LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va. AP _ The next president, John McCain or Barack Obama, is expected to be a penny-pinching commander in chief when it comes to buying new military weapons. And that’s bad news for the Air Force’s push to buy scores more F-22 Raptors, a supersonic jet fighter built to dominate enemy airspace.
At $191 million apiece, extra Raptors will be a hard fit in a defense budget likely to begin shrinking after eight years of steady growth under President Bush. The jet’s expense may be its biggest vulnerability.
