[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 37 (Thursday, March 20, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Page S2721]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                          ROLLOUT OF THE F-22

  Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, on April 9, 1997, an important 
milestone will be reached when the Lockheed Martin Corp. rolls out the 
F-22 in Marietta, GA. The F-22 is a powerful new aircraft that will 
ensure complete and total air dominance for the United States in the 
21st century.
  How do you measure success in air superiority. The best measure I 
know is reflected in the fact that no U.S. soldier has been killed by 
an enemy aircraft in over 40 years. And that is why the F-22 is 
critical at this time, for the F-22 ensures that impressive record of 
protecting our forces continues unbroken.
  There are some who fail to understand that the threat to our air 
forces is growing and that the world remains dangerous despite the end 
of the cold war. Throughout the world today there are a host of 
Russian-made surface-to-air missiles readily available on the open 
market to any nation with the money available to buy them. At the same 
time, a new generation of tactical fighter is also being produced in 
Russia and elsewhere which can out perform and defeat our current air 
superiority fighter, the F-15C. All of these pose significant threats 
to our ability to maintain air superiority.
  The F-22 will ensure that America maintains not just air superiority 
but air dominance. And as the former Secretary of Defense William Perry 
once said ``everything else we do depends on air dominance.
  Mr. President, I am pleased to note that the rollout on April 9 will 
mark the beginning of a new era for Air Force aviation. As a Texan, I 
am also proud of the role America's premier tactical fighter complex in 
Fort Worth, TX played in building this revolutionary aircraft.
  I hope my colleagues will take notice of the rollout in a year which 
marks the 50th anniversary of our Air Force. I also hope my colleagues 
will take this opportunity to reflect on the importance of our Air 
Force and the role they have played since their founding 50 years ago 
in maintaining peace and stability in a dangerous world. The rollout of 
the F-22 will begin a new chapter in Air Force history and help ensure 
the Air Force and the country remains strong and capable in the future.

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