SPARROW MISSILE
Senator CANNON. General, the Air Force was funding SPARROW G missile development with F-111 funds. I would like to ask you if you think that is proper first, and then ask you why you are request ing $ 800,000 for a SPARROW G missile in the F-111 aircraft program for fiscal year 1971 , when this appears to be a cancelled program.
General FERGUSON. May I ask General Glasser to respond to that if he has the data . I don’t have that in front of me.
General GLASSER. The only money that we have had in the SPARROW G that I am aware of to date has been R. & D. money, in augmentation of the Navy’s R. & D. and related to the F - 111. To date, development has continued ; however, the procurement program has been deferred.
Senator CANNON. As I understand it, there is $800,000 for SPARROW G missiles in the 1971 program . Now I may be in error on that.
General Pitts. That is being researched in the staff right now, Senator Cannon, and there is a proposed answer on its way back over for the record of your subcommittee.
The rationale behind funding this missile under the F-111 R&D program is based on the fact that the task to be funded was essentially that of making the F-111D aircraft capable of carrying the Navy -developed Sparrow AIM-7F missile. ( The F - 111D avionics system utilizes radar frequencies which are incompatible with the AIM-7F . The AIM-7G missile is the AIM - 7F with a new , F-111D -compatible radar seeker. ) No new missile was developed. An existing missile was changed to permit carriage and use on the F-111D aircraft. The major R&D costs and tasks were related to aircraft needs, i.e. , the missile control set contained in the aircraft. Since the contractor ( Raytheon ) was responsible for the combined missile / aircraft interface effort, and since the problem was essentially to place a 90 % in -being missile on an aircraft still in development, it was logical to fund the entire interface effort under the aircraft line item.
There was an item in the FY 71 F-111 R & D program element for 500,000 for the AIM-7G missile. This was in support of the development program de scribed above to fund for completion of the Category II test phase. There was a staff estimate that an additional 300,000 for a total of $ 800,000 would be required , however, it was not in the budget. Regarding the procurement program there are no FY 71 monies in the F -111 program element for production of the AIM-7G . All previous procurement fund requests were deferred pending the out come of the development effort.
As a result of a recent review by the Air Force of the AIM-7G R&D program, this effort was cancelled and a stop work notice issued on 19 March 1970. This decision was based on the reduced number of F-111D aircraft, the high procurement cost, potential follow-on cost savings, and severe budgetary restrictions.
Funds are, therefore, no longer required for the AIM-7G. The funds will be required, however, for other F- 111 development work such as the Titanium wing carry -through box and should not be deleted.
