[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 61 (Tuesday, May 17, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                             NAVAL AVIATION

 Mr. D'AMATO. Mr. President, the budget process for fiscal year 
1996 is in full swing over in the Pentagon, and some of the early 
reports are disturbing in the extreme. In particular, naval aviation 
appears to be teetering on the brink of catastrophe.
  As my colleagues know, the proposed 1995 budget request terminates 
each Navy and Marine helicopter program but the AH-1W. Fixed-wing 
aircraft procurement drops to 40, with an additional 4 remanufactures. 
This is well below attrition.
  Now, I read that the proposed fiscal year 1996 budget will slash 24 
of 48 F/A-18C/D's, 24 of 72 F/A-18E/F's, 18 of 18 AH-1W's, 1 of 16 E-
2C's, and a bevy of air-to-air and air-to-ground weapons from the 
fiscal year 1995-99 5-year defense plan. V-22 and armed SH-60B will 
slip a year and F-14 upgrades will be gutted. One wonders just what is 
going to be left of naval aviation by the time the CVN-76 is 
christened.
  Just for fun, I urge my colleagues to request copies of the latest 
naval aviation plan [NAP], if it exists. The NAP, when it is published, 
includes projections of aircraft requirements versus inventory over 
then next several decades. My colleagues may be surprised to discover 
that the Navy will be experiencing significant shortfalls in almost 
every category of aircraft. Something to consider when we are asked to 
support yet another multibillion-dollar aircraft carrier this year.
  In the meantime, I would like to share an article from the May 9, 
1994, edition of Defense Week by Eric Rosenberg entitled ``To Meet 
Budget Targets, Big Cuts Proposed by Navy Aviators.'' I ask that the 
article be included in the Record at the end of my remarks.
  The article follows:

                    [From Defense Week, May 9, 1994]

       To Meet Budget Targets, Big Cuts Proposed by Navy Aviators

                          (By Eric Rosenberg)

