Industry leader sees change in Pentagon weapons-buying priorities as unlikely

An aerospace industry leader said Thursday he does not expect Defense Department officials to dramatically alter their weapons-buying priorities for the next several years, despite an increased focus among Pentagon planners on combating terrorism.

John Douglass, president of the Aerospace Industries Association, told reporters that many of the tools needed during the Cold War are still crucial to winning the war on terrorism. Douglass, a former Navy assistant secretary, argued that Cold War staples such as precision munitions, long-range strike capabilities and aerial refueling tankers are just as critical for combating terrorists as they are to fight large state enemies.

"There has been somewhat of a myth, I think, floating around that moving off of the Cold War and onto the war on terrorism was going to make some radical change in what the services need," Douglass said. "And I think that's fundamentally wrong."

But Douglass acknowledged that some of the military's most ambitious aerospace programs will not be unscathed by current Pentagon efforts to trim $32 billion from its projected budgets over the next five years. To save money, the Pentagon wants to cancel the so-called alternate engine for the pricey Joint Strike Fighter, essentially edging a General Electric/Rolls-Royce team off the program and allowing Pratt & Whitney to proceed as the sole engine provider.

"Is it really the right thing to do to settle up only one engine manufacturer for a military airplane?" asked Douglass, who listed the Joint Strike Fighter decision among some "very troubling" reports on the Pentagon's latest budget plans.

Douglass also addressed reports that the Defense Department plans to close down production of the C-17 Globemaster III cargo plane. "All I've heard all my life is about the airlift shortfall that we've had," said Douglass, a former Air Force officer. "It's still there."

Douglass's opposition to any major C-17 cuts would most likely receive strong congressional backing in the upcoming fiscal 2007 budget debates. Roughly 700 firms around the country have a hand in C-17 production, making it one of the most ardently supported weapons systems on Capitol Hill.

The conference report on the recently enacted fiscal 2006 defense authorization bill includes a Senate amendment to authorize a multiyear procurement of up to 42 additional cargo planes and keep production lines open until the Defense Department completes another assessment of aircraft cargo needs.

Overall, Pentagon officials have told Douglass that President Bush's fiscal 2007 defense budget, expected to be released Feb. 6, will generally match what the president projected for next year when he submitted his fiscal 2006 budget. That could mean only a slight decrease in the military's research and development accounts, and a $10 billion to $13 billion boost in funding for weapons-system production.

"So that is a positive thing for the industry," Douglass said.