Winslow on F-22A Multiyear Procurement

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June 21, 2006

I just wrote a post on this, but felt this was worth another.  Check out former congressional staffer Winslow Wheeler's run down of Government Accountability Office (GAO) criticism (pdf) of the Chambliss/Lockheed Martin F-22A multiyear procurement amendment:

GAO management would be horrified at my more stark characterization, but what this report is really saying is that:

• DOD is unable to justify more F-22s;
• there is no current or future threat to warrant them; and
• they not affordable.

And, there�s more: the �multiyear� procurement plan the Air Force and Lockheed Martin are advertising as saving money and are pushing hard on Capitol Hill will not save money, and it will delay the program.  According to GAO on page 7, �Therefore, the total additional multiyear procurement cost is $1.724 billion.  Furthermore, it will add two years to the F-22A procurement program.�

Winslow's sharpest observation, in my opinion, is this:

On the last criteria, whether the program will �promote the national security of the United States,� GAO offers the most devastating comment of the entire report, �No observation.�  Put simply, given a chance to offer an assessment whether the F-22 � at any cost � would help protect America, GAO chose to pass.

Ouch.  This is a letter signed by the head of the GAO, David Walker.

Of course, Lockheed feels a little differently than the GAO.  One of its top lobbyists, Jack Overstreet, a former chief of weapons systems for the Air Force, has been pushing (pdf) hard for Senator Saxby Chambliss' (R-GA) MYP amendment (pdf). 

Authors: Nick Schwellenbach

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