F/A-22

when did this happen? the F-22 was designed as an air-dominance fighter, not a multi-role fighter, when did the change in mission and designation come from? i didn't hear anything about it and then all of a sudden i started seeing it labeled as the F/A-22 instead of the F-22, did i miss something?

Here ya go:

www.globalsecurity.org...

Air Force mulling new designation for F-22 Raptor
By Rich Tuttle

Changes in technology and doctrine are prompting the Air Force to consider changing the designation of the Raptor fighter from F-22 to F/A-22, an Air Force spokeswoman said.

The change may be announced Sept. 17 at the annual Air Force Association convention in Washington.

"Right now, we're considering [a] change in the designation of the F-22" to F/A-22, a designation like that of the Navy's Hornet, F/A-18, which has the ground attack mission as well as the air-to-air mission, the spokeswoman said.

The change, said Capt. Jessica Smith, would "reflect better the multimission capability that the F-22 has today and how it fits into the big picture environment." She read a statement that said, "Due to changes in the technology and the emerging Air Force doctrine, the Raptor of today is a far cry from the fighter envisioned when the program was first planned" in the 1980s.

They did the same thing in Canada with the F16, this is all jargon for 'we have limited funds so we have to stretch them farther.' Also these projects often end up costing a lot more when done then at initial estimates thus making it difficult for the military to either justify more spending or justify less numbers of planes. Thus, load the sucker with everything but the kitchen sink and call it a mult-role whatever!