European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 23, 1968, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Ill  Iii the costly bargain i Iii a i i i i by Dick Barnes a staff writer More delay and higher spending loom in the controversial and costly Effort launched six years ago wit the idea of producing at a bargain a tactical warplane that would serve both the air Force and the Navy. Congress has already invested$5.3 billion in the fill pro Gram originally dubbed thetfo. But it is on the verge of shooting Down the Navy s ver Sion of the plane now called the f111b. And three of eight air Force versions of the swinging supersonic Jet literally went Downin late March and april during the plane s first exposure to combat. Despite these latest blows tothe joint program fathered and pursued by former Secretary of defense Robert s. Mcnamara principally As a Money saving venture work continues on fill development test and production lines. At the same time testimony recently made Public by the Senate armed services commit tee includes these harbingers of new delay and More Cost Mcnamara who has since resigned said the air Force Supply of the f111a would rebuilt up somewhat More slowly than planned last year in order to permit a More orderly phase in of the d Model. Thef111d, with the Superior Mark ii avionics now under develop ment promises to provide a fourfold improvement in navigational accuracy Over the f111a, plus a better All weather air to ground weapon delivery accuracy and an All weather radar guided air to ground weapon delivery accuracy and an All weather radar guided air to air missile  Navy spokesmen testified that designing a substitute for their f111b would mean a delaying getting a suitable missile Tot ing Carrier based interceptor tothe Fleet. Length of the delay was classified. Secretary of the Navy Paul r. Ignatius also said scrapping the f111b would raise costs of the f111a. But the com Mittee told the Navy to godhead and figure out what it would need to substitute for thef111b. Gen. John p. Mcconnell air Force chief of staff testified that phaseout of b52 bombers has been slowed to maintain the total bomber Force at an effective level Over a period in which the fb111 will be pro cured at a slower rate than was originally  the fb111is a strategic bomber version of the fill. It should not be con fused with the Navy s f111b. The Overall fill pro Gram has produced since 1962 a Jungle of figures claims an accusations. Sen. John l. Mcclellan d Poge 12 ark., chairman of a subcommittee that has investigated the fill program for five years said the Pentagon first estimated it could acquire 1,700 plane for $6 billion including $711 Mil lion for research. Now he said the estimate is $12 billion or More for 1,300 planes including$2 billion in research. The Pentagon will not say How Many fills it intends to eventually buy. A newly declassified Penta gon summary shows that in budgets through june 30, 1968,Congress has approved $5.3 Bil lion in spending for the pro Gram including $2.1 billion for research and $3.2 billion for production. Through Jan. 31, the depart ment of defense had signed agreements covering $4.5 billion and had already issued checks for $2.9  $7 of every $10 in each of these categories has been allotted to the air Force s f111a.current flyaway Cost of an f111a is $6.76 million Accord ing to defense department statistics provided this year tothe Senate armed services committee. This does not in clude the Cost of such necessities As spare parts training simulators and ground support equipment. Secretary of the Navy Ignatius testified that flyaway Cost for the f111b is $8.1 Mil , he told the committee these two programs share the contractor s facilities and if the Navy plane were terminated there would be an upward effect on the Cost of the air Force air planes and we Are developing these  present production order awarded to general dynamics corp. Of fort Worth tex., the prime contractor is for 493planes at a Cost of $1.82 billion. The last plane is to be delivered in 1971. Original end of run tar get Date was late 1970. Only 24of the 493 Are to be Navy  $1.82 billion contract does not include such items Asen Gines purchased by the govern ment from another  claimed at the Start of  that using one Basic plane for both serv ices would save $1 billion through commonality use of Many identical systems an parts in both planes. Scrapping of the Navy version As now contemplated presumably would nullify Many of these claimed savings. Central characteristic of the fill is its swinging design. Extension of the wings permit slow speeds and Short landings. The wings Are swung Bac along the fuselage for supersonic  of the plane differ however in such areas ask weight Wing length nose con figuration and fuselage length. I the air Force says the Al 11a satisfies its needs but concedes the variable Wing Jet does not aboriginal goals. Commonality Between the Navy and air Force planes is about 70 per cent the air Force said Al though in 1962 it was estimated