson, an analyst at the Lexington Institute, who was
familiar with the deliberations. The decision was unanimous among Air
Force and senior Pentagon officials, including Defense Secretary Donald
Rumsfeld, Thompson said."
"Three years after the U.S. Air Force added an “A” to highlight the
F/A-22 Raptor’s ability to drop bombs, the service is dropping the extra
letter from the stealthy jet’s designator.
The plane, which is expected to officially enter service in the coming
weeks, will henceforth be called the F-22A — with the trailing letter
indicating a first variant, not an extra role.
Gen. Michael Moseley, Air Force chief of staff, who is said to have been
unhappy with the F/A-22 moniker, announced the renaming in a Dec. 12
speech to a U.S. Air National Guard senior leadership conference in
Baltimore, Md.
The decision was made in a recent meeting of senior service officials,
said Loren Thompson, an analyst at the Lexington Institute, who was
familiar with the deliberations. The decision was unanimous among Air
Force and senior Pentagon officials, including Defense Secretary Donald
Rumsfeld, Thompson said."
