Sen. Mc Cain: Raytheon’s Tomahawk important to avoid use of ground troops

 

Raytheon's operations in Tucson should stay busy as the U-S sends more sophisticated weapons into battle, instead of ground troops.

That's the message Arizona Senator John McCain brought to Raytheon workers Tuesday as he spoke at the Raytheon Center in Rita Ranch.

The Senator says weapons like the Tomahawk cruise missile, built in Tucson will stay a key part of the U.S. military and he sees plenty of potential for Raytheon in other sophisticated systems.
       
Raytheon is Tucson's largest private employer so keeping Raytheon, and its workers busy is important to the economy.  Senator John McCain told workers there he foresees plenty of demand for what Raytheon builds.

Raytheon says the Tomahawk Cruise missile has been used more than 2000 times in combat in places like Iraq and Libya.  Its ability to launch from ships and submarines, fly a thousand miles and hit with precision makes it a favorite for maximum impact, with minimal risk.
      
Senator John Mc Cain helped reverse the U.S. Navy's decision to stop Tomahawk production here.  He told Raytheon workers it made no sense to stop building Tomahawks until a replacement is ready.
       
The Senator's calling for more air power to help the Kurds fight Islamic extremists in Iraq with only enough US ground troops to make sure aircraft and missiles hit their targets.

He says, “We would just have to have some but not a massive injection of ground troops.  But we do need and we have got right now boots on the ground in the form of Special Forces and Forward Air Controllers to identify these targets and to help with the Iraqis as they fight against ISIS."

The Israeli made Iron Dome anti missile system has been protecting Israel's cities against Hamas rockets.
        
Now Raytheon will help make Iron Dome systems and market them internationally.
        
Mc Cain says he helped secure money to make that happen.

"It is my understanding and it's still my understanding that that 225 million additional Iron Dome missiles will be co-produced and obviously that co-production will be here. I intend to follow up on that to be sure that is specifically the agreement that we have with the Israelis."

Senator Mc Cain says he will fight efforts to ground the A-10.  He says it's still the best plane to protect US troops, and essential to keeping Davis-Monthan a strong part of Arizona's economy.