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ACC commander: 187 F-22s puts strategy at risk

The head of Air Combat Command warned a lawmaker that 187 F-22s are not adequate for the needs of national defense, according to a letter obtained by Air Force Times.

“In my opinion, a fleet of 187 F-22s puts execution of our current national military strategy at a high risk in the near- to mid-term,” Gen. John Corley wrote to Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., on June 9.

“At Air Combat Command we have held the need for 381 F-22s to deliver a tailored package of air superiority to our Combatant Commanders. ... Air Combat Command analysis, done in concert with Headquarters Air Force, shows a moderate risk force can be obtained with an F-22 fleet of approximately with 250 aircraft.”

According to an ACC statement, the letter was in response to a June 8 letter from Chambliss who requested that Corley “provide his professional military assessment of the risk associated with procuring no more than 187 F-22 fifth-generation fighter aircraft.”

“Corley promised to provide his unbiased opinion on all matters of military importance,” the statement read. “He upheld the Air Force standard of absolute integrity in his response to the Senate Armed Services Committee member’s specific questions regarding F-22 risk assumption.”

Defense Department spokesman Geoff Morrell said that Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Air Force Secretary Michael Donley and Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz all agreed 187 is the correct number of F-22s, with a complement of other tactical fighter aircraft.

“All believe 187 is the number that is appropriate,” Morrell said.

Air Force headquarters had consulted with Corley and weighed program costs and requirements across the service before making an F-22 decision, Donley said Thursday in a written statement.

“After carefully considering a full range of views and alternatives, including those expressed by Gen. Corley, we recommended to Secretary Gates that other priority Air Force programs should not be reduced in order to fund additional F-22s beyond the program of record," Donley said.

Meanwhile, a last-minute fight to keep the F-22 line alive has begun in Congress.

On the House side, the draft 2010 defense authorization bill includes $369 million for long-lead procurement of a dozen F-22s, as well as provisions that require the Defense Department to examine sales of an export version of the Raptor to Japan.

In the Senate, Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, has also asked the Air Force to explore foreign military sales of the F-22.

READ GEN. CORLEY’S LETTER TO SEN. CHAMBLISS