My comment: Good signs coming from US administration about its defense budget.
Peace and best wishes. Xi Gates Proposes Ending Lockheed F-22, VH-71 Helicopter http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aYfeSaDcCPe4&refer=home April 6 (Bloomberg) -- Defense Secretary Robert Gates is recommending the U.S. cap purchases of Lockheed Martin Corp.’s F-22 fighter jets at 187 and cancel the company’s VH-71 presidential helicopter and a new Air Force communication satellite. Four more of the F-22 fighters will be bought out of the 2009 war supplement for a total of 187 aircraft, Gates said at the Pentagon news conference today. He recommended terminating the presidential helicopter program because “it runs the risk of not delivering the required capability.” Boeing Co.’s anti-missile Airborne Laser program made with subcontractors Northrop Grumman Corp. and Lockheed should be limited to one test aircraft, a person familiar with the decision said. The recommendations must be approved by the White House and Congress. Gates briefed members of Congress and their staff on the proposals earlier today before a news conference at the Pentagon. The changes “collectively represent a budget reshaped to reflect the priorities of America’s defense establishment,” Gates said. “If approved they will profoundly reform how this department does business.” Gates, in a prepared statement to reporters at the Pentagon, is also recommend proceeding with buying three DDG- 1000 destroyers to be produced by General Dynamics Corp. at Bath, Maine, and may continue the older DDG-51 destroyers built by Northrop Grumman Corp. Ship Systems at Pascagoula, Mississippi. War Costs The recommended cuts in weapons programs come as U.S. defense spending is set to reach $654.1 billion for the fiscal year 2009, including war costs, a 72 percent gain since 2000. President Barack Obama assigned Gates, who took office during the Bush administration, to rein in spending. Standard & Poor’s Aerospace & Defense Index had risen 82 percent by the seventh anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks in 2008. Lockheed shares tripled in that time, making it the biggest gainer among the five largest U.S. defense contractors. The recommendation to stop buying F-22s is a setback for Bethesda, Maryland-based Lockheed, the world’s largest defense contractor. Bridging the Gap The company wants to keep building the plane to bridge the gap until its new F-35 reaches full production. Gates would buy only four more than the 183 F-22s currently on order by using the forthcoming war spending, compared with the 60 more that the Air Force wants. He endorses continuing Lockheed’s F-35 fighter program. The F-22, conceived at the height of the Cold War to take on the Soviet Union, was the focus of a lobbying campaign as Lockheed and its subcontractors said halting production at the 183 already on order could jeopardize 95,000 jobs in 44 states. At $354 million in inflation-adjusted dollars including research and development costs, it is the most expensive fighter in U.S. history. Lockheed’s VH-71 presidential helicopter program based on a design by AgustaWestland, a unit of Finmeccanica Spa of Italy, is a fleet of 28 helicopters, whose cost has more than doubled to $13 billion since the company won the contract in January 2005. The original cost estimate was $6.1 billion. Obama has called it an example of a program “gone amok.” The current presidential fleet has some helicopters from United Technologies Corp.’s Sikorsky unit that are 40 years old. Gates recommends canceling the Air Force’s Transformation Satellite Communication System program, which is intended to be a constellation of five satellites and ground stations to provide data and message services to ground forces throughout the world using laser beams. The program, expected to cost as much as $11 billion, was to be awarded this year. Boeing, Lockheed and its subcontractor Northrop Grumman have said their designs show that the technology is feasible. On Apr 5, 6:05 pm, xi <[email protected]> wrote: > My comment: Echoing most economists and anybody with basic math skills > I told several times that, once again, Americans have to choose "guns > or butter". This time, guns are actual guns, not just the usual > economic statement. Americans and US governments have to choose either > a military budget that matches the economic possibilities of a medium > size country of 300,000 millions, in the range of Brazil or Indonesia, > or they must accept growing poverty. > > As far as I know, this was part of the dilemma that USA and Europe > (West and East) including Russia, had between 1960 and 1973. Let us > see what they decide this time. > > Obama calls for fewer nukes. Others will call for fewer weapons, not > just nukes. Matters that talks will replace threats. At least for a > while. What else? Economic crisis does not allow governments high > expenses in useless weapons without hurting well being of its people. > > But, what private defense corporations think about this reduction of > budgets (and therefore of profits)? What military complex think? What > will they do? > > Let us hope that history will not repeat. Humankind deserves one > opportunity. Give peace a chance. > > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9TLBPySMMY > > Peace and best wishes. > > Xi --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "World-thread" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/world-thread?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
