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Thompson Files: Saving the F-22 Raptor
Arlington, Va. (UPI) Feb 17, 2009 Sometime in the next dozen days, President Barack Obama will make his first big decision about America's future military capabilities. The fiscal 2009 National Defense Authorization Act requires the president to tell Congress by March 1 whether the nation's interest is best served by purchasing more F-22 fighters or ceasing production. If he decides to end the program, contractor Lockheed Martin will begin laying off workers almost immediately, as will dozens of suppliers. The Air Force will have to make do with the 183 planes it already has ordered. I normally don't discuss defense spending in the first person, because it undercuts the image of objectivity to which we analysts all aspire. But after writing for a dozen years about why the F-22 is needed -- more than I have discussed any other weapons program -- I want to make this last commentary before the president's decision personal. What follows is not a discussion about jobs, or politics, or America's place in the world. It is about the role the F-22 plays in our war plans, and what would happen to our soldiers and sailors and Marines if it were not available in sufficient numbers. The greatest gift that has been given to America's war fighters in my lifetime is command of the air. That phrase -- "command of the air" -- is the way the first great exponent of air power described the ability to control and use the air space above our own country and the other nations of the world. Command of the air is the central, indispensable mission of the F-22. It is the reason why the plane is stealthier than any other aircraft in the world, why it is more maneuverable, why it is more fuel-efficient at high speeds, and why it is crammed with more sensors and computing power than any plane of similar size. Command of the air is also why it costs so much -- about $150 million for each additional plane. What does that high cost get us? An Air Force that can use all its other planes in wartime without fear of horrendous losses. An Army that can continue to operate, as it has over the last 50 years, without suffering any casualties from hostile aircraft. And a defense posture that can deter war without threatening the use of nuclear weapons. Every potential aggressor in the world knows that if it faces the F-22 in aerial combat, it will lose, and that if the F-22 is sent to attack targets in its nation, the targets will be destroyed. The enemies of the United States cannot see the plane with their radars, and they cannot catch it with their fighters. They are defenseless against it, and will remain so for decades to come. No other weapon in our arsenal provides that kind of defense and that kind of deterrence. The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning Joint Strike Fighter will deliver similar stealthiness, but it lacks the agility and awareness of the F-22. That is why the two planes were designed to operate together -- because there are many things the F-22 can do that the F-35 cannot. Which makes the F-22 a bargain in a way that tanks and destroyers will never be. It enables the success of all the other weapons and war fighters in the joint force. But if the United States is to benefit fully from the promise of the F-22, then we must buy enough to cover the world, and 183 planes simply isn't enough to do that. (Loren B. Thompson is chief executive officer of the Lexington Institute, an Arlington, Va.-based think tank that supports democracy and the free market.) Related Links The Military Industrial Complex at SpaceWar.com Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com
Analysis: European defense contracts
Brussels (UPI) Jan 26, 2009 French arms exports soared by almost 15 percent in 2008, the French government announced earlier this month. France hopes to further boost its international arms exports by finally creating overseas demand for its long-criticized Rafale fighter jet, manufactured by Dassault. |
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