183 F-22 Raptors are not enough to defend America

The Air Force maintains that it needs 381 F-22 Raptor stealth fighters to get the job done--providing air dominance for America and its military forces. So far, the Pentagon and Congress have only approved funding for 183 Raptors. That's less than half of the fighters we need to defend the nation.

To see how dangerous this is, consider that to defend America against a strong adversary, an estimated 250 F-22s and 100 F-35 Joint Strike Fighters will be needed. In scenarios against less capable opponents, fewer Raptors and a larger number of F-35s would suffice.

See the difficulty? The current allotment of 183 is nowhere close to the 250 needed to protect America in a critical situation. (And that's not even considering the important fact that not every single plane flies to a particular battle.)

The Air Force has slowed down its purchasing of the aircraft to keep the F-22 assembly line open longer, hoping that more planes will be approved before it's too late.

If you would like to help ensure that the U.S. has enough F-22s to defend the country, direct people to http://www.squidoo.com/savethef22/ for ways to take action.