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.

FMI: www.af.mil