Pentagon budget cuts put fighter jets in cross hairs

Posted on: Jul. 27th, 2005 || Source: startribune.com | E-mail Article | Print Article

Pentagon budget cuts put fighter jets in cross hairs

WASHINGTON - The Pentagon is developing plans to slash the Air Force's two prized fighter-jet programs, according to Defense Department officials and outside experts.

Military planners are debating options to scale back the Air Force's F-35 joint strike fighter and the F/A-22 Raptor stealth fighter, both of which are built primarily by Lockheed Martin Corp. Some defense officials question spending billions of dollars on weapons that have little use against terrorist networks and other unconventional threats.

If the cutbacks occur, they will affect thousands of jobs in Fort Worth, where the midfuselage of the F/A-22 is built and the first test version of the F-35 is under construction. Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, the largest division of the giant defense contractor, employs about 16,000 people in Tarrant County, making it the county's second-largest employer.

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