Since 1980, I have been a strong supporter of the policy of former President Carter and Secretary of Defense Harold Brown in initiating the stealth bomber, the B-2 program. In the gulf war, we saw with vivid evidence the effectiveness of stealth technology when it was decided to use the F-117's against the most heavily defended targets inside Saddam Hussein's Iraq. The F-117's, without the requirement for jammers and other support aircraft, were able to go in and attack the most heavily defended targets, using 2,000 pound precision-guided munitions. They were able to knock out those radars and surface to air missiles almost instantly, and come back without our pilots being shot down. I believe that the B-2 bomber is just a bigger and better version of the F-117. It allows us to go five times as far and carry eight times as much conventional munitions and submunitions. With those same 2,000 pounds, it could carry 16, each of which would be independently targetable. I think the most revolutionary thing about stealth technology is its capability against mobile targets.
Norman D. Dicks: “Since 1980, I have been a strong supporter of the policy of former President Carter and Secretary of Defense Harold…”
Editor's note · Context
Discussing the importance of the B-2 stealth bomber in defense appropriations.
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