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Air Chief: Where F-22 Stumbled, JSF Will Soar
September 15th, 2009 | AFA AWS 2009 | Posted by John Bennett
With the F-35 slated to soon be the lone fifth-generation American fighter in production, Gen. Norton Schwartz, the Air Force chief of staff, expects the program will avoid major problems.
“Because of things learned from F-22” Schwartz told reporters he anticipates the F-35 will not experience the kinds of technical ailments that typically plague – and delay – fighter development programs. Lockheed Martin is the prime contractor for both fighters.
“Do I expect there will be software shutdowns that jeopardize the entire [F-35 program]? No,” Schwartz said.
Meantime, the air chief said he opposes a Senate Appropriations Committee plan to use Air Force dollars to develop an exportable version of the F-22. The Pentagon this year shepherded through Congress a plan to cap the American F-22 fleet at 187 planes.
Schwartz said he believes developing an exportable version would not be “the best use of our acquisition talent,” which he would rather tap to develop and field new a new aerial tanker and long-range bombing aircraft.
He noted the appropriations panel’s provision is merely a “recommendation, and not a mandate.”
Tags: F-22, F-35, JSF, lockheed, schwartz, Senate Appropriations Committee
AWS 09: Air Chief submits F-22 numbers proposal
February 27th, 2009 | AFA AWS 2009 | Posted by Karen Walker
U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz has submitted a proposal to the Defense Secretary for how many F-22s the service believes it needs.
Schwartz did not give any details of what was in that proposal, but said at a media briefing here yesterday that the Air Force had run the numbers, validated them and presented the material to Secretary Robert Gates earlier this week.
With decisions on the 2010 defense budget delayed until April, Air Force and industry chiefs are meeting at this year’s AFA symposium with little to no information on which programs will get funded and by how much.
However, Schwartz made clear one of his priorities during the briefing when he said, “It’s my inclination that the F-35 is the future for the Air Force.”