Pentagon plans to seek cuts in Raptor program

Benjamin Grove

Wednesday, Dec. 29, 2004 | 11:17 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- Seeking cost savings to help offset the cost of the Iraq war, Pentagon officials and congressional lawmakers are discussing cuts in the F/A-22 Raptor fighter jet program, sources said.

The Pentagon has told White House officials and congressional lawmakers that it plans "sharp" budget cuts to the program, according to four administration and congressional sources, The New York Times reported today.

Pentagon officials, including Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, in recent weeks have briefed a number of lawmakers about their plans for the Raptor, Pentagon spokesman Eric Ruff told the Sun today. The Pentagon's overall budget is up 41 percent since Sept. 11, 2001, and officials are reviewing where possible cuts could be made, Ruff said.

"There are a number of transformation directions that we need to be taking," Ruff said.

Ruff said Pentagon officials "don't anticipate an impact" on the Raptor budget in the next fiscal year, but added "we're looking at out-year adjustments." Department budget requests are released in February.

The Raptor program's budget has long been under scrutiny and the subject of budget cut proposals, which would have to be approved by Congress, said Amy Spanbauer, spokeswoman for Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev. Gibbons is a member of the Armed Services Committee and a former Air Force pilot who has been a steadfast proponent of the plane.

Gibbons supports extending the cost of new Raptors into future budget years instead of making cuts, Spanbauer said today.

"While I understand budget constraints, I hope to work with the Department of Defense to provide adequate funding for all our military priorities, including the F-22 program, as well as our ongoing war on terrorism," Gibbons said in a statement.

Incoming Senate Democratic leader Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., has not been briefed yet by Pentagon officials, a Reid aide said. Reid has not supported program budget cuts in the past.

The news of possible cuts comes nine days after one of the stealth fighters crashed at Nellis Air Force Base, the first of the planes to crash.

The fighter was destroyed in the accident that occurred shortly after takeoff. The pilot, who has not been identified, ejected without serious injury. Raptors have been grounded at Nellis as an investigation is under way.

Reached this morning, Nellis Air Force Base officials had no comment on reports that funding could be cut. They referred calls to the Pentagon.

The crash last week did not cause Gibbons to doubt the program, Spanbauer said.

Maj. Gen. Stephen Goldfein, commander of the Air Warfare Center at Nellis, said at a press conference last week that he planned to leave the politics to the politicians when it comes to the crash.

"I'm sure that a close eye will be kept on the Raptor program," he said.

Nellis Air Force Base and its Air Warfare Center are a vital part of the Air Force's pilot and plane testing programs, and a key part of the Raptor program's development. The Air Force has about 25 of the planes manufactured by Lockheed Martin, and eight have been under testing at Nellis since January 2003.

Seventeen Raptors are scheduled to be stationed at Nellis by 2008 for pilot training. The first squadron of the planes is scheduled to be based at Langley Air Force Base in Virginia by the end of next year.

It's possible Nellis could be another base for a future Raptor squadron, but without the details of how many planes ultimately could be cut, it is difficult to know how the cuts would affect the base. Nellis very likely will continue to play a lead role in plane testing.

The Air Force now hopes to take delivery of 277 planes, down from 760 the Air Force planned to purchase 20 years ago.

Further cuts are not an option, program allies say.

"We'll fight to keep it where it is," Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., a member of the Senate Armed Services, told The New York Times.

The plane, hailed for its speed and stealth, is designed to replace the aging F-15 fighter fleet. But the most expensive plane ever built has been controversial as its $72 billion program cost escalated. The planes cost $133 million each, or $258 million each when research and development costs are factored.

The General Accounting Office, the investigative arm of Congress, earlier this year recommended that the Pentagon further justify the need for what some critics have called a now-outdated fighter.

The White House Office of Management and Budget this year also directed the Pentagon to review the Raptor program as part of a broader study of its weapons needs, questioning whether it was still relevant, or just an over-budget step toward a better next-generation fighter.