Letter to the House Appropriations Committee

September 10, 2002

The Honorable C. W. Bill Young                                  
Chairman                                                                                 
House Committee On Appropriations                                                           
Washington, DC 20515                                                       

The Honorable David R. Obey
Ranking Member
House Committee on Appropriations
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Chairman Young and Ranking Member Obey:

We write to request your support for several important initiatives as the FY 2003 Defense Appropriations Act is resolved in Conference Committee that will help ensure that the EA-6B Prowler will be able to conduct Electronic Attack missions in support of U.S. and coalition air operations vital to our national security interests.

 As you know, the EA-6B Prowler possesses a unique mission capability that is in continual high demand to support our worldwide military operations, especially in Afghanistan.  During Operation Allied Force, Prowlers were the “go-no-go” criterion in any NATO strike package.  The Prowler is the only aircraft in our inventory that is dedicated to the suppression of enemy air defenses and already is in a low-density high-demand category.  We are gravely concerned that we are “using up” this resource far more rapidly than anticipated and, without some positive action, EA-6Bs will be out of service before a replacement aircraft can be fielded.  With this in mind, we request your support for the following priorities:

  1. Wing Center Section Inboard Panels (WCSIP).  At present, because of the WCSIP fatigue problem, the Navy has restricted the flight envelope of over 40% of the EA-6B aircraft, eight have been grounded, and 18 additional aircraft will reach the equivalent fatigue limits by the middle of 2003.  As you know, the Prowler is the first aircraft to go “over the beach” into enemy territory.  As such, it must retain the capability to perform high-G turns to avoid enemy surface-to-air missiles.  Wing panels are essential to maintaining the capability of the Prowler to perform high-G turns – thus saving lives.  Given that the lead-time to fabricate and install a WCSIP is 24 months, there will be an unacceptable number of EA-6B aircraft out of service until the WCSIP can be made available.  With this in mind, we request that the House recede to the Senate, which provided $9 million for WCSIPs (the House provided $0), to ensure the operational readiness of the Prowler.

  2. Band 9/10 Transmitters.  The Navy and Marine Corps have an inventory requirement for 263 transmitters and they still need 43 transmitters (at a cost of $29 million) to meet the requirement. Admiral Clark, Chief of Naval Operations (CNO), and General Jones, Commandant of the Marine Corps, have included the EA-6B Band 9/10 transmitters on their FY 2003 Unfunded Priority Lists (UPL).  Procurement of Band 9/10 transmitters removes duplicative training, maintenance, and logistics and the procurement allow the Navy to retire 275 aging Band 9 transmitters.  Therefore, we request that the House recede to the Senate, which provided $20 million (the House provided $0). 

  3. J-52 Engines.  A recent investigation found a common failure point in the engine 4.5 bearing that has led to the grounding of 88 of the 360 EA-6B engine inventory.  With future conflicts in the war against terrorism on the horizon, this technical detail threatened to sideline the critical life saving mission of the Prowlers.  As a result of these failures, increased maintenance and testing on the engine to ensure the Prowler is mission capable is placing a strain on the active and reserve units alike.  An additional $12 million in FY 03 would help accelerate engine repair to the goal of 24 engines per month.  Unfortunately, neither the House nor the Senate provided any additional funding for this program.  We request that the Conference Committee support an increase of $12 million in the FY 03 Defense Appropriations Conference Report.

  4. On-board Oxygen Generation System (OBOGS).  The EA-6B is one of two remaining non-OBOGS equipped combat aircraft that will be integral to carrier air wings in the near future.  It is known that Prowler crews regularly run out of oxygen during the long missions that are now the norm.  According to a conservative Department of Defense (DoD) studies, there is a projected 10-year cost avoidance in excess of $33 million and a 3:1 payback on investment after OBOGS retrofit.  It is imperative that these aircraft be equipped with the same “slimline” OBOGS.  While the House bill provided $2 million for this program, the Senate provided $0.  We request that the Senate recede to the House mark for this program.

  5. Risk Reduction for Follow-on Electronic Attack Platform.  With the completion of the Airborne Electronic Attack Analysis of Alternatives (AEA AoA), it is vital that Services continue to move forward and provide funding for the next-generation electronic attack aircraft.  Despite its importance to air superiority, the Prowler faces heavy tasking, severe shortfalls in operational readiness and the prospect that it will need to be augmented prior to 2010.  Providing necessary funding for risk reduction will help ensure that the follow-on platform will stay on schedule to replace the Prowler without any degradation in our electronic attack capability.  Prowlers are already over 30 years old.  We need to accelerate a follow on to retire the fleet before it reaches 50 years old.  Therefore, we request that the House recede to the Senate mark, which provided $10 million for the program (the House provided $0).  This request is #67 on the CNO’s UPL.

  6. USQ-113 (V3) Communications Jammer.  Our enemies routinely use cell phones to coordinate attacks on allied aircrews.  The USQ-113 (V3) provides expanded frequency coverage and advanced communications jamming waveform technologies that are critical to defeating cell phones and other enemy communications devices.  This ability to “listen in” and cut-off enemy lines of communication is important in Afghanistan.  Unfortunately, the Navy has only 35 USQ-113’s available for CINC operations worldwide.  The Senate defense appropriations bill provided $15 million (the House provided $0).  We request that the House recede to the Senate funding at a minimum and consider an additional increase to ensure an adequate inventory for CINC operations.  This request is  #20 for the Navy and #43 for the Marine Corps on the CNO’s UPL. 

The EA-6B is a low-density, high demand asset and its availability is critical to our national defense.  However, out of a total inventory of 122 EA-6Bs, only 65 are in service.  Further, there are currently 40 aircraft that are grounded because they are missing an engine.  This is unacceptable.  We appreciate your consideration of these requests and look forward to working with you to ensure we maintain an Electronic Attack capability to enable a flexible response to future contingencies.

Cordially,

Joseph R. Pitts
Rick Larsen
Mark Steven Kirk
Jim Gibbons
Jennifer Dunn
Walter B. Jones

Electronic Warfare Working Group

Congressman Joe Pitts, Founder and Chairman

420 Cannon House Office Building

Washington, DC 20515

202 225-2411 phone    202 225-2013 fax