Defense News
Lockheed Accepts Gates Plan To Halt F - 22 Production
The New York Times (4/22, B4, Drew) reports, "Lockheed Martin will accept the Pentagon's plans to phase out the F - 22 fighter jet and will not lobby Congress to build more of the expensive planes, a top executive said on Tuesday. " Lockheed CFO Bruce L. Tanner said "the company had recieved 'a full hearing' from Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and top Air Force officals" and is prepared to "accept those decissons." Tanner said that, "under previous contracts, F - 22s would be assembled at Lockheed Martin's plant in Marietta, Ga, until 2012," and that "most of the workers there would be able to shift to expanding production lines for other planes
The AP (4/21) reported that Lockheed had previously "warned in a public relations blitz that capping the F - 22 could lead up to 25,000 job losses at the company and other suppliers working on the program." Now, Tanner says that "potential job losses at Marietta, which employs about 2,000 workers, could be reduced by shifting workers to other aircraft projects at the plant, including the C - 130J cargo plane," and that "some work on the F - 35, now done primarily at Lockheed's Fort Worth, Texas, factory, also could be shifted to Georgia.
The Fort Worth (TX) Star-Telegram (4/22, Cox) reports that "Loren Thompson, a staunch F - 22 advocate with the Lexington Institute, said Lockheed officals realized that their company stands to benefit more than any major contractor from Gates' defense-spending plans, including a decision to accelerate work on the F - 35." Thompson, "who serves as a consultant to Lockheed," added that "not only does it [Lockheed] look poised to benefit from those priorities, but it is determined to comfound critics who say the defense industry always blocks change."
