Message posted by Matthew Ruch on April 06, 2009 at 14:50:20 PST:

From Aviation Week's John Doyle while the press conference is occurring:

Gates announced today plans to increase spending by $2 billion on intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance efforts -- including 50 more Predator and Reaper unmanned aerial vehicles and manned turbo prop aircraft.

Gates said ISR spending in Fiscal 2010 would go up $2 billion. He also said $500 million would be spent on to field and sustain more helicopters. Gates said the problem supplying more rotorcraft to Afghanistan and Iraq would focus not on airframes by maintenance and pilots.

Gates also announced cuts in the F-22 stealth fighter; Army Future Combat Systems (FCS); and missile defense programs. No more Ground-based Midcourse Defense interceptors will be bought for Alaskan placement. Standard Missile-3 and Theater High Altitude Area Defense.

Gates said he was terminating the Navy and Marine Corps' VH-71 presidential helicopter program, the Air Force's Combat Search and Rescue helicopter replacement program and the Transformational satellite program. The Army's Future Combat Systems is being restructured.

Upon questions from reporters, Gates said the USAF suggested officially it did not need more than the 187 F-22 Raptors as previously limited by Gates' office.

House Armed Services Chairman Ike Skelton (D-Mo.) called Gates' work "a good faith effort," adding: "I appreciate the hard work and thoughtful consideration Secretary Gates and his staff put into these proposals."

However, signaling the Pentagon's revised spending request will come under sharp scrutiny, Skelton said: "the buck stops with Congress, which has the critical Constitutional responsibility to decide whether to support these proposals. In the weeks ahead, my colleagues and I will carefully consider these proposals and look forward to working with Secretary Gates and Adm. [Michael] Mullen as we prepare the Fiscal Year 2010 defense authorization act.”

But Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) appeared to praise Gates' efforts without reservations, saying he "strongly" supported gates restructuring plans, McCain added: "It has long been necessary to shift spending away from weapon systems plagued by scheduling and cost overruns to ones that strike the correct balance between the needs of our deployed forces and the requirements for meeting the emerging threats of tomorrow.” McCain called the announcement "a major step in the right direction.

"I believe Secretary Gates’ decision is key to ensuring that the defense establishment closes the gap between the way it supports current operations and the way it prepares for future conventional threats," McCain said.

he Army’s $160 billion FCS will see its entire ground vehicle program killed and sent back to the drawing board and the competitive bidding process.

Overall, Gates said he was "troubled by the terms of the contract," and said the program failed to take into account the counter insurgency lessons learned in Iraq and Afghanistan about improvised explosive devices and the mine-resistant, ambush-protected (MRAP) vehicles.

Gates also killed the Air Force Combat Search and Rescue helicopter program and the current VH-71 presidential helicopter. Gates said he wasn’t killing the concept, however. "There needs to be a new presidential helicopter," Gates said. There’s still good service life in the ones in the fleet right now.” He said Pentagon officials will "begin a review of requirements with the White House after the Fiscal 2010 budget is in."

Gates further said he was restructuring missile defense. Funding for such efforts, most of which are under the Missile Defense Agency, would be reduced by $1.4 billion and there will be no increase in ground-based interceptors at Ft. Greely, Alaska. Focus would shift from long range missile threats to theater-wide defense.

To that end, Gates said he was adding $700 million for the THAAD terminal phase missile defense system and the shipborne Standard Missile-3 missile. Another $200 million was going to the Aegis anti-ballistic missile system.

In Reply to: F22 Production Ends posted by OdysseyStar on April 06, 2009 at 11:02:44 PST:

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