CONTRACT DOG FIGHT PENTAGON EYES JSF PROGRAM TIMETABLE.

Byline: Jim Skeen Staff Writer

PALMDALE - The Pentagon is rejecting any proposals to slow the joint strike fighter program but will wait until after the competitors fly their prototypes before deciding on a ``winner-take-all'' approach to production, the Defense Department's No. 2 official said Tuesday.

During a visit to Air Force Plant 42, Deputy Secretary of Defense Rudy de Leon said the Pentagon wants to keep the JSF program on schedule to keep costs down and to meet timetables to replace the aging harrier and F-16 fleets. The deputy secretary was at Plant 42 to look at the competing JSF prototypes being built by Boeing and Lockheed Martin.

``If you slow the program down you create problems for the program,'' de Leon said. ``The defense secretary (William Cohen) has made it very clear to Congress he wants to keep the program on track.''

The General Accounting Office, the auditing arm of Congress, has recommended slowing the JSF program, citing concerns about the development of technology needed for the fighters. The relative immaturity of the technology heightens the risk of cost overruns on the program, the GAO argued.

In what is described by de Leon as the largest aircraft procurement program in history, the Pentagon plans to buy more than 3,000 joint strike fighter aircraft to replace the Air Force F-16, the Navy F/A-18 and the Marine Corps AV-8B harrier. The British Royal Navy and other U.S. allies are also interested in acquiring the jet.

The JSF is worth a potential $750 billion to $1 trillion over the lifetime of the program. The program is expected to generate as many as 10,000 production jobs and 40,000 other jobs for suppliers and subcontractors.

One of the hottest topics for the program is whether it will remain a winner-take-all contract award. Some Pentagon officials are advocating finding ways to split the contract among the competing teams to ensure both companies stay viable as tactical aircraft producers.

The deputy secretary, however, said it is too early to have a discussion on that issue. The Pentagon needs to see the prototypes fly this summer before making an evaluation on production options.

``The short-term goal is to get the airplanes airborne and get good data,'' de Leon said.

Each of the competing companies is building two prototypes. The aircraft are expected to fly this summer and will conduct much of their flight tests at Edwards Air Force Base.

Antelope Valley officials are trying to get both companies to consider building the fighters in Palmdale. Both companies, however, have indicated they want to go elsewhere.

Lockheed Martin wants to build the fighters in Fort Worth, Texas, where the F-16 fighters were built.

Boeing wants to build the fighters in St. Louis where the F-15 fighters were built.

Rep. Howard ``Buck'' McKeon, R-Santa Clarita, whose district includes Air Force Plant 42, was able to include language in the House of Representatives' version of the 2001 Defense Authorization Act requiring the Pentagon to perform a study of the cost-effectiveness of various production sites, including Palmdale.

Antelope Valley officials hope the study will show substantial savings by building the aircraft in Palmdale.

CAPTION(S):

4 photos

Photo: (1 -- 2 -- color; 1 -- color in AV and SAC only; 2 -- ran in AV and SAC edition only) Above, Boeing's Jerry Daniel, left, and Deputy Secretary of Defense Rudy de Leon tour the X-32A joint strike fighter. At right, from left, de Leon, Maj. Gen. Michael A. Hough and Program Manager Gary Ervin view the cockpit of the Lockheed X-35.

(3 -- 4 -- color -- ran in AV edition only) Pentagon officials believe that any change in the rate of the joint strike force program, featuring the Boeing's X-32A, above, and Lockheed's X-35, below, will create problems for the program.

Jeff Goldwater/Staff Photographer