Published: July 21, 2009 01:20 pm      

Isakson statement on F-22

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., today made the following statement regarding the Senate’s approval of an amendment to the Defense Authorization bill that would strip out an authorization to procure seven additional F-22s, which are built at Lockheed Martin’s plant in Marietta, Ga. The Senate approved the amendment by a vote of 58 to 40.

“We must be prepared for whatever will come in the 21st century, and we have learned that you cannot underestimate what may come. The F-22 is the most sophisticated fighter jet in the world with the latest stealth technology to reduce detection by radar, and this plane is vital to 21st century American military superiority,” Isakson said. “I’m extremely disappointed the Senate did not recognize how essential the continued production of this aircraft is to our national security as well as to the many local economies and thousands of workers that will be devastated as a result of these cuts.”