Pierre Michel Sprey (November 22, 1937 – August 5, 2021) was an American 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. Sprey claimed to be involved in the design of several military jets, including the F-16 and A-10.
Early life and education
Sprey was born in Nice, France, in 1936 to Jewish parents[2][3] and raised in New York, U.S.[4] 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.[5] 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.[6]
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.[7]
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 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.[8][9][10] Sprey would also became friends with Avery Kay, with whom he was involved with work on design concepts for a large caliber ground attack aircraft that would result in the A-10.[11]
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.[8][9] 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.[12][13][14] 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. [15]
Criticism of the F-35
Sprey was a frequent critic of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II program. He asserted, 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".[16]
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,[17] lacks the necessary radios,[18] cannot survive small arms fire (or anti-aircraft guns), and has poor loiter time.[19] 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.[20]
Sprey was interviewed about his views of the F-35 multiple times: by the popular press,[21][22] on the politics and policy news network C-SPAN,[23] and at a meeting of the activist group "Stop the F-35".[24] 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.[25] Sprey also made appearances on Russian state media outlets RT and Sputnik.[26][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."[4]
Death
Sprey died on August 5, 2021, of an apparent heart attack.[28][1]
^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.
^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 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.
^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."
