Pentagon Defers F-22 Funding Decision to Next Administration
(NSI News Source Info) WASHINGTON - November 24, 2008: To avoid unnecessary taxpayer spending, Defense Department officials here are only partially funding the expansion of F-22 Raptor aircraft production, leaving the decision for further expansion to the incoming presidential administration.
John J. Young Jr., the undersecretary of Defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, told members of the air and land forces subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee in a Nov. 19 hearing that he has approved $50 million for advance procurement for four F-22s.
DOD officials will include the purchase of these four aircraft in the second fiscal 2009 supplemental budget request, he said.
The decision on whether to use the rest of the $140 million allocated in the 2009 National Defense Authorization Act for advance procurement for up to 16 more F-22s will be up to the President-elect Barack Obama administration in January, Mr. Young said. Procurement of the four F-22s provides a bridge to give the new administration every option with the program. "The department is acting responsibly, consistent with (Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates') commitment and congressional direction, seeking to ensure that each tax dollar is used carefully and efficiently," he said.
DOD officials are delaying the advance procurement on the remaining 16 aircraft to save taxpayer money should the President-elect Obama administration decide not to purchase the aircraft, Mr. Young said. However, he acknowledged, if the new administration delays its decision on the F-22s past January, it could face higher costs from the manufacturers.
The National Defense Authorization Act authorizes advance procurement for the F-22s until March, and if the decision on the remaining aircraft doesn't come until then, there is a very real chance the cost for the planes could go up, Mr. Young said. However, he cautioned that the estimates for those higher prices are based on industry estimates that haven't been negotiated. "I'm not ignoring the industry estimates, but I'm also not granting them credibility, and so ... if we do nothing until March, I could face -- and that's what I was told by industry -- a cost, which I would seek to negotiate away on behalf of the government," Mr. Young said.
Countering committee members' claims that he was acting in defiance of Congress by not funding all 20 aircraft, Mr. Young said the law doesn't require him to buy the planes all at once, and his goal is to save the taxpayers’ money.
"Can I buy that advance procurement as four plus 16, instead of 20, and impose no additional cost on the taxpayer and preserve the total flexibility and option of the next administration to come and discuss with the Congress whether they want to buy the airplanes behind the advance procurement? And that is the option, having convinced myself that that is possible, we sought to execute," he said.
DOD officials have done a legitimate analysis of the F-22 program, and though some Air Force officials may disagree, Secretary Gates said he believes the department is on its way to the right mix of aircraft, Mr. Young said.
"From Secretary Gates down, there has been a hard look at that analysis and a view that it is a higher priority to do other things in the Defense Department than buy additional F-22s at this time," he said.
U.K. MoD Selects Navistar for Mission Specific Tactical Support Vehicle
(NSI News Source Info) WARRENVILLE, Ill. - November 24, 2008: Navistar Defense, LLC today expanded its worldwide customer list to include the United Kingdom through the Ministry of Defence’s Tactical Support Vehicle (TSV) program.
The United Kingdom announced in late October that it had earmarked £350 million (~US$525 million) for 400 TSV units. Navistar has formally entered into contract negotiations to provide 260 TSV Husky units based off its International® MXT™ platform to meet an urgent need. The company anticipates that the contract will be ratified in early 2009.
The Husky, which is the medium TSV variant, will be procured for specific missions in three vehicle types: utility, ambulance and command vehicle. Currently, delivery of the vehicles is scheduled to begin in the first half of the 2009 calendar year.
“Navistar is proud to participate in the TSV program and offer the U.K. a flexible MXT platform that can be rapidly modified to meet urgent requirements,” said Robert Puhalovich, sales director, Navistar Defense. “We will continue to deliver on our commitment to provide a comprehensive value solution that includes military vehicles, and worldwide parts and field service support.”
The MXT is designed to fill a gap that exists between the smaller traditional armored 4x4’s that may be payload challenged, and the larger class of Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles that may be mobility restrained for certain mission requirements.
"Leveraging our current commercial capabilities and assets allows Navistar Defense to rapidly respond," said Archie Massicotte, president, Navistar Defense. "Providing the International MXT for the TSV program is another example of how Navistar Defense is not only supporting the U.S. military, but NATO allies."
Final assembly of the MXT TSV units will occur at the company’s West Point, Miss., assembly plant, which has produced more than 5,300 International® MaxxPro™ MRAP vehicles. MXT Husky units will be powered by MaxxForce D 6.0 L V8 engines.
The TSV contract award follows Navistar’s selection in October as one of nine finalists to compete to replace the U.K.’s light tactical wheeled vehicle fleet in the highly-competitive Operational Utility Vehicle Systems (OUVS) program. Navistar will provide vehicles for testing and trials in 2009 to replace a portion of the army’s fleet, which includes Land Rover, Wolf, Reynolds Boughton RB-44 and Pinzgauer vehicles. Current estimates place the opportunity at greater than 4,000 units. Vehicles submitted for the OUVS program will also be based on the MXT platform.
