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Aviation History
1997
1997 - 1011.PDF
NEWSMAKERS Force multiplier An affordable Joint Strike Fighter would not be possible without the F-22, says the US Air Force's combat chief. GRAHAM WARWICK/WASHINGTON DC FAR FROM viewing the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) as a possi ble cheaper alternative to the Lockheed Martin/Boeing F-2 2, die US Air Force believes that deployment of die F-22 air-superi ority fighter is a prerequisite for development of me multi-role JSF. "If we fail to deliver and deploy sufficient F-22s, the JSF require ment will quickly evolve and grow to closely resemble the F-22, because we still want air domi nance," warns Gen Richard Hawl- ey, commander of US Air Force Air Combat Command. With the F-22 as its high-end fighter to replace the McDonnell Douglas F-15, me USAF"...can stay focused on affordability witii JSF" and make performance trade offs to achieve the $28 million fly away-cost target set for the aircraft, which is to replace its more-numer ous Lockheed Martin F-16s. The possibility of cutting, or cancelling, the F-22 programme has been raised as US tactical-air craft modernisation plans come under the microscope of the Quadrenniel Defence Review now under way. The JSF's potential price-tag has attracted lawmakers concerned by the F-22's $71 mil lion flyaway cost. The JSF "...will be a capable replacement for the F-16, but it will not give us what we need to own the enemy's airspace," says Hawley, arguing mat the relatively low-cost fighter will not have the stealth, supersonic-cruise or weapons capability required to achieve air dominance. The F-22 is designed to provide guaranteed air-superiority, enab ling US forces to deploy and oper ate free from the direat of enemy air attack. Establishing air domi nance allows other aircraft to be operated with relative impunity, the Air Force argues. "We have operated a high-low Gen Richard Hawley mix for the last few decades," says Hawley, referring to me combina tion of air-superiority F-15s and multi-role F-16s flown by the Air Force. "This allows us to operate within die assured airspace control of the high-end fighter," he says. The Air Force believes its abili ty to provide that control is eroding, as other countries de ploy aircraft match ing - and in some areas exceeding - me'capability of me F-15. The Mikoyan MiG-29, with its helmet-mounted cueing system and high off-boresight missile, "...wins the within-visual-range fight against my best aircraft. Our advan tage is already erod ed in this area. It is only a matter of time before we lose die advantage in otiiers", he says. Hawley acknowledges diat die threat projected when the F-22 "Ifwe fail to deliver and deploy sufficient F-22s, the JSF requirement will quickly evolve and grow to closely resemble the F-22, because we still want air dominance." programme was launched has not developed as fast as predicted, but he notes that deployment of the aircraft has slipped accordingly, from "around now" to late 2004. "The programme is paced well against die threat," he believes. What concerns die Air Force most are the direats that can be expected to emerge in die lat ter stages of the F-22's 30-year operational life, which cannot be predicted but must nevertheless be anticipated. The aircraft's flexibility com pared witii diat of die F-15, which will itself have been operational for three decades when the F-22 enters service, is regarded as the best antidote for uncertainty. Hawley reveals diat F-22 units will train from "Day One" not only "We have operated a high- low mix for the last few decades, ...operating within the assured airspace control of the high-end fighter" for die air-superiority role, but also for lethal suppression of enemy air- defences and interdiction - botii die latter roles employing the air craft's inherent capability to carry the near-precision Joint Direct Attack Munition. He also indicates that die Air Force is prepared to replace its Lockheed F-117 stealtii fighters widi F-22s, ratiier dian see produc tion of the latter being cut below the planned 438 aircraft. Hawley says that it would be a relatively easy task to adapt die F-22 to per form die F-117's "first day of war" precision-strike mission. Hawley does not seen any justification for cutting die number of F-22s, unless the Quadrenniel Defence Review reduces die Air Force below its present level of 20 "fighter-wing equivalents", or cuts die service's overall budget. He says that the 438 aircraft planned are sufficient to re-equip die Air Force's four wings of air-superiori ty F-15Cs.Atits peak, he says, F-22 procurement will consume no more man 6-8% of the Air Force's annual budget, around half of what the service historically has spent each year on modernisation. Unless its force structure or overall budget is cut, die USAF will continue to spend about 10-12% on modernisation. Hawley argues that upgrading the F-15 would consume 80-90% of funds budget ed for die F-22 and result in an air craft only one-third as effective. He also points out diat F-22 pro curement is planned to tail off just as diat for die JSF is scheduled to pick up. To stay widiin budget lim its, the USAF has employed a sequential modernisation strategy for some decades, he says, begin ning widi its fighters in die 1970s, bombers in the 1980s and trans ports in the 1990s. Replacing the F-15 with die F-22 starts a new cycle, according to Hawley, and, he says, is essential if die F-16 is to be replaced by an affordable JSF. • FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 16 - 22 April 1997 23
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