New Pentagon Budget: Drones in, Manned Aircraft Out

(Feb. 1) -- The big technology winner in the new defense budget is clearly drones, with the Pentagon outlining plans to increase the number of unmanned aircraft flying in support of military operations. The military's manned aircraft did not fare nearly so well, however, with one aircraft program targeted for a major shake-up and another canceled.

The Pentagon released on Monday its fiscal year 2011 budget request along with a number of strategic reviews of defense policy, including the congressionally mandated Quadrennial Defense Review. That four-year review of the defense posture says the Air Force will boost its Predator/Reaper drone fleet, with plans to have 65 "orbits" -- the number of unmanned aircraft flying at any one time -- by fiscal year 2015.

That number is a significant increase over current levels of about 40 orbits and demonstrates Defense Secretary Robert Gates' continuing push to increase the Air Force drone fleet, which is in heavy demand over Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2008, for example, Gates battled with the Air Force to increase the number of continuous drone patrols to 36, according to the Los Angeles Times.

On the other side of the spectrum, two of the largest manned aircraft program took a beating in the new request. On Monday Gates singled out the military's largest-ever aircraft development program -- the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter -- for stinging criticism. In an unusual move, Gates said he was removing the current program manager and replacing him with an as yet unnamed three-star general and withholding more than half a billion dollars in award fees from Lockheed Martin, which builds the aircraft.

The Joint Strike Fighter shake-up follows Gates' groundbreaking decision last year to end production of the stealth F-22 fighter over initial Air Force and congressional opposition.

Nor is the Joint Strike Fighter the only manned aircraft program in Gates' cross hairs. The new budget request also shut down Boeing's C-17 production line, a transport aircraft that has enjoyed heavy support from Congress.

The one bright spot for manned aircraft is helicopters: both the Quadrennial Defense Review and the defense budget push for increasing rotary wing aircraft, which are in short supply in Afghanistan.

Gates' decision to replace the manager of the F-35 program follows a string of problems for the radar-evading fighter, including delays and cost increases. In explaining his decision, Gates said a review of the fighter over the past several months made it "clear there were more problems than we were aware of."

The F-35 is a multi-role stealth fighter that is being built in different configurations for the various military services, as well as for U.S. allies.

"One cannot absorb the additional costs we have in this program, and the delays, without people being held accountable," Gates said. "If I've set one tone ... it's that people will be held accountable."