Pierre Sprey

Sprey was born in Nice, France, in 1936 to Jewish parents{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V1JUAAAAYAAJ&q=Pierre+Sprey+1937|title = Analysis of the General Circular Search Problem|year = 1960|publisher = Cornell Univ.}}{{Cite news |last=Schudel |first=Matt |title=Pierre Sprey, Pentagon analyst who battled brass to produce A-10 warplane, dies at 83 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/pierre-sprey-dead/2021/08/20/fe995430-ff6e-11eb-ba7e-2cf966e88e93_story.html |access-date=June 7, 2023 |newspaper=Washington Post}} and raised in New York, U.S.{{Citation | first = Thomas E | last = Ricks | title = Whatever happened to… Pierre Sprey? | newspaper = The Washington Post | date = May 16, 2006 | url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/15/AR2006051501518.html | type = article}}. Sprey was admitted to Yale University at the age of fifteen and graduated four years later with a double major in French literature and mechanical engineering.{{Cite book |last=Coram |first=Robert |title=Boyd: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed The Art of War |publisher=Little Brown and Company |year=2022 |isbn=978-0316796880 |pages=196–197 |language=English}} He later continued his education at Cornell University where he studied mathematical statistics and operations research. He subsequently worked at Grumman Aircraft as a consulting statistician on space and commercial transportation projects. From 1966 to 1970 he was a special assistant at the Office of the Secretary of Defense.{{cite web |url= http://www.dtic.mil/get-tr-doc/pdf?AD=ADA222015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150128132056/http://www.dtic.mil/get-tr-doc/pdf?AD=ADA222015 |url-status= dead |archive-date= January 28, 2015 |publisher= Defense Technical Information Center |title= A History of Defense Reform Since 1970 | first = Michael J. | last = Leahey |date=December 1989}}

{{main|Fighter Mafia}}

During the 1960s, at which time he worked as a statistician for the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Systems Analysis, Sprey was associated with a group of defense analysts calling themselves the "Fighter Mafia", who advocated for a lightweight fighter as an alternative to the F-15.{{cite book |last=Ford |first=Daniel |date=April 2010 |title=A Vision so Noble |location=Durham, New Hampshire |publisher=Warbird Books |pages=14–15 |isbn=978-1451589818 |quote=}}

The Fighter Mafia strongly believed that an ideal fighter should not include any of the sophisticated radar and missile systems or rudimentary ground-attack capability that found their way into the F-15. Based on energy–maneuverability theory they advocated for a small, low-drag, low-weight, fighter with no bomb racks. The Fighter Mafia falsely credit this concept for spurring the creation of the Lightweight Fighter program that would result in the F-16, the most produced 4th generation fighter, of which they had no part in development.{{Cite web |date=2 April 2012 |title=Lockheed Martin to deliver 4,500th F-16 fighter |url=http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/04/02/143842/lockheed-martin-to-deliver-4500th.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140731002852/http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/04/02/143842/lockheed-martin-to-deliver-4500th.html |archive-date=31 July 2014 |access-date= |website=McClatchy DC}} Sprey also became friends with Avery Kay, whom he claimed was involved with work on design concepts for a large caliber ground attack aircraft that would result in the A-10.{{Cite web |date=March 18, 2016 |title=A Fitting Tribute for the A-10's Air Force Father |url=https://www.pogo.org/analysis/fitting-tribute-for-10s-air-force-father |access-date=August 17, 2022 |website=Project On Government Oversight}} Sprey's claims regarding designing the A-10, or having a part in designing the A-10, are false. {{cite thesis |last=Michel |first=Marshall L. III |title=The Revolt of the Majors: How the Air Force Changed After Vietnam |type=PhD dissertation |publisher=Auburn University |url=https://etd.auburn.edu/bitstream/handle/10415/595/MICHEL_III_55.pdf?sequence=1 }} {{cite report |title=Evaluation of the Effectiveness of the Defense Systems Acquisition Review Council (DSARC), Volume II, Part 1: Appendices C through I |publisher=Defense Systems Management College |location=Fort Belvoir, Virginia |date=April 1983 |url=https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/ADA129796.pdf |author=Information Spectrum, Inc.}} This has resulted in controversy, with the recognized designer of the A-10 Alexander Kartveli being recognized over Sprey as the true designer in recent years.

