WASHINGTON, April 13 (Reuters) - Top U.S. Air Force and Navy officials backed the Lockheed Martin Corp F-35 fighter jet and said they had no plans to buy more Boeing Co F/A-18 fighters despite the skyrocketing cost of the F-35 program and delays in deliveries of test aircraft.
Officials from both services, grilled by members of the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday about the F-35, said they believed a major restructuring had put the program back on track. But they stressed that they were monitoring the program carefully.
Senator Joseph Lieberman, who heads the committee's airland subcommittee, said he was troubled by news that the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter was facing projected cost increases of more than 50 percent and worried that delays in the program could widen projected shortfalls for both service's fighter forces.
'The JSF is the cornerstone of tactical aviation modernization for each of our services. Excessive cost growth in this program is bound to hurt American air power in the years ahead,' Lieberman said.
Missouri Republican Senator Kit Bond, who serves on the Senate Appropriations Committee, blasted defense officials for insisting on shutting down production of the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet beginning in 2013, given mounting problems with what he called the 'Joint Strike Failure.'
'It just makes no sense,' Bond told Reuters. 'Today's comments reflect the Pentagon's willingness to turn a blind eye to the looming threat to America's air combat power and America's defense industrial base.'
Boeing operates a major manufacturing facility in St. Louis, Missouri.
Vice Admiral David Architzel, principal military deputy for acquisition for the Navy, told the hearing the services had made an 'unequivocal' commitment to the F-35 program and considered it essential for replacing aging fighters.
He said a looming tactical fighter aircraft shortfall was 'manageable' and predicted it could be managed to peak at about 100 aircraft in 2018 -- far below the 177-aircraft gap initially forecast -- by extending the life of existing planes.
The U.S. government's fiscal 2011 begins Oct. 1.
Lieberman said the Navy fighter shortfall could be closer to 267 aircraft and questioned the Navy's view that it could narrow the gap by reducing squadron size, conducting service life extensions, and cutting aircraft time in maintenance.
'I'm not satisfied that the steps taken are sufficient,' he said, noting the Air Force faced similar challenges.
But Navy officials steadfastly rejected more purchases of Boeing Super Hornets beyond the 515 already planned.
Marine Corps Lieutenant General George Trautman said the intention had always been to begin shutting down the F/A-18 line in fiscal 2013, with the final shutdown due in 2015.
He said the size of the projected shortfall fluctuated because so much depended on the front end assumptions .
'You can manipulate the front end almost any way that you want to manipulate it, in order to have the number come out to any specific number that you want,' he said. 'It's almost impossible to predict, frankly, eight years from now specifically how many shortfall airplanes we're going to have, even if the ramp on JSFs stay precisely as we think it's going to occur today. And that's doubtful.'
Trautman told reporters after the hearing that comments on the end of the Boeing fighter line did not take into account any foreign arms sales the company might make.
Senator Bond said the Pentagon's statements about shutting down the Boeing F/A-18 line could jeopardize billions of dollars of potential revenue and tens of thousands of U.S. jobs at stake in the foreign fighter competitions involving the F/A-18.
At the same time, he said the F-35's problems were already causing some foreign partners on that program to take another look at the Boeing fighter, particularly because of concerns he said he was hearing about the F-35's ability to operate off a carrier.
Admiral Architzel, asked about reports that the F-35 was breaking cables on aircraft carriers, said that was 'definitely a rumor,' since the F-35 had not yet been tested on a carrier.
Boeing spokesman Philip Carder said Boeing had delivered more than 420 Super Hornets to the Navy on time or ahead of schedule, and all on budget. He said current plans called for production for the Navy to continue through 2015.
'Additional domestic or international orders would extend production and maintain the industrial base, which is a critical national asset, well beyond 2015,' Carder said.
The Navy officials said they continued to explore the possibility of a multiyear procurement agreement with Defense Secretary Robert Gates to buy 124 F/A-18E/F and EA-18G planes from fiscal 2010 through fiscal 2013.
Senate aides said Pentagon cost estimators disagreed with Boeing about the expected savings from a multiyear deal.
Air Force and Navy officials also rejected continued funding for a second engine for the F-35 that is being built by General Electric Co and Britain's Rolls-Royce.
They said spending an additional $2.9 billion on the second engine program would divert resources from other key programs.
The Navy said the Pentagon's Joint Assessment Team set up to review cost growth on the F-35's primary engine, built by United Technologies Corp unit Pratt & Whitney, found that Pratt's cost-cutting plan was achievable.
It said Pratt's current proposal for a fourth lot of F135 engines showed that the engine maker had begun to reduce costs in line with the Pentagon assessment.
(Reporting by Andrea Shalal-Esa; Editing by Tim Dobbyn and Steve Orlofsky) Keywords: USA FIGHTERS/ (Andrea Shalal-Esa in Washington; +1 202 898 8400, washington.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
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