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America’s military and Florida’s economy share a huge stake in the F/A-22 jet fighter
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By Congressman Jeff Miller
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Northwest Florida Daily News, July 14th, 2003
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In the world of vintage automobiles, a 1972 model car is a collectible. In the world of high-tech military airplanes, a 1972 model fighter plane is a liability to our men and women in combat, and the security of our great nation.
Yet many of the pilots who carried the fight for America in Iraq were flying F-15 fighters, the cutting edge when they first appeared in 1972, but the technology has become dated in the high stakes world of defense technology. The F-15s used in Iraq were older than many of the brave pilots who flew them.
This situation was no surprise to the Defense Department or to the U.S. Congress who with foresight had already approved a plan to replace the already aging F-15 by developing the F/A-22 “Raptor,” an aircraft universally recognized as the world’s most advanced fighter/bomber hybrid.
The development has been a long process. It has been helped along by nearly 30 companies in Florida now working on the F/A-22 program but has been hindered by chronic funding delays in the 1990s as some members of Congress felt a lack of urgency about military preparedness. In a world beset with existing and unforeseeable threats, we must be vigilant in preparing our military to protect us from both conventional and unconventional attacks.
The Clinton era complacency about military preparedness is over. Now that the F/A-22 is ready to go, however, there are still some factions that want to stop Congress from funding full production of this long-needed aircraft.
We can’t afford to let that happen, for two reasons. One, the men and women of our armed forces need the support that the F/A-22 was designed to provide. And two, Florida’s economy needs the financial benefits that full production of the plane would bring to our state. Many of the early copy’s of the F/A-22 will likely be based at Florida’s Eglin AFB and Tyndall AFB.
Thousands of well-paying aerospace jobs in Florida depend on funding for full production of the F/A-22, as President Bush requested. These are jobs that would be all but impossible to replace, in any economic state. And full production of the F/A-22 would provide Florida’s economy with an infusion of $1.2 billion over the next 10 years.
Floridians should feel proud to support the F/A-22 for economic as well as patriotic reasons. The F/A-22 is an aircraft that our armed forces need and that the people of Florida can feel honored to help produce. Many of the early copies of the F/A-22 will likely be based at Florida’s Eglin AFB and Tyndall AFB.
Experts from the past secretary of the Air Force to numerous defense analysts agree that the F/A-22 is a fundamental advance in fighter aircraft technology, designed for the kinds of conflicts Americans are most likely to find themselves fighting. It is a stealth aircraft that flies in all weather, twenty-four hours a day, with the on-board technology to pass through even the most sophisticated air-defense systems and destroy enemy targets.
In the early 1970s, an F-4 bomber flying over East Asia could carry up to 16,000 pounds of munitions and attack a North Vietnamese target with 400 foot accuracy. In contrast, the F/A-22 is capable of attacking 8 targets with 8 small smart bombs per mission, with an accuracy range of 15 feet. The F/A-22 carries a more lethal and accurate munitions payload than previous jets yet it is faster and more maneuverable. The best description I’ve heard of the F/A-22 is that is has the speed and grace of a featherweight boxer with the knockout punch of a heavyweight.
This is the kind of fighter we need to protect our troops in dangerous situations. Additionally it is imperative that the citizens of Florida reap the economic benefits of producing the F/A-22. America needs this plane – and Florida needs to help build it.
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