However both the Fighter Mafia and their critics note the design changes made to the F-16. Like the F-15 the F-16 became a costlier multi-role fighter rather than the lighter air-to-air specialist they originally envisioned.{{Cite web|url= https://www.airspacemag.com/military-aviation/outrageous-adolescence-f-16-180949491/|title=The Outrageous Adolescence of the F-16|last=Bjorkman|first= Eileen |website= Air space mag}}{{Cite book|title=Boyd: the fighter pilot who changed the art of war |last= Coram|first=Robert|publisher= Little, Brown, & Co.|year=2002|isbn= 0-316-88146-5|location=New York |url-access= registration|url= https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780316881463}} Sprey continued to be critical of complex aspects of the F-16 and F-15 despite both seeing successful combat use, including the F-15's perfect air to air combat record.{{Cite web |url= http://foxtrotalpha.jalopnik.com/pierre-spreys-anti-f-35-diatribe-is-half-brilliant-and-1592445665 |title=Pierre Sprey's Anti-F-35 Diatribe Is Half Brilliant And Half Bullshit |last= Rogoway |first=Tyler |website=Foxtrot Alpha |date=June 20, 2014 |language=en-US |access-date=September 7, 2017 | quote = ...to think that the F-15 is a loser even after four decades of incredible success, not to mention the fact that it has never been bested in air-to-air combat and retains a kill ration of 105.5 to 0. This denial of clear historical reality is a startling indication that Mr. Sprey may be living in the 1970s when it comes to air-combat doctrine, or maybe he simply does not want to admit that his stripped down, all super-maneuverable light-weight visual fighters or nothing initiative was not the right path for America's air combat forces after all.}}{{Cite web |url= http://www.dupuyinstitute.org/blog/tag/f-35-lightning-ii/ |title= F-35 Lightning II - Mystics & Statistics |last=Clark |first=Geoffrey |date=August 28, 2017 |website= Dupuy Institute |language= en-US |access-date=September 7, 2017 | quote = "Surprise is the first because, in every air war since WWI, somewhere between 65% and 85% of all fighters shot down were unaware of their attacker." Sprey mentions that the F-16 is superior to the F-15 due to the smaller size, and the fact that it smokes much less, both aspects that are clearly within-visual range (WVR) combat considerations. Further, his discussion of beyond visual range (BVR) combat is dismissive.}}{{Cite web |url= http://www.airforcemag.com/MagazineArchive/Documents/2010/August%25202010/0810failures.pdf |title=USAF's Indispensable 'Failures' |last=Grier |first= Peter |date=August 2010 | work = Air Force Magazine |language=en-us |access-date= September 7, 2017 | quote = In 1981, Sprey wrote an airpower section in a book issued by the Heritage Foundation which questioned the F-15’s effectiveness. The F-15 was larger and more visible than its predecessor the F-4, wrote Sprey, making it vulnerable in daylight close-in dogfighting. He claimed the Eagle was too dependent on radar guided missiles, which "are not likely to be more effective than those used in Vietnam."}} Sprey also expressed his dissatisfaction with the size and complexity of the A-10, proposing a concept he called a blitzfighter, an extremely small aircraft with a cannon and no other armaments. {{Cite web |last=Sprey |first=Pierre |title=Combat Effectiveness Considerations in Designing Close Support Fighters |url=http://pogoarchives.org/labyrinth/09/04.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111208035404/http://pogoarchives.org/labyrinth/09/04.pdf |archive-date=8 Dec 2011}}

Sprey was a frequent critic of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II program. He asserted falsely, paralleling his earlier claims about the F-15, that despite its high cost, the F-35 is less agile than the F-16. Sprey argued that compared to the F-16 or A-10 (in both of whose operational roles it is marketed to operate), the F-35 was overweight and dangerous, stating "It's as if Detroit suddenly put out a car with lighter fluid in the radiator and gasoline in the hydraulic brake lines: that's how unsafe this plane is..." and "full of bugs".{{Citation | first = Andrew | last = Cockburn | title = Flight of the Discords: The military–industrial–congressional complex bullies the F-35 Lightning II into Burlington | publisher = Harper's Magazine | newspaper = Heart of empire | date = June 6, 2013 | url = http://harpers.org/blog/2013/06/flight-of-the-discords }}.

