Congressman Gingrey's F-22 Floor Speech

Statement

Mr. Speaker, on Friday, January 29 Russia's first fifth-generation fighter jet -- with stealth capabilities -- successfully completed its first test flight. This is an ominous development indeed, as it comes on the heels of the Obama Administration's decision to terminate production of our own fifth generation air superiority fighter, the F-22A Raptor.

The Administration's decision to end the F-22 program at 187 aircraft was clearly not driven by military requirements, as the long-standing Air Force requirement for the F-22 -- developed to meet the national military strategy -- is 381. While President Obama and Secretary Gates were expending great capital in shorting the Air Force by nearly 200 F-22s, it should be clear to all of us what the Russians have been doing.

Air superiority is not something we should take for granted, Mr. Speaker, for owning the skies is what enables us to control the battlefield. The President's short-sighted decision on the F-22 ignores the possibility that -- at some point in the future -- we could find ourselves in a conflict with a conventional military power that could challenge our air superiority, a possibility I don't think any of us would like to imagine.

I yield back.

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