F-22 orders to be reduced, F-35 increased in defense budget

Updating a post from back in February (for which Chris Taylor was kind enough to provide the core material), the plans will change for USAF fighter planes in the latest Defense plans. Defense Secretary Gates makes it official — he's hoping to cut off the F-22 production run after four more planes are built (making it 187 in total, well short of the USAF's plan for 300), but increasing F-35 orders to 2,443 (which implies a worldwide production run of around 4,500):

The budget rolled out Monday for Congress to consider looks remarkably different from the budget Gates authored while working for former President George W. Bush; so does the economy.

North Texas congressional delegation members said ending the F-22 program was a bad call that could hurt local employment.

"The world remains a dangerous place, and this vital program is integral to maintaining a strong national defense," said Rep. Michael Burgess, R-Lewisville. "Now is not the time to impose policy decisions that will only add more workers to the ranks of the unemployed."

Other congressional leaders applauded the Pentagon's new direction.