       The Navy is recommending steep cuts to a front-line fighter 
     bomber and its top-priority costly successor, according to 
     internal documents obtained by Defense Week. In addition, the 
     documents detail delays to the V-22 tilt rotor, the Marine 
     Corps' No. 1 program.
       The Navy is also seeking to either kill or slow several 
     other major aviation-related projects, including AMRAAM and 
     SLAM missile variants, the documents said.
       The multi-billion dollar program cuts were detailed in a 
     50-plus page April 12 memorandum written by the Navy's air 
     warfare division. The cuts underscore an intense Pentagon 
     debate as the service slashes its mainstay programs to meet 
     budget reduction targets in fiscal 1996 and beyond.
       The document doesn't tinker with the overall force level 
     laid out in the ``bottom-up'' review, the guiding precepts of 
     the Clinton-era Pentagon. That document recommended a 12-
     aircraft carrier Navy, 11 service air wings and four Marine 
     air wings.
       Should the Navy and Pentagon leadership accept them, the 
     proposals will significantly hurt the balance sheet of 
     McDonnell Douglas Corp., maker of the F/A-18 E/F. The 
     proposals will also wound an industrial team of Bell-
     Helicopter Textron Inc. and the Boeing Co.'s helicopter unit, 
     makers of the V-22 Osprey.
       At press time, reports were circulating in the Navy that 
     the service leadership was scrambling to overrule the F/A-18 
     E/F reduction. But the reports could not be independently 
     verified.
       Senior Navy officials conducting the budget planning told 
     the aviation segment ``to accept modernization reductions to 
     emphasize recapitalization,'' the document said. The aviation 
     segment also was told to ``accommodate acquisition 
     adjustments.''
       ``Recapitalization'' is the Navy's far-reaching effort to 
     close bases and retire older model ships, planes and 
     submarines to pay for new state-of-the-art equipment.
       The military services currently are in the throes of 
     crafting their program objectives memoranda, or POM, the 
     long-range budget blueprint. They are scheduled to complete 
     the planning by May 20, when the recommendations will be 
     forwarded to Defense Secretary William Perry's staff for 
     review. The Pentagon will work through the summer on the 
     spending plan, which will form the basis of the fiscal 1996 
     submission to Congress next January.
       A senior Navy official familiar with the proposals said 
     last week there was little ``gold-watching'' in the plans, a 
     reference to disingenuous budgeting.
       According to the documents, the Navy is proposing to slash 
     24 F/A-18 C/Ds from long-range plans, worth approximately 
     $1.4 billion. Twelve would be cut from the 24 jets that were 
     planned for fiscal 1996 and 12 from fiscal 1997. The action 
     would stop production after the fiscal 1996.
       The recommendations also would pare 12 F/A-18 E/F models 
     from fiscal 1998, leaving on the books 12 jets, and another 
     12 jets in fiscal 1999, leaving 24 planes. The proposal would 
     slash $1.5 billion from the program. Twelve planes would be 
     added to fiscal 2001, upping procurement from 36 to 48 jets.
       The latter proposal is especially noteworthy, as the 
     aircraft is the Navy's stated No. 1 priority. It is being 
     designed as the service's cornerstone jet of the future, able 
     to perform bombing and fighter missions. But a senior Navy 
     official claimed the action didn't signify slipping Navy 
     support.
       Asked about the proposals, Lt. Jim Fallin, a Navy spokesman 
     said: ``The navy is in the process of looking at various 
     options on how best to structure our forces to meet current 
     and future requirements within fiscal constraints. It would 
     be inappropriate to discuss that process while it is still 
     on-going.''
       Concerning another top-priority project, the V-22, the 
     document offered scant detail other than comment, ``Slide V-
     22 procurement.'' The Marines were planning to buy their No. 
     1 priority tilt rotor beginning in fiscal 1997, but a chart 
     accompanying the documents shows production beginning one 
     year later.
       A senior Navy official said this recommendation, which 
     could draw the wrath of lawmakers and White House program 
     supporters, was up for negotiation.
       Other key actions the Navy aviation branch recommended 
     included ending the Bell Helicopter Textron Inc. AH-1W 
     helicopter program after fiscal 1995. The service had planned 
     to buy 18 of the choppers in fiscal 1996 and 1997. The action 
     will pare some $220 million from the books. It also will 
     necessitate the procurement of a successor helicopter six 
     years sooner than planned, the documents said.
       The Navy had planned to buy four new E-2C Hawkeye 
     surveillance planes annually through fiscal 2001. But the 
     service has proposed buying only three E-2Cs in fiscal 1996, 
     saving $58 million.
       In a challenge to Pentagon civilians, the Navy is proposing 
     the cancellation of the F-14 block I upgrade, an effort to 
     outfit Tomcats with laser-guided bomb capability.
       The Navy authors understood that this was a risky 
     proposition because it was ``specifically endorsed by the 
     secretary of defense in the bottom-up review,'' said the 
     documents. In the program's place, the service is proposing a 
     cheaper, ``slowed F-14 A/B upgrade program.''
       The documents said the service wants to end its commitment 
     to the Air Force-led Advanced Medium-Range Air-To-Air 
     Missile's pre-planned product improvement. The Navy proposed 
     cancelling the effort ``due to fiscal constraints.'' 
     Additionally, the Navy wants to ``slow procurement of AMRAAM 
     down'' to save money.
       Also offered up for termination was the Advanced Rocket 
     System, designed to replace 2.75-inch and five-inch rockets. 
     The Navy will instead buy additional 2.75-inch systems.
       In addition, the service proposed a steep reduction to the 
     AV-8B remanufacture program, also a McDonnell Douglas effort. 
     Where the Marine Corps was seeking to rebuild 86 jets with 
     new equipment from fiscal 1996 through 2001, the Navy is 
     proposing 64 jets over the same period, paring $503 million. 
     The Navy said the proposal ``retains flexibility'' and that 
     ``new aircraft remain a future option.''
       Other key actions proposed by the Navy:
       ``Slowing down'' the AIM-9X Sidewinder successor;
       Delaying fielding of the Joint Standoff Weapon ``BLU-108'' 
     two years to fiscal 2003. The unitary warhead is unaffected;
       Delaying procurement of the Joint Primary Aircraft Trainer 
     System by one year until fiscal 1998;
       Delaying funding of the SH-60B armed helicopter from fiscal 
     1996 to 1997; slipping fielding one year to fiscal 1999;
       Reducing the P-3 maritime patrol aircraft force levels 
     significantly. Last year, the Navy planned a fleet of 13 
     active and nine reserve P-3 squadrons. A new proposal on the 
     table calls for cutting the force to six active and six 
     reserve squadrons, with two squadrons forward deployed;
       Cancelling the Standoff Land Attack Missile expanded 
     response variant and signing up to the Air Force-led Tri-
     Service Standoff Attack Missile.

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