(Photo from Aerospaceweb)From Defense Technology News:
December 12, 2008: The top US military officer raised doubts Wednesday over the future of the costly F-22 fighter jet program, noting that the economic downturn could force the Pentagon to make budget cuts.
The Lockheed Martin/Boeing F-22 Raptor, conceived during the Cold War, is considered by its critics -- including Defense Secretary Robert Gates -- to be ill-adapted for use in irregular conflicts like Iraq and Afghanistan.
"It's important for all of us -- in the Defense Department too -- to squeeze our budgets, to draw in where we can," Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Michael Mullen told reporters at the Pentagon.
"I'm obviously discouraged by the lack of cost control that we've got in so many of our programs," Mullen said. "We are going to have to get a grip on that or we will not be able to buy them."
Concerning the F-22, "it's not a matter of, do we need it? We have it," said Mullen. "It's a question of, how many do we need for the future?"
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My Comment: The Pentagon wars are about to begin.
