Why the Air Force Can't Get Off the Ground

"Sens. Roger Wicker and Eric Schmitt convincingly argue that the U.S. Air Force must have more manned combat aircraft even as it prepares for the transition to unmanned airpower ("How the U.S. Air Force Can Reclaim the Skies," op-ed, Oct. 14). But that requires an aviation industry capable of producing those aircraft -- and the U.S. aviation industry has declined disastrously because of a fundamental error made by then-Defense Secretary Dick Cheney, which his successors failed to correct.

Knowing that the end of the Cold War would reduce demand for manned aircraft, he encouraged the aviation industry's "consolidation" to the point that we have only one fighter house for the U.S. Air Force, Navy, Marines and most of our allies (Lockheed Martin), one producer of large military aircraft of every category (Boeing) and one producer of stealth bombers (Northrop Grumman), each a perfect monopoly.

Unsurprisingly, they behave as monopolies always do, price-gouging the Pentagon, focusing on protecting their monopolies by hiring hordes of retired officers, as well as lobbyists galore. They place lawyers and accountants far above engineers in their decision hierarchy.

The consequences were perfectly predictable. The U.S. Air Force tanker program, based on the conversion of the already outdated 767 passenger airliners -- a straightforward job, done many times before -- has repeatedly been delayed over the years by Boeing's somnolent management and demoralized engineers. The Air Force and U.S. allies like Israel now must still use 50-year-old tankers.

But the most elementary consequence of monopoly is to push up prices. Certainly Lockheed's inexcusable fighter monopoly has resulted in very high and rising prices for all types of F-35s, by now a rather old aircraft whose most innovative feature, the helmet-mounted display, wasn't developed by Lockheed.

Edward N. Luttwak

Chevy Chase, Md.

Mr. Luttwak is author of "The Art of Military Innovation" and other books." [1]

1. Why the Air Force Can't Get Off the Ground. Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 22 Oct 2024: A.16.