Navy, Air Force Programs Targeted For Cuts Squeezed by the cost of fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan and the huge budget deficit, the Bush administration is planning sharp cuts in big Navy and Air Force weapons programs, according to published reports. Among the reported targets are the Air Force’s F/A-22 Raptor fighter jet, built by Lockheed Martin, and the Navy’s DD(X) destroyer program and LPD-17 amphibious landing docks, both produced by teams led by Northrop Grumman. The cuts will total $30 billion over the next six years, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing an internal Pentagon document. The paper said the itemized budget reductions had been approved by Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz. The reports said the Army will get a bigger share of the defense budget, because it is being beefed up to fight smaller ground wars like those now in progress. But the Army’s $120 billion Future Combat System, which is designed to bring high technology to the battlefield, could be delayed. Cuts in weapons programs will be included in President Bush’s 2006 budget, which will be submitted to Congress in February. Congress makes the final decisions on spending, and each of the big military programs has its corps of defenders on Capitol Hill. For example, more than 1,000 subcontractors in 43 states work on the F/A-22. It is the most expensive fighter jet in history, at about $250 million each. Current plans call for the Air Force to buy 277 of them; The New York Times reported that might be cut to around 160. The first combat-ready models are scheduled for delivery in December. Administration officials said the plane is an outmoded relic of the Cold War and does not fit into Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld’s military transformation strategy. It was originally designed to penetrate Soviet radar. The Times reported the budget will also call for the Navy to buy fewer of the new destroyers and landing craft and to retire one of its oldest aircraft carriers, the John F. Kennedy, which is based in Mayport, FL. The Journal said Lockheed’s defense business would be reduced by $18 billion over six years and Northrop would lose $8 billion. General Dynamics as well as Northrop would take a hit from a planned cutback in purchases of nuclear submarines. A Pentagon spokesman said no final decisions have been made. The president’s 2006 budget is likely to call for widespread cuts in domestic programs as well, to fulfill his promise to reduce the deficit.