[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 99 (Tuesday, July 26, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: July 26, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                            THE F-22 DEBATE

 Mr. D'AMATO. Mr. President, at the heart of the F-22 debate is 
one simple question: Are the threats we are facing, or may face in the 
foreseeable future, capable of achieving air superiority over U.S. 
ground and sea forces, or even denying air superiority to our own air 
forces over an adversary's territory? Based on the billions of dollars 
being poured into the F-22 program, one would assume that we are on the 
verge of being outclassed by the air forces of foreign powers. But is 
that really the case?
  In endorsing the F-22 over the so-called F-15XX, the Major Aircraft 
Review [MAR] predicated its choice on a year 2000 scenario in which the 
Air Force would have to gain and hold air superiority over Warsaw Pact 
territory against a Soviet Union boasting: Overwhelming numerical 
superiority; highly sophisticated integrated air defenses; stealthy air 
superiority and counter air fighters [ASF/CAF] armed with improved AA-
10 Alamo air-to-air missiles; and, next-generation SA-15 and SA-X-17 
surface-to-air missiles.
  Back then, with the cold war still uppermost in planners' minds, a 
global conventional war against the Soviet Union was a prudent scenario 
against which to plan. Since then, the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact 
and the Soviet Union has wrought havoc on what remains of Russia's 
integrated air defenses and Russian advanced weapons development has 
been slowed to a crawl or halted outright due to the same funding 
constraints we face. That being so, what relevance does the MAR threat 
projection have today?
  Isn't a Desert Storm-like scenario of total U.S./allied air 
superiority more reflective of today's reality? Against most future 
opponents, won't the United States, with or without allies, enjoy 
numerical superiority? And what country is likely to be better 
equipped, trained, or led?
  And that raises an inevitable question: In this new world order, 
isn't an improved F-15 good enough? Something to ponder when 
considering the $2.5 billion request for F-22.

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