Raptor fighter crashes in Calif., killing pilot

WASHINGTON - An F-22A Raptor jet - the newest fighter in the Air Force inventory - crashed yesterday during a test flight north of Edwards Air Force Base in California. Lockheed Martin Corp. said that one of its test pilots was killed.

The aircraft crashed about 10 a.m. local time about 35 miles northeast of the base, the statement said. It was the second time an F-22 has crashed; the other crash, in which the pilot ejected to safety, occurred in December 2004 during testing.

Lockheed Martin said in a statement that the pilot was David Cooley, 49, a 21-year Air Force veteran who joined the company in 2003.

Yesterday's crash comes amid a debate in Washington over the fate of the F-22 program.

The Air Force has 134 of the stealth aircraft, which cost about $145 million each.

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates has said that production should stop at 183, but members of Congress have pressed for at least 20 more.

The decision over the F-22 will pose a test for the Obama administration's stated goal of taking what Gates has called a "hard look" at defense spending.

That includes possible cancellations of major weapons systems. The F-22 program is among those under scrutiny.

The jet, conceived in the 1980s to maintain U.S. air superiority, has not been used in the Iraq or Afghanistan wars, and some analysts question its relevance, given that the military does not face a significant adversary in air-to-air combat.

Supporters note that the program employs thousands of people in 44 states, and dozens of lawmakers back continued production.