Pierre Sprey

Pierre Michel Sprey (November 22, 1937 – August 5, 2021) was a record producer and defense analyst. Working with John Boyd and Thomas P. Christie at the Pentagon, he was associated with the self-dubbed 'Fighter Mafia', which advocated the use of energy–maneuverability theory in fighter jet design.

Pierre Sprey
Born
Pierre Michel Sprey

(1937-11-22)November 22, 1937
Nice, France
DiedAugust 5, 2021(2021-08-05) (aged 83)[1]
Glenn Dale, Maryland
Nationality
  • French
  • American
Alma mater
Occupationrecord producer

Sprey was born in Nice, France, in 1936 to Jewish parents[2][3][4] and raised in New York, U.S.[5] 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.[6] 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[4] on space and commercial transportation projects. From 1966 to 1970 he was a special assistant at the Office of the Secretary of Defense.[7]

Defense analyst, criticism of the F-15
Main article: Fighter Mafia

During the 1960s, Pierre Sprey was associated with a group of defense analysts who called themselves the "Fighter Mafia". He was a weapons system analyst working for the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Systems Analysis. The Fighter Mafia worked behind the scenes in the late 1960s to advocate a lightweight fighter as an alternative to the McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle.[8]

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. Their goal, based on energy–maneuverability theory, was a small, low-drag, low-weight, pure fighter with no bomb racks – similar to those found in the early-World War II designs. The Fighter Mafia claims it influenced the design requirements of the highly successful General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon, although they were not happy with design changes made to the YF-16 as it became a costlier multi-role fighter rather than the lighter air-to-air specialist they originally envisioned.[9][10] Sprey continued to be critical of the F-15 fighter.[11][12][13]

Sprey left the Pentagon in 1971. He and Colonel John Boyd worked with others in the Pentagon and Congress toward military reform, helping gain passage of military reform legislation in the early 1980s.[14]

Claimed role in A-X (YA-9 and A-10 Thunderbolt II) concept design

Sprey claimed that, while working as an analyst for the OSD, he was recruited by Colonel Avery Kay to help with the concept formulation of the A-X.[15] Sprey would play a role in formulating the A-X Concept Formulation Package describing the flight characteristics and capabilities of the plane.[16] Sprey helped adapt the experience and practical knowledge of German WW2 ace Hans-Ulrich Rudel with the theoretical approach of German WW2 aerospace engineer Hans Multhopp to the Vietnam War experience of the A-1 pilots also working in the concept formulation group. Sprey was an advocate for the A-X carrying a large caliber gun. These claims are disputed.

While the A-10 stayed fairly close to Sprey's vision as a dedicated close air support plane, Sprey promoted his "Blitzfighter" concept that would be even more minimalist.[17] Sprey argued that bombs and missiles would be less effective in the CAS role than just a 30 mm cannon. The Blitzfighter was also supposed to weight less than the A-10, mainly by having its gun as the only weapon.

Criticism of the F-35 and A-10 divestment

Sprey was a frequent critic of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II program. He argued, paralleling his earlier arguments against 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".[18]

He claimed that in the close air support (CAS) role, the F-35 is a poor replacement for the A-10 as it flies too fast for pilots to spot targets by eye and lacks maneuverability at low speeds.[19] He said it lacks the necessary radios,[20] cannot survive small arms fire (or anti-aircraft guns) and has poor loiter time.[21] 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.[22]

Sprey was interviewed on his views of the F-35 by the popular press,[23][24] on the politics and policy news network C-SPAN,[25] at a meeting of the activist group "Stop the F-35",[26] and during a podcast of a debate between Sprey and 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 STOVL variant and the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor, on the website of Aviation Week and Space Technology magazine.[27]

Record production

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."[5]

Sprey's recording techniques are highly unconventional, aiming for accurate reproduction of live music rather than manipulating sounds (e.g. with equalizers, pitch correction, etc.).

