Scott Ferrin wrote:
What $11 billion investment?

"As a contributing factor, the GAO report contends that adding an
air-to-ground attack capability to the F/A-22 will cost $11.7 billion.
(The GAO serves as Congress' investigative arm.)

"I would like to know what they're adding to the account that suggests
that [additional cost]," Roche said. "The biggest thing we are doing
is changing the radar. In changing the radar, the price falls 40%. We
have some technology we're trying to integrate for catching moving
targets that we're pressing. That may require more computing power . .
. at some point in the growth of the airplane. That's all within the
budget."

The huge F/A-22 cost increase suggested by the GAO has many in the
Pentagon searching for its origins. "

The origins are in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, not the GAO.

http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d04391.pdf Page 8.
The Air Force has a modernization program to improve the capabilities
of the F/A-22 focused largely on a new robust air-to-ground
capability. It has five developmental spirals planned over more than
a 10-year period, with the initial spiral started in 2003. Table 2
shows each spiral as currently planned. In March 2003, the Office of
Secretary of Defense’s Cost Analysis Improvement Group (CAIG)
estimated that the Air Force would need $11.7 billion for the planned
modernization program. The CAIG estimate included costs for
development, production, and the retrofit of some aircraft.
As of March 2003, the Air Force F/A-22 approved program baseline did
not include estimated costs for the full modernization effort.
Instead, the Air Force estimate included $3.5 billion for
modernization efforts planned through fiscal year 2009.

-HJC