He claimed that the F-35 is a poor replacement for the A-10 in the close air support (CAS) role, alleging it flies too fast for pilots to spot targets by eye and lacks maneuverability at low speeds,{{Cite news | first=Dan |last=Grazier |work = War is Boring |url= https://warisboring.com/in-a-contest-the-u-s-air-force-knows-the-f-35-will-lose-to-the-a-10/ |title= The U.S. Air Force Knows the A-10 Will Beat the F-35|access-date= January 24, 2018 |language=en-US |quote=article originally appeared at the Project on Government Oversight.}} lacks the necessary radios,{{Cite web|url= https://medium.com/war-is-boring/now-the-u-s-air-force-wants-you-to-believe-the-a-10-is-too-old-to-fight-87311b3bd95c |title=Now the U.S. Air Force Wants You to Believe the A-10 Is Too Old to Fight |last= Trevithick|first=Joseph |date= March 13, 2015|website=War is Boring |via=Medium.com}} cannot survive small arms fire (or anti-aircraft guns), and has poor loiter time.{{Citation| work =The Fifth Estate |title= Defence analyst Pierre Sprey on the F-35 | orig-year = 2012 |date= December 27, 2016 | at = 4 min 7 s |url= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1Z_DuF87Sc&t=4m7s |accessdate= January 24, 2018}} Sprey claimed that close air support should be the Air Force's most important mission and that the USAF has been trying to retire the A-10 for years simply because it does not want the CAS mission.{{Cite web | work = Pogo archives | date = December 2013 |url= http://pogoarchives.org/straus/a-10/sprey-close-support-12-2013.pdf|title= What is close air support (CAS) and why is it airpower's most important mission? |last= Sprey |first= Pierre}}

Sprey was interviewed about his views of the F-35 multiple times: by the popular press,{{Cite web |url=https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2015/06/report-in-test-dogfight-f-35-gets-waxed-by-f-16/ |title= Report: In test dogfight, F-35 gets waxed by F-16 |website=Ars Technica |date= June 30, 2015 |language= en-us |access-date=August 27, 2017}}{{Cite web |title=Extended Interview: Pierre Sprey |url=https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/video/1.451343 |access-date=August 27, 2017 |work=the fifth estate |publisher=CBC}} on the politics and policy news network C-SPAN,{{Cite web |url=https://www.c-span.org/person/?pierresprey |title=Pierre Sprey |website=www.c-span.org |language=en-us |access-date=August 27, 2017}} and at a meeting of the activist group "Stop the F-35".{{Cite web |url=http://www.stopthef35.com/pierre-sprey-and-usaf-col-rosanne-greco-tv-interview-at-center-for-media-and-democracy/ |title=Pierre Sprey and USAF Col Rosanne Greco TV Interview at Center for Media and Democracy - Stop the F-35 |date=June 1, 2013 |website=Stop the F-35 |language=en-US |access-date=August 27, 2017}} He also appeared on a podcast hosted by Aviation Week where he debated a retired US Marine Corps combat pilot and instructor at the United States Navy Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor program ("TOPGUN") who had piloted both the F-35B and the F-22 Raptor.{{Cite web |url=http://aviationweek.com/combat-aircraft/podcast-f-35-crossfire-part-1?page=1 |title=Podcast: F-35 in the Crossfire, Part 1 |website=aviationweek.com |language=en |access-date=August 25, 2017}}

Sprey recorded music through his own label, Mapleshade Records, and sold high-end audiophile equipment. His recording with the Addicts Rehabilitation Center (ARC) Choir singing "Walk With Me" appears in Kanye West's 2004 hit "Jesus Walks". Sprey said he earned enough royalties from the West song "to support 30 of my money-losing jazz albums."

Sprey died on August 5, 2021, of an apparent heart attack.{{Cite web|author=Kelley Beaucar Vlahos |url=https://responsiblestatecraft.org/2021/08/08/pierre-sprey-was-the-fighter-mafia-wingman/|title=Pierre Sprey was the 'Fighter Mafia' wingman|work=Responsible Statecraft |publisher=Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft|date=August 8, 2021}}{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/pierre-sprey-dead/2021/08/20/fe995430-ff6e-11eb-ba7e-2cf966e88e93_story.html |title=Pierre Sprey, Pentagon analyst who battled brass to produce A-10 warplane, dies at 83 |date=August 20, 2021 |author1=Matt Schudel |newspaper=The Washington Post |place=Washington, D.C. |issn=0190-8286 |oclc=1330888409}}{{WaPoCheckDates}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{C-SPAN|24646}}
• Pierre Sprey, "Countering a Warsaw Pact Blitz", in [http://www.allworldwars.com/Proceedings-of-Seminar-on-Air-Antitank-Warfare.html Proceedings of the Seminar on Antitank Warfare], May 25–26, 1978 (discusses design considerations for future antitank aircraft)
• Pierre Sprey, [http://pogoarchives.org/labyrinth/09/04.pdf Combat Effectiveness Considerations in Designing Close Support Aircraft](n.d., 1970s) (slide presentation)
• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CH8o9DIIXqI Shut up about the F-35] by Lazerpig on YouTube

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Category:American record producers

Category:1937 births

Category:2021 deaths

Category:Aviation analysts

Category:People from Nice

Category:French emigrants to the United States

Category:American people of French-Jewish descent

Category:United States Department of Defense officials

Category:20th-century United States government officials

Category:Yale University alumni

Category:Cornell University alumni