Masthead Corporate Logo
Subscribe eNewsletter Magazines
Search  Advanced

The Mil & Aero Blog

Bookmark this Blog Subscribe to an RSS Feed of this Blog.
<< Home

F-22 program shot down


Tuesday, August 4, 2009


Posted by John McHale

President Obama's first major defense budget cut got past a major hurdle last month when both houses of Congress agreed last week to cut F-22 funding from a new bill, despite speculation that they might fight to keep the program alive to save jobs.

Specifically the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate removed funding for additional F-22 jets in an appropriations bill with $636.3 billion for military spending for 2010. In other words the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) will likely now stop F-22 procurement at 187 aircraft.

What does this mean for the industry? Too soon to tell. The F-22 prime contractor, Lockheed Martin, will most likely make major job cuts once it is official and this could lead to further job cuts at second and third their suppliers to the program.

But will it be the 90,000 plus layoffs that some in congress and at Lockheed have predicted? I don't think it will get that high.

The 2010 budget request -- which focuses on increased funding for special forces, unmanned systems, and the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter -- makes sense for today's world. I'd like to think these funding areas represent new opportunities for electronics designers and integrators and that the defense market will remain steady if not grow stronger, despite the end of F-22 production.

One thing that I do find ironic however is that while one major program was practically canceled this past month the DOD rolled out a number of new aircraft over the same time period -- a new Global Hawk, the P-8A Poseidon, the new Navy Stealth Fighter, and a second E-2D Advanced Hawkeye to name a few.

That's a lot of roll outs. Coincidence?

Probably.

Post a Comment

0 Comments:

<< Home


Welcome to the lighter side of Military & Aerospace Electronics. This is where our staff recount tales of the strange, the weird, and the otherwise offbeat. We could put news here, but we have the rest of our Website for that. Enjoy our scribblings, and feel free to add your own opinions. You might also get to know us in the process. Proceed at your own risk.

John Keller for MAE
John Keller is editor-in-chief of Military & Aerospace Electronics magazine, which provides extensive coverage and analysis of enabling electronic and optoelectronic technologies in military, space, and commercial aviation applications. A member of the Military & Aerospace Electronics staff since the magazine's founding in 1989, Mr. Keller took over as chief editor in 1995.


Courtney Howard for MAE Courtney E. Howard is senior editor of Military & Aerospace Electronics magazine. She is responsible for writing news stories and feature articles for the print publication, as well as composing daily news for the magazine's Website and assembling the weekly electronic newsletter. Her features have appeared in such high-tech trade publications as Military & Aerospace Electronics, Computer Graphics World, Electronic Publishing, Small Times, and The Audio Amateur.


John McHale for MAE John McHale is executive editor of Military & Aerospace Electronics magazine, where he has been covering the defense Industry for more than dozen years. During that time he also led PennWell's launches of magazines and shows on homeland security and a defense publication and website in Europe. Mr. McHale has served as chairman of the Military & Aerospace Electronics Forum and its Advisory Council since 2004. He lives in Boston with his golf clubs.

Previous Posts

Archives
THE MAE WEBSITE AUTHORS ARE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CONTENT AND ACCURACY OF THEIR BLOGS, INCLUDING ANY OPINIONS THEY EXPRESS, AND PENNWELL IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR AND HEREBY DISCLAIMS ANY AND ALL LIABILITY FOR THE CONTENT, ITS ACCURACY, AND OPINIONS THAT MAY BE CONTAINED HEREIN. THE CONTENT ON THE MAE WEBSITE MAY BE DATED AND PENNWELL IS UNDER NO OBLIGATION TO PROVIDE UPDATES TO THE INFORMATION INCLUDED HEREIN.