The Air Force would receive $1 billion rather than the requested $1.8 billion to keep its F-22 fighter plane flying, but could not put it into production unless a fully equipped model passes a series of performance tests under a compromise to be presented to the leaders of the House and Senate Appropriations committees Friday afternoon.
The immediate consequences of the deal, which is greased for approval, according to congressional and Pentagon sources, include ballooning next year's Air Force budget and delaying the production go-ahead for the prime contractor, Lockheed Martin Corp., until at least April 2001.
At that time, the so-called Block 3 F-22 equipped with its full set of electronics will be ready for testing.
The long-term consequences of this compromise could include cancellation or shrinkage of the $200 billion Joint Strike Fighter program because of money and funding problems, congressional and Air Force officials acknowledged Thursday.
The $1 billion is slated to be added to the $1.2 billion already in the Air Force FY2000 budget for F-22 research and development.
Within that extra $1 billion is $277 million for advanced procurement of the plane.
This leaves the Air Force with $723 million to build as many as six test aircraft.
"We're not telling the Air Force how many test aircraft it can build with that $725 million," said one congressional official familiar with the fine print in the compromise. "The service could buy six or fewer, depending on whether it decides to fully fund the program or do it incrementally.
"What is certain is that there will be a fight over the F-22 every year," the official said. "There is a lot of evidence that costs will go up on the avionics, casting doubt over the future of the program."
A Pentagon official familiar with the negotiations agreed that the compromise sets the stage for another big fight next year when this year's cut of the F-22 will have to be made up.
He said the Air Force will have to restructure its FY2001 budget to cover the increase, but has been promised help from Defense Secretary Cohen and his deputies.
Asked what Lockheed Martin will have to do differently in manufacturing the next six aircraft as research rather than production models, the official replied, "Nothing."
Critics see the changes imposed by House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Jerry Lewis, R-Calif., as just "putting a different dress" on the same old program.
Lewis and his allies, including Defense Appropriations Subcommittee ranking member John Murtha, D-Pa., counter that the deal assures the plane will not be allowed to go into production until it passes a series of performance tests.
Also, the $700 million taken out of the F-22 program, they say, will go for more urgent, current military programs.
"We made it clear that the testing" program planned by the Air Force "was inadequate," Murtha told reporters.
Murtha declined to provide details of the deal, which had been obtained by National Journal News Service. He charged that Air Force leaders in their pursuit of the F-22 were starving less glamorous programs of funds, including spare parts and the aerial tanker fleet.
The Air Force hopes to build 341 F-22s for about $200 million each, counting research and development costs.
Two test aircraft are already flying. With funds previously provided and this year's proposed addition, the Air Force could build as many as 17 F-22s, officials said.
During the tense, closed-door negotiations between Senate Appropriations Chairman Stevens, Lewis and other Senate and House leaders, the problem of Lockheed Martin demanding penalty payments for changing its F-22 contract was frequently discussed.
Pentagon officials said Thursday night "that Lockheed is aboard" on the compromise to be presented to Stevens, Lewis, Murtha and Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee ranking member Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, Friday afternoon.
A larger meeting of members of the Senate and House Appropriations panels is scheduled to review the F-22 compromise Monday.
If nothing else, said legislators and Pentagon officials, the long fight over the F-22 spotlighted that Congress will not pay for the three tactical aircraft the Pentagon has started: the F- 22, the Navy F/A-18 E and F fighter bomber, and the Joint Strike Fighter, which was envisioned as a program to build 2,852 planes for the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps and friendly foreign countries.
The Joint Strike Fighter is the most likely victim of this congressional resistance, which is expected to harden as soon as the cost overruns on the program come to light, said officials familiar with the latest figures.
The net result, said one knowledgeable official, is that the Air Force will settle for continuing production of the F-16 fighter bomber and the F-22 air superiority fighter while the Navy puts most of its aircraft money in the F/A-18 E and F.
This outcome would leave the Marine Corps in a bind, officials acknowledged, because the Corps passed up the F/A-18 E and F in favor of a Joint Strike Fighter, which could land and takeoff from short runways on land or at sea.