WASHINGTON — A three-year contract to buy 60 new F-22A Raptors, which would be serviced at Hill Air Force Base, will save up to $410 million, according to a study released Friday.

Utah Sens. Orrin Hatch and Bob Bennett, both Republicans, voted for an amendment in last year's defense authorization bill that allowed the government to enter into a multiyear contract for the planes, versus the traditional annual procurements.

This was initially thought to save $335 million in taxpayer money, but a study by completed by the Rand Corp. found that the single three-year contract to buy 60 F-22A fighter jets along with engines and spare parts could save $270 million to $640 million, with the most likely savings figure being about $410 million.

Rand said improved competition among parts suppliers, better manufacturing scheduling and eliminating the need to prepare new proposals for future one-year contracts are just some ideas that would lead to the savings.

"A multiyear agreement to purchase F-22A's offers the potential of savings because it allows manufacturers to optimize the purchase of parts as well as the production schedule and avoid the need for proposals for future lots," said Obaid Younossi, the report's lead author and a management scientist at Rand.

The Air Force developed the F-22 to replace the F-15s.

"In a time when America is waging a war against terrorism that is truly global in scope, the demand on our nation's resources is considerable," Hatch said. "We need to find innovative ways to stay on the frontier of military technology while being good stewards over the taxpayers' money. I'm gratified that the multiyear contract for the F-22A will save even more than we originally expected."

---

E-mail: suzanne@desnews.com