By Marina Malenic
The Air Force has officially pared down the number of F-22 Raptors it will request, but the service will seek to expand its current fleet of 183 of the Lockheed Martin [LMT]-built fighter jets, its senior officer said yesterday.
The revised figure was “driven by analysis as opposed to some other formulation,” said Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz, who characterized it as a “moderate-risk number.”
“There are few things in our armed forces where we have…a low-risk posture, simply because of the overall demands across the force,” he said.
Speaking to the Defense Writers Group, the general refused to specify the new number. Adm. Michael Mullen, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of staff, late last year floated 60- -20 per year over three years–as the new number. Mullen said during a Dec. 10 Pentagon briefing that Schwartz had cited the number, which would ultimately bring the total to fleet to 243 (Defense Daily, Dec. 15).
Yesterday, Schwartz would not deny that figure.
“I think [the revised requirement] will withstand scrutiny” when it is presented to Defense Secretary Robert Gates in the coming weeks, he said.
Gates and his deputies have repeatedly discussed the need for greater “balance” between conventional and irregular warfare capabilities as the Pentagon this month begins its Quadrennial Defense Review of strategic objectives (Feb. 13).
Lockheed Martin officials have warned that some percentage of the 95,000 workers employed in F-22 manufacturing, supply and assembly could lose their jobs if the production line is closed (Defense Daily, Jan. 30).
“We’re encouraged to read that based on an analysis of needs, the Air Force wants to purchase additional F-22s beyond the current 183 program of record,” a spokesman for the company said in response to the general’s comments. “We stand ready to work with the Air Force and DoD to continue building and delivering high quality Raptors on schedule and budget, whatever the final number is determined to be.”
The Obama administration is set to decide the fate of the F-22 line by March 1.
Further, Schwartz disputed comments made late last year by the Pentagon’s top arms buyer, John Young, that the current Raptor fleet needs some $8 billion worth of investment to bring its mission-capable rates up to a reasonable standard (Defense Daily, Nov. 21). The general said that $8 billion is intended for a block upgrade plan for air-to- ground capability several years in the making. And while Young had noted a 62 percent mission capable rate for the fleet, Schwartz said reliability is above 70 percent when high fidelity for stealth is factored out of the equation.
“That is respectable,” he said. “These are not numbers to be scoffed at.”
Asked whether Congress should consider repealing a law that forbids export of the technology, Schwartz said development of an export variant would be too costly. Such changes to a complex platform “can’t be backed in at the end” but must be developed from a program’s outset, as the Pentagon is doing with the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, Schwartz explained.
The general also admitted that the risk calculation for new F-22 requirement numbers has as a core assumption the timely delivery of F-35s, which are also being developed by Lockheed Martin.