Number of F-22s insufficient, ex-chief says

WASHINGTON —- A former chief of the U.S. Air Force’s combat operations told members of Congress Thursday that the Air Force needs more than double the number of Marietta-made F-22 Raptor fighter jets than the Defense Department has said it will buy.

Retired Gen. Richard Hawley, who was commander of the Air Force Air Combat Command in 1999 before becoming a defense industry consultant, said he found “the logic suspect” behind the Defense Department’s recent decision to end the F-22 program in about two years after buying 187 of the $140 million-plus, stealthy fighter jets.

He said analyses he was involved in at the Air Force indicated the need for at least 381 to defend the country against a major opponent. A smaller number, he told a Senate panel, “appears to be imprudent.” As a consultant, Hawley said he has done very little work for F-22 maker Lockheed Martin Corp.

Led by Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) and Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-Ga.), congressional backers fight for the F-22 though Lockheed has said it won’t protest the Pentagon’s plans.

Chambliss said Thursday that the country would have only 100 combat-ready planes at any given time. He and Gingrey have said they want at least 20 more built. Their best bet is to insert funding into a Defense Department supplemental budget request.