In Transition

While Kaminski wouldn’t discuss individual weapons systems, one clearly under scrutiny is the F-22 Raptor fighter, which the Air Force would like to continue building for three years at an annual cost of $4 billion. Some Pentagon officials and independent defense analysts have branded the high-tech aircraft unnecessary for the kind of irregular combat the U.S. has been waging in the Middle East. However, supporters of the Lockheed Martin Corp. plane say curtailment would idle thousands of aerospace workers during hard times.

Also under review is Boeing Co.’s C-17 Globemaster cargo plane, production of which is due to end this year or in 2010, and the Air Force’s new midair refueling tanker. The Pentagon awarded the tanker program’s first installment, worth $35 billion, to a team led by Northrop Grumman Corp. in February, but the Government Accountability Office (GAO) ruled in June that the competition was not fair to Boeing, which also bid on the work. The Pentagon subsequently cancelled the competition and deferred to the next administration the decision on how to proceed.

On a related matter, Kaminski urged the incoming administration to review export controls on sensitive defense-related technology and services — measures he contends are hindering efforts to combat cyberterrorism. Kaminski said many of the controls were holdovers from the Cold War and unnecessarily restrict U.S. companies from selling to overseas customers. “They were designed to protect us during the Cold War and did a good job,” Kaminski said. “Now, I believe they do net harm.”

— Adriel Bettelheim