"phil hunt" wrote in message
.. .
On Sun, 29 Aug 2004 22:11:54 -0400, Kevin Brooks
wrote:

The F-22 was to have an IRST, but it was subsequently deleted from the
program.

Do you happen to know why?

IIRC, it was mostly money and project timeline concerns; it was thought that
as the aircraft's primary weapons and other sensors adequately (or more than
adequately) support its BVR mission, and along with its stealthiness, that
it was not a "have to have" item in the initial operational version. It may
have also been influenced by sensor fusion concerns--it will already have
what is probably the most complex and ambitious sensor fusion capability
flying, and adding another sensor into the mix could have been more trouble
than it is worth at this time. I believe the IRST will likely be included in
future spirals, and a FLIR/target designation capability will undoubtedly be
added in the first spiral.

Brooks