Changes at the Pentagon benefit many companies and individual people. Apart from the obvious fact that positive changes in the Pentagon help save soldier and civilian lives in the long term, the Pentagon’s changes benefit the nation as a whole. The F-22 Raptors, the Air Force’s most expensive plane type, are being “phased out by [the] fiscal year 2011” (Robert Gates, U.S. Defense Secretary). The Air Force also plans to cut off the building of 23 presidential helicopters, which were estimated to cost as a whole $13 billion to build.
As the economic recession grows worse, Robert Gates has held back on excessive air force spending “until we have a better understanding of the need, the requirement and the technology.” With the United States’ trillion dollar deficit, Robert Gates has successfully saved the United States billions of dollars.
However, the “phasing” of the F-22 Raptors will have severe consequences on companies such as Lockheed Martin. Lockheed Martin was the company primarily responsible for making the F-22’s.
Lockheed Martin was formed by Glenn L. Martin and the Loughead brothers, Malcolm and Allan. They first started becoming interested in flying in 1909, and began their first flights in 1913.
After many test flights and aviation sketches, the three men began to branch out. They made the Loughead F-1 Flying Boat, and sold it to the U.S. Navy in 1918. Also, the Loughead brothers made their first military sale in the same year- the Curtiss HS-2L flying boat was designed and sold to the Navy as well.
In the 1920’s, Loughead and Martin named their growing company Lockheed, and continually built aircraft and water boats for the navy. It became highly successful. Although they temporarily joined other companies and collaborated ideas (the primitive version of Lockheed originally became a division of Detroit Aircraft while Martin merged with the Wright Brothers), they remained connected and eventually named it Lockheed Aircraft Company in 1926.
As time went on, and the three men invented many other aircraft, naval, and ground machines, the name was changed to a final version: Lockheed Martin, which is the name of the company today.
Presently, Lockheed Martin (LMT) is the company in charge of the production of the F-22 Raptor design, the Marine One helicopter, the F-35 Lightening II, and countless others. With over 135,000 employees and with F-22s being built in over 40 states, lay-offs are a major concern for the economy, nation, and company. As James Carnoff puts Gates’ plan, “It’s not a stimulus package, it’s an unemployment package.”
Lockheed Martin is just one of the many companies in danger because of the F-22s expense and Gates’ plan. The Pentagon wishes to defend the American people with the best aircraft and resources, but also wishes to be frugally conservative. As prices go up, Gates “vowed” to order 500 more F-35 fighter planes (also made by Lockheed Martin) rather than 4 F-22s for roughly the equivalent price; this is just one step Gates is taking in an effort to gently stem the F-22 production flow.
Other companies, such as Northrop Grumman (NOC), another contractor with the United States Air Force, have so far experienced fewer consequences because of the Pentagon’s recent decisions.
Northrop Grumman was founded by John K. “Jack” Northrop, an innovative and skilled designer who formed Northrop Aircraft Incorporated in Hawthorne, California, and Leroy Grumman, Jake Swirbul, Bill Schwendler, E. Clint Towl and Ed Poor who started a new enterprise, Grumman Aeronautical Engineering Company, in an abandoned auto garage. Later, after years of communication and connecting, the friends combined the two companies to become Northrop Grumman.
The company has made numerous contracts with the Pentagon, and is known for its B-2 Stealth Bomber design and invention. Other examples include the KC-45 Tanker, Global Hawk, and ballistic missile creations under the ICBM Prime Integration Contract.
The primary reason that Northrop Grumman is not nearly as affected by the Pentagon’s recent changes is because of their aviation production. Northrop Grumman does not produce F-22s to the same scale as Lockheed Martin, and instead produces more F-35s.
The Department of Defense’s recent contract changes and cutbacks play in Grumman’s favor. As their productions are mostly F-35s and other planes that are not affected by the changes, Grumman does not have to worry about unemployment or bankruptcy nearly as much as Lockheed or other companies. Overall, the Pentagon’s latest changes have affected numerous companies and people; it is only through mutual balance and respect that politicians will hopefully resolve it.
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