Burgess in the News

Defense budget shifts focus from F-22s to cheaper F-35s

In a bold overhaul of spending priorities, the Pentagon said Monday that it wants to kill the expensive F-22 Raptor fighter, whose electronic guts are built in Fort Worth, along with part of its frame. But the $534 billion budget proposal laid out by Defense Secretary Robert Gates – who is trying to restructure the military to make it nimbler – may prove to help North Texas far more than the Raptor's demise may hurt.

In a bold overhaul of spending priorities, the Pentagon said Monday that it wants to kill the expensive F-22 Raptor fighter, whose electronic guts are built in Fort Worth, along with part of its frame. But the $534 billion budget proposal laid out by Defense Secretary Robert Gates – who is trying to restructure the military to make it nimbler – may prove to help North Texas far more than the Raptor's demise may hurt. more