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On the Record
Ralph Heath, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics President
U.S. Air Force pilots flying the F/A-22 Raptor fighter are “discovering and inventing” new ways to use the fighter in combat, “things we never imagined before,” says Lockheed Martin Aeronautics president Ralph Heath. “The word back is, holy smokes, this thing is very, very different,” says Heath.
Heath is “hopeful” that F/A-22 production will continue beyond the 178-aircraft cutoff proposed by Pentagon budget-cutters in December 2004 and enshrined in the FY2006 budget. “It’s more cost-effective as you go beyond 180 aircraft; it has tremendous value, and the Air Force argues that there is a military requirement.”
The Air Force, which has long wrapped the F/A-22’s capabilities in secrecy, “has become more outspoken” about the fighter as the threat to the program’s survival has become more imminent. Does it help the USAF if, in the course of protecting the fighter’s capabilities from disclosure, it loses the political battle and does not receive enough aircraft? “You’re asking the right questions,” says Heath, adding that security limits are the Air Force’s decision. But, he adds, there are “appropriate levels of discussion within the Pentagon and Congress, if not in the public domain.”
Results from last year’s operational test and evaluation (OT&E), Heath says, convinced him that the F/A-22 and the F-35 will be “game changers” — as important as the introduction of the first military aircraft and the first jets. Heath quotes the Air Force OT&E summary: “Ground defenses could not engage the F/A-22, no adversaries could survive, and we never knew they were there.” He adds: “It turned on a light in my mind. Things are different, beginning now. The world does not yet appreciate the advantages of bringing together stealth, speed and other advanced capabilities in a new aircraft — but such state changes are not always recognized at the time they happen.”
FA-22 exports are currently prohibited by Congress, Heath says. “Having said that, there remain a select few customers who might need that capability. We know there’s some interest on the part of Japan. How that evolves is a matter between the U.S. and Japanese governments.”
Lockheed Martin is looking hard at UAVs, but Heath is more cautions than some UAV boosters. “We continue to look at technological advances that will provide a discriminator or a niche. If a UAV doesn’t add a new capability or if it’s not cost-effective, there’s no compelling argument for it. We don’t want something that is just a me-too for a manned platform.” (Latest USAF plans slow down the Global Hawk UAV and defer the retirement of Lockheed Martin’s manned U-2.)
The possible resumption of European arms sales to China could affect the Joint Strike Fighter program, Heath says. “The international partners are integral to the program and sharing in advanced technology. Our expectation is that the technology will be protected on the basis of the agreements between the U.S. and its partners.” —Bill Sweetman
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