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Gates rails against more money for F-22

WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Thursday a decision by House lawmakers to increase the budget to buy a dozen more of Lockheed Martin Corp.’s F-22s is a “big problem.”

Gates said additional funding for 12 radar-evading jets, built by Bethesda, Md.-based Lockheed, goes against recommendations made by him to the president, and ultimately against the budget the president sent to Congress.

House lawmakers Wednesday approved $369 million to continue production of the F-22. The surprise amendment, likely to reopen a debate over the necessity of the Cold War planes that cost $140 million each, was approved by the House Armed Services Committee. Republicans largely backed the measure introduced by Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, and were joined by a handful of Democrats in a 31-30 vote.

The extra funding was adopted as part of the 2010 Defense Department spending bill mark-up. The bill still needs to make its way through the full House and Senate.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates has proposed buying 187 of the planes. But that’s dozens fewer than Lockheed and its supporters in Congress had hoped for. Part of Gates’ proposed $534 billion defense budget represents a shift away from Cold War-era weapon systems to futuristic programs aimed at unconventional foes.

Gates disputed claims that he’s titled “the scale dramatically against conventional capabilities” like the F-22 in order to fight asymmetric wars in countries like Afghanistan.

Mentions support for F-35

“A trillion dollars for the Joint Strike Fighter, a fifth generation fighter that has some capabilities the F-22 does not, is not a trivial investment in the future,” said Gates.

Gates is requesting a total of $6.8 billion, excluding research and development money, in the Pentagon’s fiscal 2010 budget to buy 30 Joint Strike Fighters — more than double the $3.1 billion and 14 aircraft earmarked a year earlier. The Pentagon plans to buy 513 F-35s over the next five years, with a total goal of 2,443 aircraft.

“We have to procure the kinds of equipment and weapons that gives us the maximum flexibility across the widest range of that spectrum of conflict,” he said.

Tanker bids opened up by mid-summer

Separately, Gates said he still plans to request new bids for a $35 billion competition for an aerial refueling tanker by the middle of summer.

Chicago-based Boeing and a team comprising rival Airbus’ parent company, European Aeronautics Defense and Space Co., and Northrop Grumman Corp. are girding for a new round of competition for the contract to build 179 planes.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates canceled earlier bidding in September after the Government Accountability Office concluded the Air Force had unfairly penalized Boeing’s smaller plane.

Related reading

* ACC commander: 187 F-22s put strategy at risk

Read Gen. John Corley’s letter to Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., supporting more F-22s