Project On Government Oversight, Letter from Project On Government Oversight to Sen. John McCain
Dear Senator McCain,
POGO appreciates that you are holding hearings on the F-22. We find it distressing that the U.S. appears to be at, or rapidly approaching, a point at which the only way we can afford tactical air superiority is to eventually undermine it by selling it abroad. It strikes us, that if we as a nation are going to continue to develop and upgrade F-15 and F-16 technology not just for our own forces but also for export, we must retain the F-22 exclusively for U.S. use; or, if the F-22 is cancelled, we must limit the upgrade technology available for foreign export.
As you may be aware, a handful of trade publications began to report last month that Lockheed Martin has asked the Air Force to back it in an effort to obtain permission to sell the F-22 to select overseas allies. According to a February 17 Inside the Air Force report, this proposal is
