With a decision on the future of the F-22 Raptor coming within the next two weeks, members of Congress and representatives of the aerospace industry are urging the Obama administration to continue production of the fighter plane — to which Pratt & Whitney supplies engines — based on the number of jobs associated with the project.
President Barack Obama has until March 1 to decide whether to discontinue production of the most expensive fighter plane in U.S. history. If he decides against extending the program, production would be scaled back next year and come to an end in 2011.
Representatives from F-22 primary contractor Lockheed Martin, various aerospace groups and Congressional members have been making their case over the past month to keep the F-22 program funded, arguing that a cut in production could endanger high-paying, domestic aerospace jobs.
“The F-22 program annually provides over $12 billion of economic activity to the national economy, it fulfills a validated Air Force requirement, and it helps sustain our strong national defense industrial base. If this certification is not provided, layoffs will begin as this critical supplier base shuts down,” said a letter sent last month to Obama by 44 U.S. senators, many whose states have jobs tied to F-22 production. Sens. Christopher Dodd and Joe Lieberman both signed the letter, as well as both senators from Maine, Massachusetts and New Hampshire. According to the letter, F-22 production employs more than 25,000 people at more than 1,000 suppliers in 44 states.
Jobs Argument
Industry analysts say that Obama and Defense Secretary Robert Gates, a holdover from the Bush administration, face a difficult decision on how to control a defense budget that bloated over the past eight years during military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. However, the jobs argument places political pressure on the Obama administration to keep the F-22 program alive.
“The job argument is really for people in Congress to gain additional support,” said Shaun McDougall, a military analyst for Newton-based Forecast International Inc. “For their part, it’s a hard argument to go against at a time like this.”
A spokesman from East-Hartford based Pratt & Whitney, which earlier this month received a $285 million parts and maintenance contract for the F-22, said the company is unable to determine how many workers are employed because of the F-22 program.
“We are working closely with Lockheed Martin to ensure the Obama administration and Congress understand the importance of the F-22 program,” said Pratt & Whitney spokesman Matthew Perra.
There are 183 F-22 fighters that have either been built or are under construction.
The Air Force spent more than $60 billion on research, development and procurement of the first 183, or more than $300 million per fighter. The Air Force last week backed down on its original request for an additional 200 F-22 planes.
Outlived Usefulness
Obama has remained relatively tight-lipped about the F-22, but Gates said last year that the fighter has outlived its usefulness.
“The reality is we are fighting two wars, in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the F-22 has not performed a single mission in either theater,” Gates told Congress earlier this year.
Aerospace Industries Association vice president for national security Fred Downey rejected that argument.
“Historically, it’s always been a mistake to continue to prepare for the war you’re in,” Downey said. History teaches us we cannot predict what the next war will be.”
