Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
Wall Street Journal
April 8, 2009
Pg. 5
By August Cole
The highest-profile test of Defense Secretary Robert Gates's plan to overhaul how the Pentagon buys weapons will be whether he succeeds in winding down production of the most advanced fighter the Air Force has ever flown.
The F-22 Raptor is capable of almost hovering in place and can detect and kill an enemy more than 200 miles away. The Air Force boasts that the fighter is so far ahead of its competitors that it gives the U.S. a clear advantage in the sky.
The plane's production involves politically important states such as Georgia, where it is assembled, and Connecticut, where its engines are made. Lockheed Martin Corp., the Pentagon's biggest contractor by sales, leads the project with Boeing Co. as its major subcontractor.
But despite its political muscle and technological prowess, more F-22s don't have a place in Mr. Gates's vision. He wants to curtail production after 187 jets are delivered, some 60 jets short of what the Air Force has told lawmakers it wants. That could lead to thousands of job cuts.
Mr. Gates sees the F-22, which costs $143 million apiece, as overkill for a military that needs to be more focused on hunting insurgents than fighting the militaries of peer nations. He is throwing the Defense Department's weight behind another plane made by Lockheed, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. It is a simpler design, and U.S. allies who will buy the jet share the costs.
The White House has said it wants to raise the Defense Department's base budget by 4% to $533.7 billion. A detailed version of Mr. Gates's plans is expected in early May, which could give certain lawmakers new ammunition in their fight against cutbacks. There are likely to be a flurry of hearings on all aspects of the Pentagon's plans, which will test Mr. Gates's holistic approach to the budget.
Mr. Gates also wants to terminate costly programs such as the Lockheed-led effort to build a new fleet of Marine One helicopters for the president, which would have cost more than $13 billion. He also wants the Navy to go back to producing an older-model destroyer and abandon a futuristic cruiser, among other cutbacks. For the Army, Mr. Gates wants to abandon plans to develop high-tech ground vehicles that were part of an $87 billion program. All these programs, he says, are too expensive and rely on unproven technology.
Lockheed Chairman and Chief Executive Robert Stevens in a note to employees Tuesday acknowledged the disappointment with some of the budget decisions, but said, "I embrace Secretary Gates' call to put the interests of the United States first -- above the interests of agencies, services and contractors -- and I will support him in every way."
Some in Congress are gearing up for a fight. "Without having an additional 60 [F-22 fighters], we're kidding ourselves," said Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R., Ga.) in an interview from Israel, where he was on a congressional mission. It would be shortsighted to think "we're going to be fighting the terrorists for 50 years and we're not going to be engaged in a conventional war," he added.
Connecticut's congressional delegation cautioned President Barack Obama in a letter Tuesday that stopping F-22 production would hurt the U.S.'s industrial base, and made clear they would work to put more jets back into the budget.
However, Mr. Gates's overhaul is about more than trimming weapons contracts. His budget is the first step in a long-term revamp of everything from how the Pentagon bureaucracy responds to the needs of deployed forces to the kinds of missions that the military trains and equips for.
In the past, he has been willing to undertake swift action to bring about change, such as firing the Air Force secretary and chief of staff last summer in part over their continued advocacy of buying more F-22s.
—Yochi J. Dreazen contributed to this article.
April 8, 2009
Pg. 5
By August Cole
The highest-profile test of Defense Secretary Robert Gates's plan to overhaul how the Pentagon buys weapons will be whether he succeeds in winding down production of the most advanced fighter the Air Force has ever flown.
The F-22 Raptor is capable of almost hovering in place and can detect and kill an enemy more than 200 miles away. The Air Force boasts that the fighter is so far ahead of its competitors that it gives the U.S. a clear advantage in the sky.
The plane's production involves politically important states such as Georgia, where it is assembled, and Connecticut, where its engines are made. Lockheed Martin Corp., the Pentagon's biggest contractor by sales, leads the project with Boeing Co. as its major subcontractor.
But despite its political muscle and technological prowess, more F-22s don't have a place in Mr. Gates's vision. He wants to curtail production after 187 jets are delivered, some 60 jets short of what the Air Force has told lawmakers it wants. That could lead to thousands of job cuts.
Mr. Gates sees the F-22, which costs $143 million apiece, as overkill for a military that needs to be more focused on hunting insurgents than fighting the militaries of peer nations. He is throwing the Defense Department's weight behind another plane made by Lockheed, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. It is a simpler design, and U.S. allies who will buy the jet share the costs.
The White House has said it wants to raise the Defense Department's base budget by 4% to $533.7 billion. A detailed version of Mr. Gates's plans is expected in early May, which could give certain lawmakers new ammunition in their fight against cutbacks. There are likely to be a flurry of hearings on all aspects of the Pentagon's plans, which will test Mr. Gates's holistic approach to the budget.
Mr. Gates also wants to terminate costly programs such as the Lockheed-led effort to build a new fleet of Marine One helicopters for the president, which would have cost more than $13 billion. He also wants the Navy to go back to producing an older-model destroyer and abandon a futuristic cruiser, among other cutbacks. For the Army, Mr. Gates wants to abandon plans to develop high-tech ground vehicles that were part of an $87 billion program. All these programs, he says, are too expensive and rely on unproven technology.
Lockheed Chairman and Chief Executive Robert Stevens in a note to employees Tuesday acknowledged the disappointment with some of the budget decisions, but said, "I embrace Secretary Gates' call to put the interests of the United States first -- above the interests of agencies, services and contractors -- and I will support him in every way."
Some in Congress are gearing up for a fight. "Without having an additional 60 [F-22 fighters], we're kidding ourselves," said Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R., Ga.) in an interview from Israel, where he was on a congressional mission. It would be shortsighted to think "we're going to be fighting the terrorists for 50 years and we're not going to be engaged in a conventional war," he added.
Connecticut's congressional delegation cautioned President Barack Obama in a letter Tuesday that stopping F-22 production would hurt the U.S.'s industrial base, and made clear they would work to put more jets back into the budget.
However, Mr. Gates's overhaul is about more than trimming weapons contracts. His budget is the first step in a long-term revamp of everything from how the Pentagon bureaucracy responds to the needs of deployed forces to the kinds of missions that the military trains and equips for.
In the past, he has been willing to undertake swift action to bring about change, such as firing the Air Force secretary and chief of staff last summer in part over their continued advocacy of buying more F-22s.
—Yochi J. Dreazen contributed to this article.
