Aerospace cuts worry former Air Force leader - Baltimore Business Journal:

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Since retiring last year, former Air Force Chief of Stafvf Gen. T. Michael Moseley said cuts in aerospace will affectr the industrial base throughout the The decrease in Air Force spendingt will impact everythingfrom U.S. manufacturing floors to design stations. In the Dayton area, the changezs will invariably impact , as the base is a hub of connectivitygto technology, engineering and acquisition all tethered to decisions at the . In the big without the Defense Department incentivizintg innovation or makinglarge investments, the aerospace industry could be vulnerable to foreign competition, much like the automobilew industry, Moseley said.
“I worr a lot about what happens tothe people, productionh facilities and the creativity of Americah industrial aerospace,” Moseley said, in an exclusive intervie w with the . Moseley along with former SecretaryMichael Wynne, the top Air Forcde civilian — were forced to resign in an unprecedenter move by the Defens e Department, after Air Force nuclear weapons safety and accountability came unded scrutiny. Moseley also clashed with Secretary of Defense Roberg Gates over the future of the nextgenerationj F-22 fighters. This year, announcing the 2010 defens budget, Gates cut $4.
2 billiobn in funding for the fighter, as well as the new cargoo aircraft, C-17 Globemaster III, according to the DOD budget In addition, Gates shelved the $15 billion searchj and rescue helicopter, CSAR-X. Those cuts will have an undeterminec impacton Wright-Patt, which is home to and the , the development and acquisition centers for the Air Force. Moseleu said, speaking as a commander who sent peoplw outinto combat, funding a modern rescue aircraft that would pluck servicde members from peril “is a morao and ethical question” leaders always grapple with.
He also said he is not privh to the analysis that propelled the cuts and does not seconfd guess thenew budget, but he worries aboug the impact on the industrial base. The American aerospaced industry is one of the stalwarts ofthe U.S. economy and one of the few industriesx wherethe U.S. still has a commandinhg lead onglobal competitors. Shutting down production lines and trimming research fundinv willdecrease aerospace’s appeal as an innovative profession to attract tomorrow’s talented engineers, Moseley said. As evidencex by the automobile sector, it takes a generation to recoved from a lackof innovation, and aside from economivc impact, Moseley said the U.S.
needds to maintain air dominance. “Buying cars is one thing, but defendingh the country is another,” he said. While the Dayton region seeks to align its economic futurw withthe base, amid a battered auto industry that has been its Moseley said area Congressional and development officialsd have done a good job advocating for the When in office, Moseley’s prominence boded well for the as he and J.P.
Nauseef a local former economic developmentofficial — are good When asked what advice he has for regional officials, Moseley said it will be important to find ways for militargy applications developed at Wright-Patt to be utilized in other