New attack plane faces cuts as defense bill takes shape

Several new proposals for trimming spending on key, but increasingly costly, weapons systems emerged Tuesday from a Senate Armed Services Air-Land Subcommittee markup of portions of the fiscal 2005 defense authorization bill.

Among them is a plan to cut as much as $300 million from the F/A-22 fighter attack plane, which already is in production, despite the fact that operational testing of prototypes has yet to be completed.

Supporters of the new-generation fighter object to taking any money out of the program.

But some members, looking for money to spend on other defense needs, are pressing to reduce from 24 to 22 the number of F/A-22s to be authorized for 2005. The Air Force requested $4.15 billion in 2005 procurement funds for the aircraft.

"There are tremendous demands out there for other things, and cutting the number of planes to be built next year would not reflect a lack of support for the program," said one subcommittee member. "Frankly, it doesn't appear that they'll be able to produce that many aircraft, anyway, since they're already eight behind."

Some other subcommittee members are looking to pare procurement projects, including F/A-22s, to pay for a permanent increase in force strength of up to 30,000 regular troops.

"Just six F/A-22s would pay for 10,000 additional troops," said Airland Subcommittee member John McCain, R-Ariz. He would not say if he supported such a move, but noted that the authorizers, as well as the Bush administration, have "got some very tough choices to make, and we need to decide whether to spend money on things like people or other stuff."

Airland Subcommittee Chairman Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., acknowledged, "There are tremendous demands out there for other programs, even though there is also great support for proceeding with these production items." He said, "A huge bow wave of demand has been building up."

Other key issues confronting the subcommittee include the Air Force's controversial plan to replace its aging fleet of KC-135 refueling tankers with modified Boeing 767s.

The subcommittee asked Tuesday whether the Air Force should take 46 KC-135 air tankers out of service "before a complete analysis is done on the Boeing leasing deal," a Republican source said, adding that a cutback in the retirement of 12 planes is being considered. McCain, a leading critic of the leasing deal, wants to reduce that number to zero.

Another Air Force program under scrutiny is the Multi-Mission Command and Control test aircraft, a $333 million project that would use a Boeing 767 as a base platform.

The committee plans to cut funding for the project, in partial response to the Air Force's recent plan to delay the test project six months, until June 2006. The Air Force requested a total of $540 million in 2005 research and development funding for the MC2A, which is designed to augment the Air Force's fleet of E-3 Airborne Early Warning and Control System and E-8 Joint Surveillance Targeting Attack Radar System aircraft.

The subcommittee is prepared to spend all that is necessary, not only to beef up the armor shields on Humvee combat vehicles for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, but also to ramp up the domestic production rate of all-purpose light trucks.

The question of additional body armor protection for individual troops, Sessions said, "has been pretty well taken care of now."

Some subcommittee members also are determined to increase funding for unmanned aerial vehicles for both reconnaissance and bombing purposes, according to one key member. "We have encouraged DoD to let us know what it can do with more UAVs," the member said.

Subcommittee members believe additional money will not be needed to improve the armor protection and armaments for attack helicopters, in view of the Army's decision earlier this year to cancel its Comanche helicopter program.

"Cancellation of the Comanche has given the Army a tremendous opportunity to use that money to armor up and to improve the arms on attack helicopters, as well as to add to the numbers of such aircraft," said one subcommittee member.

The subcommittee also is expected to continue its support for research, development and initial testing of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program, now mainly a concept on paper. "Our idea would be to move forward with JSF and the F/A-22. There's a strong feeling that the F/A-22 is a first-rate aircraft with exceptional possibilities, even though it is very expensive," said one prominent subcommittee member.

The F/A-22 unit cost has grown to around $153 million, according to General Accounting Office. That figure could rise to $330 million when the program's total development costs are factored in.