Top General Warns Against Ending F-22 Fighter

Reuters ^ | June 18, 2009

[Fennie]

WASHINGTON -- A top Air Force general, swerving from the Pentagon leadership, said ending production of Lockheed Martin Corp's F-22 Raptor fighter jet, as proposed by President Barack Obama, posed a high risk to U.S. ability to carry out its current military strategy.

"In my opinion, a fleet of 187 F-22s puts execution of our current national military strategy at high risk in the near-to mid-term," Gen. John Corley, head of the Air Combat Command, wrote in a June 9 letter to a senator.

"To my knowledge, there are no studies that demonstrate 187 F-22s are adequate to support our national military strategy," he added in the letter to Sen. Saxby Chambliss, a Republican from Georgia, where the plane undergoes final assembly.

[SZonian]

Unfortunately the F-22 has become a political soccer ball to be kicked around at the expense of our national defense.

SZ

[pissant]

The House today restored funds. It ain’t going away, despite Obamaramadingdong

[ak267]

Against the newer Mig and Su models, I want a Raptor.

[EQAndyBuzz]

Anyone want to bet that Senator Dodd had a hand in this?

[Thunder90]

The F-22 is the ONLY fighter aircraft that will be able to stand toe-to-toe with the PAK-FA and the J-xx and win in most cases.

[SIDENET]

Wow, a General Officer actually fell on his sword for an important issue.

I'm impressed.

[Blood of Tyrants]

Unfortunately, the F-22 was in itself always a political decision. By almost every measure, the Northrop YF-23 was a far better design.

[Mr Rogers]

OUTSTANDING!

I thought the USAF had weeded out any Generals with integrity - and I say that as a 25 yr USAF veteran!

It is fantastic to see a high ranking officer show some integrity and honor. Wish Gates wasn’t such a hopeless butt-boy...

[Mr Rogers]

I knew a couple of YF-23 engineers - they told me the fly-off was pretty much a draw.

I had no involvement with it, so I have no first hand knowledge. But an F-22 that gets built would beat the hell out of a YF-23 that never will be built. Too late to go back and refight that fight...it is the F-22, or MAYBE some F-35s.

[Red Steel]

You can expect the F22 line item to be in next year’s defense budget when it reaches Obama’s desk for his signature. *snicker*

[El Gato]

Gen. John Corley, head of the Air Combat Command,

I guess General Corely will not be making Chief of Staff, or even Deputy Chief.

Nice to see *someone* fall their sword for the good of the country. Not enough of that happened during the late unlamented Southeast Asian War Games.

[Ramius]

But we won’t be fighting YF-23’s. We’ll be fighting MiGs.

[CutePuppy]

The House today restored funds.

Good to hear that. Especially while Russia struggles to sell and maintain their hardware (Sikhoi less so than MiG)

Russian fighter jets worse than those of USA and Europe? - Pravda, May 25, 2009

Lockheed is still making money hand over fist on JSF F-35, but Raptors are essential.

Lockheed’s F-35 ‘Program Killer’ May Double Sales - BL, June 17. 2009

Lockheed Martin Corp., the world’s largest defense company, may double sales of its new F-35 fighter jet in a surge of contracts that could squeeze competitors including Boeing Co. and Saab AB out of the market.

The U.S. and eight partner nations already plan to buy more than 3,000 of the warplanes, and with potential exports to countries including Israel, South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Finland and Spain the total could “easily” reach 6,000, Brigadier General David Heinz, the top Pentagon official for the F-35, said today. .....

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates’ pledge in April to speed domestic F-35 purchases will give confidence to foreign buyers, both among the eight current partners and beyond. Israel and Singapore, which had F-35 security cooperation pacts yet weren’t full partners in the program, have begun talks with the U.S. government that could lead them to join, Crowley said. Government talks have also begun on possible F-35 sales with Finland, Spain, South Korea and Japan, he said.

One Survivor

“It’s entirely possible that by 2020 there will be only one surviving western fighter plane,” Richard Aboulafia, an analyst with Fairfax, Virginia-based Teal. “The F-35 is designed to do what the F-16 almost did: drive competing manufacturers out of the market.” .....

[El Gato]

General Corely deserves to have his photo on this thread. So here it is:

From GENERAL JOHN D.W. CORLEY biography

Retiring effective Nov. 1, 2009.
...
General Corley entered the Air Force after graduating from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1973. He earned his wings at Reese AFB, Texas, in 1974. His aviation career includes more than 3,000 flying hours with combat experience. He has commanded at the squadron, group and wing levels. His staff positions comprise a mix of operational and joint duties in Tactical Air Command, Headquarters U.S. Air Force and the Joint Staff.

General Corley has significant experience in intense combat, most recently during Operation Enduring Freedom. As Combined Air Operations Center Director, he orchestrated more than 11,000 combat missions striking more than 4,700 targets, including 250 attacks against the Al Qaida and Taliban leadership. He directed the safe recovery of isolated personnel during the largest combat search and rescue mission in 50 years and was awarded the Bronze Star Medal.

Looks like what became the F-22 took up a significant portion of his career. He was chief analyst for the Advanced Tactical Fighter program at HQ USAF, back in the '86-'88 time frame.

He was commissioned the same year I was, although he's likely a year younger, since I took five years to get my BS in engineering (had 6 credits of ROTC hours that did not count towards graduation, and 12 grad credits upon graduation) they don't let you do that at the AF Academy, although they might send you to grad school after graduation and commissioning.

[El Gato]

We’ll be fighting MiGs. Or worse, Sukhois.

[CutePuppy]

S/b Sukhoi, not "Sikhoi" and corrected link to Pravda article - Russian fighter jets worse than those of USA and Europe? - Pravda, May 25, 2009

[Always Independent]

From my understanding with people I talked with, the F-22 was stronger in manuverability while northrop’s YF-23 had overall stealth and speed in its favor. I believe that the top speed of the YF-23 with the GE engines developed for the competition is still classified.

[dannyboy72a]

It just kills me that Obama is running around trying to claim some jobs “saved or created”. Why not stop cutting all defense programs and let them keep building and stockpiling the stuff and keep those (many union) jobs hopping. Beats the hell our of “green” jobs that are temporary at best and 40x more expensive per job.

[derllak]

Unfortunately, the F-22 was in itself always a political decision. By almost every measure, the Northrop YF-23 was a far better design.

Thank GOD it lost! The YF-23 was the ugliest flying object I've ever seen... And yes, I am a very shallow person for whom appearance is everything.