the planes could be 80 per Cen common. Asked what an alternate plan designed solely for the Navy would Cost Secretary of the Navy Ignatius said i am not Able at this time to answer that part of the question that deals with the Cost of an  the defense department has already issued $376.4 million in f111b contracts and $342.8 Mil lion in contracts for the Phoenix missile the Navy plane is to carry. An alternate plane also would be armed with the Phoe Nix according to present plans. By Way of Price comparison the air Force is paying $2.4 million flyaway Cost for thef4e fighter. This is the latest Model of the f4 series first approved for production in 1955. The f4 comprises the majority of air Force tactical fighter forces and also is Anavy plane. Aside from costs the plane produced by the program get a varied reaction. The air Force says the f111a satisfies its needs but concedes it does not match the original goals for the Craft. Navy brass says the f111b i too heavy for carriers and can t do As Many jobs As they hop edit would perform. Criticism of the f111b performance climaxed in april when the Senate armed serv ices committee rejected a Navy request for $460 million to fur ther develop and evaluate the f111b, and procure 30 planes. The committee ordered in the defense spending authorization Bill that none of the funds authorized to be appropriated by this act May be used for development or procurement of the f111b  it also voted$287 million for initial develop ment of a substitute for thef111b. He decisions Are subject to full congressional action late this year but Congress is not expected to overturn the commit tee. Rep. Jim Wright of Texas leading defender of the fill said he had no plan to fight for retention of the f111b unless the Navy wants  they Don t want it i m not going to cram it Down their throats said Wright a demo crat whose District includes fort Worth where the fill is made. Nonetheless Clark m. Clif Ford Mcnamara s successor As defense Secretary told the House armed services commit tee that Congress should vote Money both for continued evaluation of the f111b and for contractor proposals on a substitute. He said this would keep options open until March 1969 and with this additional information we could then make a sounder Choice be tween the two  the air Force s f111a had finally won at least grudging acceptance from its critics until the string of War losses in Southeast  a secrecy shrouded opera Tion dubbed Harvest reaper six fellas arrived in March at Rakhli air base 10 Miles Portnof Bangkok Thailand. In Quick order an f111a won Down March 28, and another crashed March 30.two substitute Fulas went to Rakhli. Then on april another fill a failed to a turn from a Mission. Four othe six crewmen involved an still missing. F. Rom Capitol Hill came de mands that the planes be � in drawn from combat. Sen. Karl Mundl i -s.d, Saio on the Senate floor it is n Jan Dattory that the remaining a Harvest reaper r brought Back immediate Vietnam and not ictus Neo combat until they Are full esl de and ready.".  said m an Mie View the air Force on fast of it should fou Najj withdraw the piano in Bat until they by s wrong with it Ami . Suicidal to Send of congressman Wrinkl the stars and stripes remarkable piece of the greatest adva. C state of the Art Eyer put Ber in a single Pat  thursday a Mcclellan said his per in investigations sub com \ would continue its five investigation of the fill fam As soon As i can do would not get pinned  wreckage of Only one has been found in South Sia. It is being collected till be minutely examined Pes. The first causes Given air Force was that a object a capsule of so sealant had become in the pitch Roll mixer Bly of the flight controls by rendering the aircraft liable under certain ions of  prelim analysis had ruled out sign failure of the flight1 or terrain follow a items. Needle nosed fill a Fea la radar guidance sys Pich carries it Low Overend and under enemy and fire automatically Altitude to match � also carries self de equipment designed to h equipment before can get it. J fellas and one f111bcrashed during the pro 10 �00 hours of i air Force located Fig the first 5,000 hours t time of other pro and said these planes Raa Jor accidents during a we to u Down r throats Bright. 99 1968 those periods five f4s, seve fidos eleven flows nine f102s, fourteen f104s, eight loss and seven f106s. Frank Davis president of the fort Worth division of Gen eral dynamics the division that builds the plane was asked if he thought testing was sufficient before the f111a went into  replied that the company had tested it for 5,700 hours an the air Force for another 3,300  conditions expected in actual combat operation had been thoroughly explored he said in an interview. He claimed that the fact that three losses under combat conditions occurred in close succession is probably not significant either from a statistical standpoint or from the standpoint of the integ Rity of the fill aircraft. It is characteristic of virtually Al aircraft that the Accident