Raptors, TSAT, CSAR-X, NGB, C-17s Fall
By All Defense Staff 
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates this afternoon unveiled a dramatic restructuring of the Pentagon’s acquisition portfolio, essentially killing or significantly delaying F-22 Raptors, the Transformational Satellite, the combat search and rescue replacement helicopter (CSAR-X), the Next-Generation Bomber and even more C-17 airlifters.
At the same time, the secretary proposed to boost military personnel spending, as well as bolster the government’s acquisition work force, while investing more in some aspects of warfighting more closely tied with ongoing counterinsurgencies in Asia like intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance and unmanned aircraft. The moves – which Gates telegraphed since last year – come as he and his boss, President Barack Obama, look to fundamentally reshape the U.S. military in their post-9/11 vision.
Raptors will be stopped at 187, as currently programmed, and Gates suggested the USAF officially was okay with that force size. Globemaster IIIs will be ended at 205. the TSAT, CSAR-X and VH-71 programs – the latter being the high-profile presidential helicopter replacement – are being scrapped although defense officials will continue to assess their needs. Gates said the same about the NGB, until officials can get a better handle on the requirements.
The Missile Defense Agency program will be reduced by $1.4 billion, less than some proponents had feared, although its mission would shift from long-range threats to theater-wide defense. To that end, Gates said he was adding $700 million for the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system and the shipborne SM-3 missile. Another $200 million was going to the Aegis anti-ballistic missile system.
The second Airborne Laser aircraft will be cancelled, as will the Multiple Kill Vehicle program. No more Ground-based Midcourse Defense interceptors will be bought for Alaskan basing.
In the Navy, all three DDG-1000 ships will be built at General Dynamics Bath Iron Works in Maine, while the Pentagon will try to “smoothly” restart the DDG-51 Aegis destroyer program at Northrop Grumman’s Ingalls shipyard in Mississippi. Even if these arrangements work out, the DDG-1000 program would end with the third ship and the DDG-51 would continue to be built in both yards, Gates said.
Gates said he planned to go forward with the replacement for the Air Force air refueling tanker fleet, taking bids this summer.
Asked about the idea being floated by several key lawmakers, including Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.) the top House defense appropriator, Gates said he believed a split buy – probably between the aircraft offered by Boeing and an Airbus-Northrop Grumman team – is “still not the best deal for the taxpayer.”
Gates said “the only reason people are pursuing it is that they think it’s the only way we can move forward and get any kind of a tanker.” But he said he believed that “if we do this right and we structure this carefully and carry out the process by our own rules … there’s no reason a protest would be upheld.”
The Army’s $160 billion Future Combat System (FCS) will see its entire ground vehicle program killed and sent back to the drawing board and the competitive bidding process.
Overall, Gates said he was “troubled by the terms of the contract,” and said the program failed to take into account the counter insurgency lessons learned in Iraq and Afghanistan about improvised explosive devices and the mine-resistant, ambush-protected (MRAP) vehicles.
Gates said he favored maintaining air superiority through fifth generation tactical fighters and planned to increase the buy of F-35 Joint Strike Fighters from 14 in 2009 to 30, but the overall effort was being trimmed so as to reinforce its viability. He also called for adding 31 F/A-18 Hornets and retiring 250 of the oldest USAF fighters.
House Armed Services Chairman Ike Skelton (D-Mo.) called Gates’ work “a good faith effort,” adding: “I appreciate the hard work and thoughtful consideration Secretary Gates and his staff put into these proposals.”
However, signaling the Pentagon’s revised spending request will come under sharp scrutiny, Skelton said: “the buck stops with Congress, which has the critical Constitutional responsibility to decide whether to support these proposals. In the weeks ahead, my colleagues and I will carefully consider these proposals and look forward to working with Secretary Gates and Adm. [Michael] Mullen as we prepare the Fiscal Year 2010 defense authorization act.”
But Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) appeared to praise Gates’ efforts without reservations, saying he “strongly” supported Gates’ restructuring plans, McCain added: “It has long been necessary to shift spending away from weapon systems plagued by scheduling and cost overruns to ones that strike the correct balance between the needs of our deployed forces and the requirements for meeting the emerging threats of tomorrow.” McCain called the announcement “a major step in the right direction.
“I believe Secretary Gates’ decision is key to ensuring that the defense establishment closes the gap between the way it supports current operations and the way it prepares for future conventional threats,” McCain said.
In responding to Pentagon reporters’ questions, Gates tried to make peace between those who favor more budgetary emphasis on irregular capabilities, and those who are afraid that the United States is not putting enough money behind keeping its conventional capabilities up to date.
Gates said that if you did a “crude” breakdown of the budget he is proposing, 10 percent of it will go for irregular capabilities, 50 percent is aimed toward traditional capabilities, and 40 percent can be described as “dual-purpose” capabilities. He further said the distinctions between conventional and irregular warfare were falling away – warfare simply was changing and the United States must be better prepared for a “spectrum” of capabilities.
Photo: Wikipedia
