Murtha Lends Support For More F-22s
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By David A. Fulghum and John M. Doyle
Another senior U.S. congressman says he supports production of 20 more F-22s for the U.S. Air Force, and maybe Japan too, keeping the Lockheed Martin production line functioning for another few years.
Such an extension would allow Japan to raise the money for design of a version of the Raptor that can be exported, says Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.), chairman of the House Appropriations defense subcommittee.
The plan would give commonality and interoperability to defense of the western approaches to Japan, lower the cost of the stealthy fighter to customers, and enable a deterrent to China faster than waiting for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, he says.
Murtha credits authorship of the plan to Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii), chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee and its defense subcommittee, who fleshed out details from the U.S. Air Force and the Japanese government.
But there are vocal opponents, including leaders of the Senate Armed Service Committee, who told Aviation Week they oppose buying more Raptors (Aerospace DAILY, June 24). Still, House counterparts last week earmarked $369 million in the 2010 defense authorization bill to begin procurement of more Raptors, which cost about $140 million apiece.
Inouye found out that the Japanese were willing to pay $300 million to prepare an export version of the F-22, Murtha told a small group of defense writers June 24 in Washington. “If you look at the threat, you have to consider China. You need the equipment in place so that someone doesn’t miscalculate. China is going to be competing with us for energy. So where they will be competing [in Asia], we should have someone available besides ourselves.”
But the sale and Japan’s funding of the project will take two or three years. And Murtha’s staff calculates that preparing the F-22 for export will cost “substantially more” than $300 million.
“We can reach a compromise,” Murtha says of Defense Secretary Robert Gates’ proposal to end the program as planned. “The problem is, what we do [with F-22 production] in the meantime. The secretary — speaking for the White House — is adamant about not buying any more F-22s. The little bit of advanced procurement that the [House] Armed Services Committee put in didn’t help us much with the $3 billion we need for 20 F-22s,” which is desired to keep the production line open.
Yet, other challenges remain, including some that led Pentagon leadership to stick with the 187-aircraft cap first set by the George W. Bush administration. Former Pentagon acquisition chief John Young repeatedly cited stealth-based maintenance issues last year in criticizing further purchases.
“Maintenance of the F-22 has been a big problem,” Murtha acknowledges. “Cost has been as high as $50,000 per hour. You expect this because it’s in the initial stages of deployment. The F-22 is 19 years old and improvements have been made yearly. That’s one of the reasons why it’s so expensive.”
The top House defense appropriator and Vietnam veteran also voiced a dark prediction for defense funding, indicating that if the Defense Department does not get the systems it wants soon, it will lose the opportunity. “Defense is going to start to go down,” Murtha says. “There’s no question about it. The public has lost interest [in Iraq]. Talk now is about Iran and health care. You’re going to see a sea change in interest about what’s going on in Iraq and Afghanistan.”
Photo: USAF