rate increases on the first exposure to real combat  0 Date 61 fellas have come off the production line an flown. By june 10 a month Are due to come off the line and that rate is to increase to 14 or 15 monthly by the end of the  delays and increasing costs general dynamics still expect to make Money on the fill program. Roger Lewis president of the Overall corporation told stockholders in Chi Cago april 24 there is no question of anticipated  question is one of How much profit to Book in a Given  the original award envisioned 9 per cent profit margin. The air Force said it has no present profit estimate available. The air Force was asked i View of Mcnamara s statement on the f111a production slow Down to say How Many planes originally were ordered for Fis Cal 1969 and How Many now Are expected. The defense depart ment replied that production de tails Are  a slowdown also occurred a year ago. In january1967, Mcnamara told two sen ate committees with respect to the f111a, we now plan to buy somewhat fewer aircraft i fiscal 1968 than we planned last year so As to be Able to include certain improvements which Are now being made in More of the  v they Don t Jav he first f111d with it advanced electronic gear is expected off the line in Early 1969.Mcnamara said the new equip ment will be used As soon As itis made available by the avionics subcontractor aut one tie division of North american Rockwell corp., Anaheim Calif. The perhaps 160 air Force fills produced before the so called Mark ii system is Avail Able will almost certainly keep their original avionics systems because the planes speak Dif Ferent computer languages. If the plane had been originally designed Only for the air Force it might have turned out differently. 99 a general dynamics spokes Man said. When the fill was designed the Navy and air Force each made concessions to commonality so the planes would be As much alike As feasible. In a Senate appropriations hearing july 14, 1967, Paul Nitze now no. 2 Man in the department of defense was asked about one of the air Force s original distance requirements. I think the air Force is pre pared to live with less than that he said and indicated under questioning that Compro Mises also had been reached another requirements. The air Force was asked whether in the event the f111b is junked it would push for de sign changes to eliminate concessions made to communal  defense department said there Are no plans for such changes. Configuration of the f111a is not dependent on whether or not the Navy air Craft will be produced the department said. One knowledgeable source agreed that if the plane had been originally designed Only for the air Force it might have turned out differently from the f111a that evolved but such differences were categorized As pure speculation. In any event until and unless the government gives a Stop or Der work on the Navy s f111bis moving ahead. Land based catapult tests Are under Way at a Tuxen naval air test Center in Maryland and Carrier tests Are scheduled. Five Al lbs have been delivered. Units 6, 7 and s Are on the production line and presently scheduled for delivery in june Early autumn and january respectively. The Navy had already begun looking for an f111bsubstitute. Mcnamara told the Senate panel the Navy has been examining As i mentioned in my state ment a new plane known As the fax As its next generation fighter aircraft and has received proposals from three contractors for that aircraft and May receive a proposal from a  the first proposal came from Grumman aircraft engineering  longtime builder of Navy planes and general dynamics prime subcontractor for the f111b. Mcnamara said that in the event the f111b does not per form satisfactorily in the car Rier tests or in the event some other difficulties arise this would be a possible alternative although it seems to present a unlikely  whether the separate via program or the fill hassle was the real target of contractor proposals seemed clouded by this Exchange at a late committee session among Secretary Ignatius sen. Stuart Symington do. And sen. Henry m. Jackson a Wash Symington for the record will the senator identify thef111x?" Jackson the f111x is the proposed alternate to the f111b which i believe is in the stud phase now. The Secretary referred to it earlier and said they expect to get a report in the next few  that is Correct. We have four proposals from four aircraft companies. The first that came in was from Grum .-Man.". General dynamics official shave argued privately that no other contractor could do much of anything different in building an f111b substitute unless the Mission requirements were  the armed services committee voted to dump thef111b, it told the Navy to say what it needs for a replace ment. Ignatius and adm. Thomas a Moorer chief of naval operations said later that fact find ing and Cost estimates would take about eight to 12  does the Cost delay spi ral go on. Congress chopped funds for Al 1 1 b and Navy admits it s looking for a substitute the stars and stripes Page 13