Death

Sprey died on August 5, 2021, of an apparent heart attack.[28][1]

References
  1. Matt Schudel (August 20, 2021). "Pierre Sprey, Pentagon analyst who battled brass to produce A-10 warplane, dies at 83". The Washington Post. Washington, D.C. ISSN 0190-8286. OCLC 1330888409.
  2. Analysis of the General Circular Search Problem. Cornell Univ. 1960.
  3. Schudel, Matt. "Pierre Sprey, Pentagon analyst who battled brass to produce A-10 warplane, dies at 83". Washington Post. Retrieved June 7, 2023.
  4. "What's Mapleshade?". Archived from the original on January 27, 2010.
  5. Ricks, Thomas E (May 16, 2006), "Whatever happened to… Pierre Sprey?", The Washington Post (article).
  6. Coram, Robert (2022). Boyd: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed The Art of War. Little Brown and Company. pp. 196–197. ISBN 978-0316796880.
  7. Leahey, Michael J. (December 1989). "A History of Defense Reform Since 1970". Defense Technical Information Center. Archived from the original on January 28, 2015.
  8. Ford, Daniel (April 2010). A Vision so Noble. Durham, New Hampshire: Warbird Books. pp. 14–15. ISBN 978-1451589818.
  9. Bjorkman, Eileen. "The Outrageous Adolescence of the F-16". Air space mag.
  10. Coram, Robert (2002). Boyd: the fighter pilot who changed the art of war. New York: Little, Brown, & Co. ISBN 0-316-88146-5.
  11. Rogoway, Tyler (June 20, 2014). "Pierre Sprey's Anti-F-35 Diatribe Is Half Brilliant And Half Bullshit". Foxtrot Alpha. Retrieved September 7, 2017. ...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.
  12. Clark, Geoffrey (August 28, 2017). "F-35 Lightning II - Mystics & Statistics". Dupuy Institute. Retrieved September 7, 2017. "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 that 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.
  13. Grier, Peter (August 2010). "USAF's Indispensable 'Failures'" (PDF). Air Force Magazine. Retrieved September 7, 2017. 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."
  14. "Pierre Sprey". Project On Government Oversight. Retrieved September 7, 2017.
  15. "A Fitting Tribute for the A-10's Air Force Father". Project On Government Oversight. March 18, 2016. Retrieved August 17, 2022.
  16. "DTIC ADA160458: Antitank Warfare Seminar Held in Washington, DC on 14-15 October 1976". October 1976. Retrieved August 17, 2022 – via Archive.org. Mr. Sprey was formerly in the group that is now called ASD/PA&E and he was very active in the formulation stage of the A-10. He was the man that introduced me to the work of Col. Rudel back when I was (ineligible) for the A-10 program from the concept formulation viewpoint...
  17. Sprey, Pierre. "Combat Effectiveness Considerations In Designing Close Support Fighters" (PDF). Pogo archives.
  18. Cockburn, Andrew (June 6, 2013), "Flight of the Discords: The military–industrial–congressional complex bullies the F-35 Lightning II into Burlington", Heart of empire, Harper's Magazine.
  19. Grazier, Dan. "The U.S. Air Force Knows the A-10 Will Beat the F-35". War is Boring. Retrieved January 24, 2018. article originally appeared at the Project on Government Oversight.
  20. Trevithick, Joseph (March 13, 2015). "Now the U.S. Air Force Wants You to Believe the A-10 Is Too Old to Fight". War is Boring – via Medium.com.
  21. "Defence analyst Pierre Sprey on the F-35", The Fifth Estate, 4 min 7 s, December 27, 2016 [2012], retrieved January 24, 2018
  22. Sprey, Pierre (December 2013). "What is close air support (CAS) and why is it airpower's most important mission?" (PDF). Pogo archives.
  23. "Report: In test dogfight, F-35 gets waxed by F-16". Ars Technica. June 30, 2015. Retrieved August 27, 2017.
  24. "Extended Interview: Pierre Sprey". the fifth estate. CBC. Retrieved August 27, 2017.
  25. "Pierre Sprey". www.c-span.org. Retrieved August 27, 2017.
  26. "Pierre Sprey and USAF Col Rosanne Greco TV Interview at Center for Media and Democracy - Stop the F-35". Stop the F-35. June 1, 2013. Retrieved August 27, 2017.
  27. "Podcast: F-35 in the Crossfire, Part 1". aviationweek.com. Retrieved August 25, 2017.
  28. Kelley Beaucar Vlahos (August 8, 2021). "Pierre Sprey was the 'Fighter Mafia' wingman". Responsible Statecraft. Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft.
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