F/A-22 pilots deployed from Langley AFB, Va., to Utah (DR, 10/17/05) expressed their enthusiasm for the new stealthy fighter to a reporter from the Hampton Roads (Va.) Daily Press, saying they want to dominate every fight. “If I can blow up a threat before he knows I’m here, that’s what I want,” Maj. Chuck Corcoran told the Press. He added, “This plane can go places that an aluminum plane just can’t. With the F-15, we’ll probably both get a shot.” Lt. Col. Jim Hecker agreed, telling the Press, “We want to win every fight 59-0.”
Lawmakers on both sides of Capitol Hill are pressing the Pentagon to get serious about the threat cheap, small drones pose to U.S. forces at home and abroad—and to put them in the hands of American troops as quickly as possible.