Obama to decide fighter jet’s fate

Soon after taking office, President Barack Obama and his defense team will decide the fate of the next-generation Air Force fighter, the F-22 Raptor. 

And the new administration will have to do it under considerable pressure from Congress. 

It’s an issue that’s sure to rise to the top as Obama transition aides deal with Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who may be asked to stay on, and other key Pentagon officials.

The Bush administration is keeping the program on life support at least until the charging of the guard on Jan. 20, with $50 million toward the purchase of new jets while pointing out the increasing costs of the program.

But powerful members of Congress are incensed by the decision because they provided $140 million to keep defense giant Lockheed Martin’s F-22 production lines humming.

“I fear your decision to withhold the $90 million may already be impacting suppliers and driving up long-term costs,” said New Jersey Rep. Jim Saxton, the ranking Republican on House Armed Services Air
and Land Forces Subcommittee.

And on Thursday, senior appropriators Sens. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) and Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) and Reps. John P. Murtha (D-Pa.) and C.W. Bill Young (R-Fla.) wrote Gates, urging him to reconsider the Pentagon’s decision.

This is the final year of a three-year contract to buy the planes. But the fight is over what happens next. The Air Force has plans to buy 183 planes, and current Air Force leaders say that more are needed.
And lawmakers, particularly from Georgia where the planes are assembled, have said they’d like to see a new multi-year contract.

But senior Pentagon officials are only supporting four new F-22s in a supplemental budget request the new administration will also consider after taking office.

John Young, the Pentagon’s acquisition chief, told reporters Thursday that debate about the plane hasn’t been fully informed, noting it isn’t meeting all the Pentagon’s requirements and was performing at a rate he called “troubling.”

“The airplane is proving very expensive to operate,” Young said, adding that it’s complicated to maintain.
Also, many of the current planes may need upgrades that could cost $8 billion more.

So why keep the program alive?

Gates thought it was “fair and reasonable for the next administration to be able to review this issue,” Young said. “So, he directed that we create a reasonable bridge to allow them to make that decision.”
The Obama administration now will have to make a decision about future of the Raptor. “And I think it’s fair and reasonable.”