The FSX Deal

The Bush Administration has negotiated a better deal with Japan than its predecessor was able to on co-development of the new FSX jet fighter in the 1990s, but even the improved arrangement leaves unmollified those critics who fear that the project will eventually bring Japanese aircraft companies into the world market and so cost American exporters their near-monopoly. Congressional opponents will try to kill the project, and may even be able to count on majority support in both the House and Senate. But congressional rejection is subject to a presidential veto that would take a two-thirds vote in each chamber to override. That prospect isn’t in the cards, so, assuming approval in Japan, the FSX deal seems on its way to fruition.

What the United States will gain is about 40% of the development and production work involved in making an advanced version of General Dynamics’ F-16 fighter. According to the Pentagon, that should be worth about $2.5 billion and create more than 22,000 jobs. General Dynamics also will gain access to Japanese-developed composite materials for the plane’s wings, and advanced radar and cockpit-display technology.

The joint-developmemt agreement for the first time makes a foreign company, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, prime contractor on a major defense project. That means it will get, under what President Bush promises will be very tight controls, highly classified “source codes” for the on-board computers that are essential to fly the plane and fire its weapons. Critics say they are worried about the security of this material and even more worried about what Japan could learn about advanced aircraft development and production. This latter concern is at the heart of the opposition to the co-development agreement.

The choice with the FSX, however, was never the simple one of devising a joint venture or having Japan go on buying U.S. planes. The choice was between an accord to share in the new project or--as many Japanese want--letting Japan go it alone. It has become unrealistic to expect that the Japanese, with their advanced economy, would indefinitely defer developing their own aircraft industry. That process is inevitable. The agreement on the FSX project seems to assure that the United States will get a reasonable share of economic and technological benefits as they unfold.