Move on to save JSF and Raptor fighters.

Byline: Dave Montgomery

Jul. 28--WASHINGTON -- Lawmakers rallied to protect the F-35 joint strike fighter and F/A-22 Raptor on Wednesday after reports that the Lockheed Martin aircraft projects may be on the chopping block in the Pentagon.

Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said the warplanes have "solid support" in Congress and vowed to help fend off Pentagon efforts to reduce or eliminate either of the two big-ticket aircraft programs.

Significant cuts to these programs "could be disastrous," said Rep. Kay Granger, R-Fort Worth, whose district includes Lockheed Martin Aeronautics' headquarters. "I don't expect that to happen and will work to make sure it doesn't."

The Los Angeles Times reported that the Pentagon is developing plans to slash the two aircraft programs, which employ thousands of workers in Fort Worth. A defense official familiar with the deliberations told the Star-Telegram that the cuts are among a range of options being discussed but stressed that no decisions have been made.

"It's still early in the process," said the official, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the internal discussions. "A lot of options are on the table."

One of the more drastic proposals, he acknowledged, is to sharply reduce -- possibly by half -- the 1,763 joint strike fighters that the Air Force plans to buy over the multidecade life of the $245 billion program. A Lockheed-led manufacturing team plans to build 2,443 F-35s for the Air Force, Navy and Marines.