Connecticut Governor Rell Commends Pentagon on Moving to Continue Production of F-22 Raptor Fighter Jets

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Program’s Future Has Major Implications for Industry in Connecticut

January 18, 2008 -- Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell today commended the Pentagon on reversing course and preparing to request emergency funding for more F-22A Raptor fighter jets next month as part of its fiscal 2009 war funding request.

Last month, Governor Rell wrote President Bush to urge continued production of the advanced F-22 Raptor fighter jet. The Department of Defense had been considering putting an end to procurement of the fifth-generation fighter at the end of the current procurement contract. Such a decision would have left the Pentagon with only 183 of the high-tech, air superiority fighters, even though the U.S. Air Force has a long-standing need for 381 aircraft.

“I am pleased that the Pentagon listened to us,” Governor Rell said. “Apart from being unwise to leave the Air Force short of the number of aircraft it needs to properly complete its mission, it would be an unacceptable risk to our national defense to see this industrial infrastructure crumble due to a lack of work.

“Like the decision to move forward with early procurement for building two submarines a year for the Navy, keeping the Raptor production lines humming will ensure that we do not lose these vital jobs – and the highly skilled men and women who fill them – in our aerospace industry.”

The Raptor program involves more than 1,000 suppliers in 44 states, including thousands of workers at Pratt & Whitney in Connecticut who build the F119 turbofan engines that power the F-22.

Source: Connecticut Governor