Despite House vote, Gibbons says F-22s still may come to Nellis

Friday, July 23, 1999 | 11:13 a.m.

While the House halted the F-22 stealth fighter program destined for Nellis Air Force Base, Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., was optimistic today that the warplane would survive a budget conference committee battle.

The House voted 379-45 to pass a $266 billion defense package but cut $1.8 billion for six of the supersonic fighters next year. The House budget puts money toward boosting existing fighter fleets and keeping Air Force pilots on the job.

Gibbons said he called Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., the minority whip who may have a seat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, after the vote Thursday. The Senate has fully funded the fighter.

Supporters of the F-22 such as Gibbons and Reid said that the plane was crucial to maintaining U.S. air superiority. Even a temporary pause, they fear, could spell death for the project. A halt would affect 200 contractors and change other Pentagon procurement programs.

If the F-22 survives the joint budget committee battle, six of the radar-evading aircraft could come to Nellis by 2002. Another two are scheduled for 2003 and nine in 2008. Each plane costs $200 million to build.

The Pentagon wants the sophisticated warplane made by Lockheed Martin to replace existing F-15s and F-16s as the primary Air Force tactical fighter for air-to-air combat.

Lockheed built two F-22s at its Marietta, Ga., plant for testing at Edwards Air Force Base in California.

Critics of the F-22 said that the Defense Department should re-evaluate the planned purchase of 339 of the advanced fighters over the next 16 years.

Critics question whether the Pentagon can afford the F-22 as well as two other new fighters, one the F-18E/F made by Boeing Co. and the Air Force and Navy's Joint Strike Fighters made by Lockheed and Boeing.

Given strains on the Pentagon budget, critics also noted that with the end of the Cold War and a strong performance by existing U.S. fighters over Kosovo, the F-22 was too expensive.

A General Accounting Office study released in March found the plane had been plagued by cost overruns and production delays.

Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee, has said he will support funding for the F-22 in joint committee.

President Clinton also supports the F-22s, but the White House has stopped short of a veto threat against the House bill.

The $266 billion in fiscal 2000 defense spending approved by the House was $3 billion more than Clinton requested. The House bill includes funds for a 4.8 percent pay raise for military personnel, a provision also backed by the Senate.