Spending Shifts May Occur As Result Of Leadership Shakeup

The forced resignation of US Air Force Chief of Staff General Michael T. Moseley and Secretary of the US Air Force Michael W. Wynne last week may end production of the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor program, and increase Pentagon spending on equipment and technology intended for current wars.

Their departure concluded a turbulent relationship with Defense Secretary Robert Gates on differing strategies and a recent string of public embarrassments leading to their dismissals.

According to a Reuters report this week, analysts predict a shift away from programs meant to combat future threats from larger superpowers such as China and Russia and focus spending on programs to supplement current efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan. The views of Defense Secretary Gates and Air Force leadership on spending priorities frequently differed and the recent departures offers an opportunity for Gates to promote his strategy.

As recently as March, Gates argued sending more Predator UAVs to battle zones in Iraq and Afghanistan as an "all-in" approach though both Moseley and Wynne expressed concerns that current deployments were stretching its UAV crews thin as it was.

Gates has often singled out the cutting-edge Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor as a prime example of what he deemed misplaced military priorities. "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 a Senate committee in February.

Under the leadership of Wynne and Moseley, 381 F-22s were sought from Lockheed Martin -- more than twice as many as the 183 aircraft outlined in the Defense Department budget. Costing more than $132 million each, the radar-evading F-22 remains the sole advanced air superiority fighter in the USAF inventory.

Gates argues the F-22 -- the top US dogfighter -- is "principally for use against a near peer," Pentagon code words for China and Russia. Potential threats he deems are years away.

Air Force Gen. Bruce Carlson, head of a command responsible for the development and testing of new systems, said in February the Air Force would go on pushing for the F-22 Raptor, as it is optimized for knocking out advanced air defenses of the larger long-term threats.

"Most people say in the future there will be a Chinese element to whatever we do," he told reporters on February 13.

In Carlson's remarks, "Gates correctly detected a lack of willingness among Air Force leaders to follow his policies on F-22 fighters," said Loren Thompson of the Lexington Institute to Reuters. Thompson is noted for his close ties to the Pentagon and industry.

A perception the Air Force was quietly lobbying Congress to extend the F-22 production line adds to the conflict as Gates has left the decision to the next U.S. president to be elected in November.

In its last major strategy review in 2006, The Pentagon said China had the greatest potential "to compete militarily with the United States and field disruptive military technologies that could over time offset traditional US military advantages absent US counter strategies."

William Hartung of the New America Foundation, a New York research group predicted to Reuters that multibillion-dollar programs like the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter from Lockheed Martin and the Army's Future Combat Systems, co-managed by Boeing and SAIC Corp may also be on the chopping block or may risk being stretched out by Gates' emphasis on equipping for current wars.

Pentagon procurement in favor of armored trucks and other land systems due to the pressure from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan has already begun to reshape spending. The trend likely to grow as ground forces in the Army and Marine Corps continue to build.

FMI: www.af.mil, www.defense.gov