F-22 Kept Alive By The House Armed Services Committee

(MoneyWatch)  In their mark up of the 2010 Defense Appropriations bill the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) added over $300 million to buy long lead items for a further twelve F-22 Raptor aircraft. This was added by a vote of 31-30 by the Committee.

With the last six aircraft ordered this year the plan is to by 187 of the fighter. There have been different estimates of how many are needed with some in Congress wanting a force of well over two hundred. The original U.S. Air Force requirement back in the Nineties was for at least six or seven hundred. Cost and changes to the world have driven down this number over time to where it stands now.

Obviously one of the reasons that people want to continue the program is to protect jobs at Lockheed Martin and its suppliers. Secretary of Defense Gates has proposed accelerating the F-35 production to more rapidly modernize the U.S. air forces in a way to make up for the loss of quantity of the F-22.

Unlike the other programs that the Obama Administration has ended they cannot terminate this contract. Their is still authorized work going on with it. This means it still allows a hook for Congress to keep adding funds. Since this contract will continue for a few more years as the last aircraft are delivered there is a way for money to be added to keep the production line going. With the programs like VH-71 or missile defense Congress can add money but without a contract there would be no way for the military to execute it.

This is just one Committee's mark up of the bill; albeit one of the most important ones. The bill would still go through the House Appropriations Committee, the full House and then the Senate. There is sure to be a Conference Committee and then the final vote. This allows many attempts to either strip this funding, keep it or increase it. It all depends on how Congress feels about ending the program and Gates' lobbying. The fact that the money is in the bill now means that it has to be removed forcing another decision point.