Pentagon purchaser supportive of F/A-22
WASHINGTON – The Pentagon’s chief weapons purchaser issued a strong endorsement of the F/A-22 Raptor on Wednesday and said the Lockheed Martin fighter-attack plane is virtually assured of winning Pentagon approval for full-rate production.
In an interview after an appearance before a Senate Armed Services subcommittee, Michael Wynne, undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, called the fighter “an exceptionally well-performing airplane.”
Wynne, who oversees all Pentagon weapons programs, said that the Raptor passed a critical review by the Pentagon’s defense acquisition board late last month, putting it on track to be cleared for full-rate production. A formal announcement could come this week.
“That is still in process,” Wynne said, “but I saw nothing to inhibit it from being full-rate capable.”
The $63.8 billion aircraft program, which started in 1986, has been in low-rate production amid lingering questions over rising costs and technical problems. The go-ahead for full-rate production would authorize Lockheed Martin to produce up to 32 planes a year — compared with 24 this year and 25 in 2006 — but supporters still have to persuade Congress and the Pentagon to continue the program after 2008.
Cost increases in the two fighter programs raise uncertainty over their futures, particularly as the Pentagon and Congress try to spread limited defense dollars over nearly 100 major weapons programs, Michael Sullivan of the Government Accountability Office told the committee.
“Every one of these weapons systems, when taken [individually], are great,” said McCain, a former Navy combat pilot who was a prisoner of war in Vietnam, “but when you look at the context of the overall budget restraints, then some tough decisions have to be made. You’re not cramming 10 pounds of fertilizer into a 5-pound bag.”
McCain said the future of tactical fighters such as the F/A-22 and the joint strike fighter could ultimately be decided by the Pentagon’s Quadrennial Defense Review, which is assessing military priorities over the next two decades.
Sign In
