Air Force yields in F-22 fighter dispute
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Air Force on Monday endorsed the Pentagon in its plan to end production of Lockheed Martin Corp's top-of-the-line F-22 fighter jets after having pushed to buy more for years.
"This is the time to make the transition from F-22 to F-35 production," Air Force Secretary Michael Donley and General Norton Schwartz, the service's top uniformed officer, wrote in an opinion piece in the Washington Post.
Like the F-22 Raptor, Lockheed's F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is designed to avoid detection by radar, although it would not fly as fast or as high. The multi-role F-35 is being co-developed with eight countries in three models with an eye to achieving economies of scale.
Donley and Schwartz reversed previous positions by the Air Force, saying the time had come to stop buying the F-22.
"That is why we do not recommend that F-22s be included in the fiscal 2010 defense budget," they wrote, endorsing plans announced April 6 by Defense Secretary Robert Gates to cap the F-22 fleet at 187.
Lockheed Martin stopped short of saying whether it would give up its lobbying effort to keep the F-22 production line going. Key F-22 subcontractors include Boeing Co, Northrop Grumman Corp and United Technologies Corp's Pratt & Whitney unit, which supplies the engines.