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Lockheed Martin unveils F-22 Raptor Wednesday
Air Force, Navy planes compete for scarce Pentagon dollars
April 9, 1997
Web posted at: 11:35 a.m. EDT (1535 GMT)
From Military Affairs Correspondent Jamie McIntyre
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Lockheed Martin Corp. on Wednesday takes the wraps off its first production model of the F-22 Raptor, the expensive, stealthy fighter plane the Air Force claims is vital to keep the U.S. in the lead in combat aviation.
But before the F-22 even gets off the ground, the competition between the Raptor and two other "next generation" war planes has turned into a real dogfight for defense dollars.
The F-22's clean lines and cutting-edge technology make it nearly invisible to radar, but not invulnerable to congressional critics who rap its $80 million-per-plane price tag as unaffordable.
Arkansas Democratic Sen. Dale Bumpers says buying the plane would probably be the "worst procurement mistake" Congress could make in the defense arena. But Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Ronald Fogelman disagrees, saying that clipping the Raptor's wings would "seriously undercut" the Air Force's future preparedness.
The Air Force argues it needs the pricey plane to make sure it not only wins future battles, but enjoys the kind of overwhelming air superiority that allowed the U.S.-led coalition to roll to victory in the Persian Gulf War with minimal casualties.
Experts agree the F-22 would be the world's premier air-to- air fighter, but it must compete for scarce defense dollars with the Navy's new Super Hornet, a fighter-bomber already hitting the decks of carriers.
Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jay Johnson says the Navy's new plane is "the right airplane" for his branch of service.
The Super Hornet is a newer, more nimble version of the venerable F-18, with stealth characteristics. And it's comes with a sticker price half that of the F-22. The Navy sees a future in which carriers are stocked with Super Hornets and Joint Strike Fighters -- a next generation attack plane still on the drawing boards.
The Joint Strike Fighter is supposed to be even cheaper, at $38 million a plane, because one basic design will be modified to suit the different needs of the Air Force, Navy and Marines.
All three programs together -- F-22, Super Hornet and Joint Strike Fighter -- total some $400 billion, a figure that staggers even F-22 supporters like Rep. Curt Weldon, R- Pennsylvania.
"There is no way," Weldon says, "no way we are going to have the money to pay for the programs, so we have to make some tough decisions."
Ultimately a major Pentagon review of the military strategy, due out next month, is supposed to answer the question of how much better militarily the United States can afford to be in the future.
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