Congressman Hunter delivered the following remarks during the christening of the X-CRAFT:

    “America is at her best when her citizens are working together for the common good, using all their God given talents to advance our nation’s interests. This X-CRAFT, the Navy’s new sea fighter, represents our ability to project force from the sea, over enormous distances in the advancement of freedom.

    “Since the birth of our nation, our naval capabilities have been one of our greatest assets. Our early ships where built from white oak on the hills of Virginia, manned by men that were just as tough as the oak hulls of the vessels they built. Over the last century, our oceans have been reduced by technological developments including the submarine, the aircraft carrier, the torpedo and the battleship. With these platforms, and through the brilliance of our innovators and the character of our people, we have engaged and prevailed against the deadliest enemies imaginable.

    “Today, the forces of freedom, led by America, have found this new century to be a dangerous one, filled with unpredictable threats. Thus, we realize that American sea power must become increasingly adaptable, capable of fighting in littorals as well as deep water, armed with an array of specialties that can be focused on any rapidly emerging threat.

    “Transformation is the big word that we have used in a thousand speeches to describe what must be done. All of you here today have played a part in the first step of building something that really does what we all talked about. The X-CRAFT, the Navy’s new sea fighter, is transformational.

    “A battleship was manned with 1700 personnel, a destroyer – 350, and a future DDX will have a crew of only 178. The Sea Fighter can shrink the oceans at 50 miles per hour, armed with affordable weapons with a 600 mile range and a 200 pound payload, delivering with precision 10 times the firepower of a battleship. The Sea Fighter’s crew of 26 is less than 2% of a battleship crew.

    “The capabilities provided by the X-CRAFT could not come any sooner. For years, I’ve made speeches about swift – high firepower, multi-role, low crew, transforming ships. Yet, when the reporters catch me at the end of the speech and say O.K., nice speech on transformation, but what are you buying this year? I have to answer, OH... an aircraft carrier, an attack sub, a couple of surface ships and a ro-ro.

    “Now, we can finally say that our actions are matching our rhetoric, that we are putting transformational technology in the water. All the people here who have made this happen deserve great credit, including my great friend Duke Cunningham, our top gun in Congress who worked so hard on Defense Appropriations to fund the X-CRAFT. I would also like to acknowledge the efforts of the Appropriations Committee Chairman Jerry Lewis, Senator John Warner, Ted Stevens, Dan Inouye, and our great CNO, Vern Clark, whose steadfastness is manifested in this christening.

    “I would also like to thank Tony Batista, former research and development leader of the House Armed Services Committee staff, who had been a quite force behind the project because he believed in it. And of course, the not so quite voice of the late Tom Taylor, whose two pound cufflinks were matched with a great intellect and a colorful personality. We will never forget Tom Taylor. Tom, I want to dedicate this speech to you.

    “Behind every successful system is a project officer with a determination. I know everyone will agree that Tom Taylor had all the great traits of a successful project leader and a streak of individuality that mad him a perfect match for the X-CRAFT. I also know that each one of the services here today will be the greatest beneficiaries of the X-CRAFT.

    “I visited our wounded Marines in Bethesda yesterday and saw the wounds of the ambush, the improvised explosive device, the fire-fight and the door to door urban battles. These young men, these heroes, bear the brunt of close proximity fighting. With Cheerful determinations, they take on the enemy at arms length, up close and personal, and for the Marine Corps in Iraq, over 400 young men have been killed in action.

    “We have in this shipyard, the ability to help. Armed with precision and the ability to get close at high speed, the X-CRAFT and its successors will provide our Armed Forces with greater mission flexibility and delivery. As we prepare for a new century of warfare, the X-CRAFT will certainly emerge as one of the Navy’s most lethal assets.”