Manufacturer Loses Key Military Supporters
"This is the time to make the
transition from F-22 to F-35 production." With that statement --
written Monday by Air Force Secretary Michael Donley and
General Norton Schwartz, the service's top uniformed officer, in an
op-ed piece in the Washington Post --- supporters of
the top-of-the-line F-22 Raptor lost two key proponents in keeping
production of the advanced fighter aircraft going.
That may prove to be a death blow for the Raptor, according to
Reuters... and could throw manufacturer Lockheed Martin's extensive
lobbying effort to keep the F-22 line going into disarray.
For some time, Defense Department officials have wanted to kill
the Raptor. Even the most measured opponents of the aircraft said
the Raptor was the right fighter, but for the wrong time... an
advanced strike aircraft that could best anything the former Soviet
Union could throw against US forces, but one with little purpose in
modern, ground-based conflicts.
Despite those statements, until recently Air Force leaders
largely supported continued production of the Raptor, saying they
wanted a fleet of 381 planes -- down from previous numbers of as
many as 740. While the Raptor is incredibly expensive, USAF
officials countered they needed replacements for aging F-15s in the
air dominance role, and did not want to wait for the less-advanced,
still-in-development F-35 Lightning II.
With Donley's and Schwartz's statements Monday, however, that
position has apparently changed. "Buying more F-22s means doing
less of something else," they wrote.
Lockheed hasn't said publicly what the apparent shift in support
will mean for its efforts to convince Congress to keep Raptor
production going. The manufacturer stands to benefit either way...
since Lockheed is also the prime contractor for the F-35.
"Our focus is on continuing to build, sustain and modernize
America's air dominance fighter for the world's greatest air
force," said company spokesman Rob Fuller.
Each Raptor costs approximately $143 million; by contrast, the
F-35 runs between $80-$90 million, depending on variant.
Available in three configurations -- including a vertical
takeoff-and-landing version for use by the Marines -- the F-35
applies many of the technologies developed with the Raptor onto a
smaller, less expensive platform... but even the highest
performance Lightning II models won't be able to fly nearly as
fast, or as high, as the F-22.
Former USAF Secretary Michael Wynne -- who was forced to resign
from the service last year, over blunders in the handling of
nuclear materials -- told Reuters he believes the Air Force must
prepare for large-scale conflicts, even if none appear to be likely
on the horizon.
Donley's and Schwartz's "risk tolerances" were "clearly higher
than mine," Wynne said, over the prospect of fighting such battles
against China, or a newly-resurgent Russia, with fewer F-22s.