Re-Heat
9th Feb 2005, 16:32
From Financial Times Information; thought it would be of interest here:
WASHINGTON -- In a setback to the North Texas aerospace industry, President Bush's $419.3 billion defense budget would end Lockheed Martin's F/A-22 Raptor program within four years and slow purchases of Bell Helicopter's V-22 Osprey.
The 2006 defense budget, unveiled Monday, increases military spending by 4.8 percent but temporarily eases back from an ambitious weapons modernization program put in place during Bush's first term to place greater emphasis on wartime ground forces, homeland defense and the war on terror.
The proposed cuts to the F/A-22 -- one of Lockheed Martin's premier aircraft programs -- could have a serious impact on North Texas' defense-based economy, curtailing work at Lockheed Martin's Fort Worth plant and hurting more than 500 Texas subcontractors and suppliers dependent on the program.
The next-generation attack plane, which started development in 1986, would be canceled after the 2008 fiscal year, giving the Air Force a total of 179 aircraft. The cancellation results in a $10.5 billion loss for Lockheed and co-manufacturer Boeing by halting work on 96 additional planes that were planned through 2011.
Purchases of the evolutionary V-22 tilt-rotor aircraft made by Fort Worth-based Bell Helicopter and Boeing Helicopters Inc. Ridley Township, Pa., would be reduced over the next six years, although Bell officials remained confident that the slow-down would have no long-term impact on the program.
The Marine Corps wants to buy 360 V-22 Ospreys to replace aging transport helicopters. The Bell-Boeing team also plans to sell 50 tilt-rotors to the Air Force for the U.S. Special Operations Command, while the Navy plans to buy 48.
Under the president's proposed budget, V-22 spending would be increased from $1.69 billion in 2005 to $1.77 billion in 2006 to buy nine Ospreys for the Marine Corps and two for the Air Force.
Bush's budget dealt a substantial blow to Lockheed Martin's Fort Worth-based aeronautics division by stopping F/A-22 production at least three years earlier than planned and canceling the C-130J transport plane built at Lockheed's Marietta, Ga., plant.
Rep. Kay Granger, R-Fort Worth, and dozens of other lawmakers are rallying against the proposed cuts in the F/A-22 program, which has more than 1,000 suppliers and subcontractors in 46 states. One major subcontractor threatened by the cuts is Dallas-based Vought Aircraft Industries, which builds horizontal stabilators for the F/A-22.
The planned cancellation of the C-130J and the F/A-22 could force the closure of the Marietta plant by the end of the decade, say Lockheed Martin officials, resulting in the loss of more than 8,000 jobs and threatening a severe economic downturn in Georgia.
With work continuing on the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, the F-16 and other programs, the Fort Worth plant is no danger of closing, say Lockheed officials, although the shutdown of F/A-22 production could eventually mean the loss of 3,000 jobs.
The aircraft programs are a top priority for Lockheed Martin Corp., the world's largest defense corporation headquartered in Bethesda, Md. Although the corporation has a diversified portfolio, and just recently won the rights to build a next-generation helicopter for the president, losing the F/A-22 and C-130J would contribute to a projected $18 billion loss for the company through 2011.
Defenders of the threatened aircraft programs are pinning their hopes on two fronts: budget deliberations in Congress and the Pentagon's Quadrennial Defense Review, which is planned this year as a comprehensive examination of the military's long-range requirements. F/A-22 backers say they hope that the review will conclude that the twin-engine advanced attack plane is vital to help continue U.S. air superiority.
WASHINGTON -- In a setback to the North Texas aerospace industry, President Bush's $419.3 billion defense budget would end Lockheed Martin's F/A-22 Raptor program within four years and slow purchases of Bell Helicopter's V-22 Osprey.
The 2006 defense budget, unveiled Monday, increases military spending by 4.8 percent but temporarily eases back from an ambitious weapons modernization program put in place during Bush's first term to place greater emphasis on wartime ground forces, homeland defense and the war on terror.
The proposed cuts to the F/A-22 -- one of Lockheed Martin's premier aircraft programs -- could have a serious impact on North Texas' defense-based economy, curtailing work at Lockheed Martin's Fort Worth plant and hurting more than 500 Texas subcontractors and suppliers dependent on the program.
The next-generation attack plane, which started development in 1986, would be canceled after the 2008 fiscal year, giving the Air Force a total of 179 aircraft. The cancellation results in a $10.5 billion loss for Lockheed and co-manufacturer Boeing by halting work on 96 additional planes that were planned through 2011.
Purchases of the evolutionary V-22 tilt-rotor aircraft made by Fort Worth-based Bell Helicopter and Boeing Helicopters Inc. Ridley Township, Pa., would be reduced over the next six years, although Bell officials remained confident that the slow-down would have no long-term impact on the program.
The Marine Corps wants to buy 360 V-22 Ospreys to replace aging transport helicopters. The Bell-Boeing team also plans to sell 50 tilt-rotors to the Air Force for the U.S. Special Operations Command, while the Navy plans to buy 48.
Under the president's proposed budget, V-22 spending would be increased from $1.69 billion in 2005 to $1.77 billion in 2006 to buy nine Ospreys for the Marine Corps and two for the Air Force.
Bush's budget dealt a substantial blow to Lockheed Martin's Fort Worth-based aeronautics division by stopping F/A-22 production at least three years earlier than planned and canceling the C-130J transport plane built at Lockheed's Marietta, Ga., plant.
Rep. Kay Granger, R-Fort Worth, and dozens of other lawmakers are rallying against the proposed cuts in the F/A-22 program, which has more than 1,000 suppliers and subcontractors in 46 states. One major subcontractor threatened by the cuts is Dallas-based Vought Aircraft Industries, which builds horizontal stabilators for the F/A-22.
The planned cancellation of the C-130J and the F/A-22 could force the closure of the Marietta plant by the end of the decade, say Lockheed Martin officials, resulting in the loss of more than 8,000 jobs and threatening a severe economic downturn in Georgia.
With work continuing on the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, the F-16 and other programs, the Fort Worth plant is no danger of closing, say Lockheed officials, although the shutdown of F/A-22 production could eventually mean the loss of 3,000 jobs.
The aircraft programs are a top priority for Lockheed Martin Corp., the world's largest defense corporation headquartered in Bethesda, Md. Although the corporation has a diversified portfolio, and just recently won the rights to build a next-generation helicopter for the president, losing the F/A-22 and C-130J would contribute to a projected $18 billion loss for the company through 2011.
Defenders of the threatened aircraft programs are pinning their hopes on two fronts: budget deliberations in Congress and the Pentagon's Quadrennial Defense Review, which is planned this year as a comprehensive examination of the military's long-range requirements. F/A-22 backers say they hope that the review will conclude that the twin-engine advanced attack plane is vital to help continue U.S. air superiority.