Twelve United States Air Forde F-15 pilots have written a Congressman from California opposing the proposed sale of AIM9L super-Sidewinder air-to-air missiles to Saudi Arabia.
The letter was written to Rep. Tom Lantos (D. Calif.) by the airmen, all from the Holloman Air Force base in New Mexico, who asked that their names not be disclosed. Lantos said today that the letter demonstrates that the sales “pose an intolerable threat to the safety of the United States and its fighting men.”
A spokesman for Lantos said the pilots decided to write to the Congressman after they saw him quoted in Aviation Week in opposition to the missiles and fuel tanks the United States proposes to sell to Saudi Arabia for the 62 F-15s previously sold to Saudi Arabia.
BASIS FOR PILOTS’ OPPOSITION
“The unstable political situation in Iran and throughout the Middle East led to the compromising of our F-14 aircraft, Phoenix air-to-air missiles and our Hawk surface-to-air missiles,” the pilots charged. “We do not want the technology of the AIM9L to leak to the Soviets through lack of security in Saudi Arabia or through some closed-door bargaining session.”
The pilots added that “we at the user level can attest that the AIM9L thrusts the American fighter pilot a very large step ahead in air combat over any other military force.”
The pilots noted that the missile was “so superior that it gives the American fighter pilot a believable chance of survival when confronted with the overwhelming numbers of Soviet aircraft we must face.” Lantos explained that the AIM9L can shoot down an enemy fighter from any angle.
Lantos noted that American and NATO forces in Europe have substantially fewer men, tanks and planes than the Warsaw Pact countries. “Only a superior technology like the AIM9L makes our forces a significant deterrent, and gives a fighting chance to the men whose lives will be on the line in the event of hostilities.”
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
