As Lockheed steps up its push for more F-22s, the Air Force has remained quiet. Gen. Norton A. Schwartz, the military branch's current chief of staff, has expressed support for additional planes but has kept a lower profile than his predecessor, now-retired Gen. T. Michael Moseley.
Moseley was ousted last year after disagreements with Gates and others over the F-22.
"The Air Force is just trying to avoid getting whacked by Secretary Gates," said Thomas Donnelly, a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a Washington think tank.
Gates said at a news conference Tuesday that no decision had been made about the F-22. The Pentagon must formulate a budget that "serves the nation best," he said.
Donnelly, who has publicly advocated procurement of additional F-22s, said it was important to keep the production line going now -- rather than stopping and perhaps restarting later.
"We are coming to the end of the line," he said. "If we terminate the line, I can't imagine the company will spend the money to hold open a window that is pretty close to being shut."
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julian.barnes@latimes.com
