Washington, DC – Congressman Todd Akin (R-MO), ranking member of the House Armed Services Seapower Subcommittee, today lauded the inclusion of a key provision he championed in the FY2010 Defense Authorization Conference report. The measure which was championed by Congressman Akin and passed in the House in June authorizes a multi-year procurement for the F/A-18 Super Hornet.

The provision authorizes the Department of Defense to enter into a multi-year procurement of F/A-18 Super Hornets and authorizes $108 million for advanced procurement to reduce the overall cost per aircraft in the fleet. The multi-year represents roughly 150 aircraft.

Congressman Akin, who has been a fierce champion of the F/A-18 Super Hornet and who previously spearheaded the development of an electronic attack variant of the Super Hornets, known now as the EA-18G "Growler", stated that he would continue to fight for the Super Hornet because of its tremendous contribution to national defense capabilities.

"This is great news for the United States Navy which is facing a shortfall of more than 240 fighters until the JSF comes on line," said Akin. "This has been one of my top priorities, and it is extremely gratifying to see that the F/A-18 with its superior capabilities is almost certain to fill the Navy’s fighter gap."

"I want the red, white and blue defended, and building additional F/A-18 Super Hornets to address our looming fighter shortfall is critical to doing that," said Akin. "The F/A-18 is a proven combat aircraft with multiple configurations that give it maximum punch in battle."

"It makes absolutely no sense to have aircraft carriers without aircraft," said Akin. "With the authorization of a multi-year procurement and advanced purchasing reducing overall cost it makes no sense whatsoever to overlook the Super Hornet as the answer to fighter shortfall problem, and with the F/A-18’s combat capabilities we can all feel confident in that solution."

"The F/A-18 multi-year is also good for the taxpayers. According to a recent Navy report, even a three year multi-year purchase would save $315 million for the government. A five year multi year could easily save half a billion dollars. This multi-year is good for the Navy and good for the taxpayers."