The Air Force's battle for more F-22s is not looking good. Defense Secretary Robert Gates was about as blunt as he could be in his assessment of the F-22 during his congressional testimony, basically saying the obvious: it ain't too useful for the war on terror. As Defense Daily (subscription only) reports:
"The reality is we are fighting two wars, in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the F-22 has not performed a single mission in either theater. So it is principally for use against a near peer in a conflict, and I think we all know who that is," Gates said. "And looking at what I regard as the level of risk of conflict with one of those near peers over the next four or five years until the Joint Strike Fighter comes along, I think that something along the lines of 183 is a reasonable buy."
That said, don't count more F-22s out completely. Gates also told the panel: "My objective is to give the next administration an option. And what I've been told is that this will keep the line open that gives them that opportunity."
Plus, there's the Murtha factor.
Yesterday, House Defense
Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman John
Murtha said the President's defense budget "doesn't come close" to addressing the real needs of the military, according to CongressDaily. And instead of waiting to fight over it, he's going to seek more money for Raptors and transport planes, in the next emergency war supplemental bill.
