<i> I especially like the quote from the un-named bureauocrat that rhetorically asks "What does Al-Queda's air force look like?". I would retort that it is composed of every airliner and private plane in the world, and some of the military planes of host countries. I know what their navy looks like too. It is Zodiac inflatables packed with explosives. Does that mean the US Navy should give up its ships and go to an all Zodiac fleet? I don't want idiots like this planning procurement of equipment for the US armed forces.</i>
By Mark Mazzetti
Los Angeles Times
WASHINGTON - The Pentagon is developing plans to slash the Air Force's two prized fighter-jet programs, according to Defense Department officials and outside experts.
Military planners are debating options to scale back the Air Force's F-35 joint strike fighter and the F/A-22 Raptor stealth fighter, both of which are built primarily by Lockheed Martin Corp. Some defense officials question spending billions of dollars on weapons that have little use against terrorist networks and other unconventional threats.
If the cutbacks occur, they will affect thousands of jobs in Fort Worth, where the midfuselage of the F/A-22 is built and the first test version of the F-35 is under construction. Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, the largest division of the giant defense contractor, employs about 16,000 people in Tarrant County, making it the county's second-largest employer.
Pentagon spokesman Lawrence DiRita said planners are still identifying which types of missions the U.S. military ought to be preparing for.
"It's definitely premature to say we're looking at cuts," said DiRita, who stressed that months still remained in the Quadrennial Defense Review and that no proposals have been presented to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. The review is due before Congress by early February.
Joe Stout, a Lockheed spokesman in Fort Worth, said Tuesday night that the company has not heard any news of significant cutback plans.
"We are aware that, as always, there are various studies going on -- one of which is the Quadrennial Defense Review -- but we haven't been advised that there are any analyses of specific alternatives that affect our programs," Stout said.
The cutbacks would be an enormous blow to the Air Force, which has spent years developing the two planes to replace its aging fleet of fighter jets. The budget cuts could encounter fierce resistance from lawmakers whose districts would be hit hard by the economic repercussions.
Lockheed's Fort Worth plant is in the district of U.S. Rep. Kay Granger, R-Fort Worth, who has argued in Congress that both planes are needed. The House has approved $4.9 billion for the development of the F-35 and $3.2 billion to build 24 more F/A-22s in next year's budget; the Senate has not completed its defense bill.
Yet, as the Pentagon conducts a top-to-bottom assessment of its arsenal, defense officials are mindful that the military buildup that followed 9-11 is coming to an end. The war in Iraq, which costs the Defense Department more than $4 billion per month, is contributing to the budget squeeze jeopardizing some of the Pentagon's most desired programs.
The joint strike fighter program is projected to cost $245 billion, a price tag shared by the Air Force, the Navy, the Marine Corps and nine U.S. allies, including the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Denmark and Turkey. It is the Pentagon's most expensive weapons program, and the Air Force has by far the largest part of the budget, hoping to buy 1,763 of the planes to replace the F-16 fighter.
The F-35's first test flight is scheduled for August 2006.
The Air Force also plans to acquire 179 F/A-22s, each costing about $345 million. That number already represents a substantial cut from original plans.
A Pentagon decision to scale back the fighter programs would be the strongest signal yet of a significant change in strategic priorities. With Rumsfeld trying to transform the military to deal with unconventional threats, many say weapons built for dogfighting and eluding enemy radar are increasingly irrelevant.
<b>"What does al Qaeda's air force look like?" said one defense official working on the Pentagon's assessment.</b>
The Pentagon's overall budget is expected to grow by just 8 percent through fiscal 2011. But the Pentagon estimates that its budget for new weapons will grow by 34 percent.
Because U.S. troops are heavily engaged in the Middle East and Central Asia, officials say there is little room to cut personnel costs from the Pentagon budget. Weapons, they say, are the only target for cost reductions.
Some inside the Defense Department say that the deepest cuts could come in the joint strike fighter program. According to one source, the Pentagon could cut the Air Force's allotment of the planes by half.
Officials involved in the review process say that the option of canceling one or both of the programs is on the table, although it is extremely unlikely -- in part because such a move would cause an immediate furor among members of Congress. The fact that close allies are involved in developing the F-35 is another factor that should keep the program alive, the officials said.
(Dave Montgomery of the Star-Telegram Washington Bureau Contributed to This Report, Which Includes Material From Star-Telegram Reports.)
THE RAMPTOR ENGINEERING TEAM <img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>
"Who cares if it works? Does it look good on the ramp?"
Edited by - a10stress on Jul 27 2005 09:03 AM
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