Last year, Grassley raised concerns about the communication capabilities between commercial airliners and fighter jets that serve to protect them. In the event of a hostile takeover of a commercial airliner, there is no way for an F-15 pilot to communicate directly with a commercial airline crew. F-15 fighter jets and commercial airliners communicate on different radio frequencies, and only can communicate through ground controllers. This can be cumbersome, time consuming and subject to error.
"Pilots have been talking to each other through hand signals. This funding is critical to saving people if a flight is taken hostage," Grassley said. "We can't risk a communication mishap that could lead to a tragic situation."
After learning of the communication problems between F-15 fighter jets and commercial airliners, Grassley requested from the Senate Appropriations Committee funding to equip 583 F-15s with proper radios. At the time, the United States Air Force estimated that $39 million would be needed to equip the fighter jets.
Grassley secured $25 million in an emergency supplemental spending bill, but the funding was deemed non-emergency spending by the President. Grassley said the Department of Defense recognized the problem and agreed it should be fixed. Through standard procedure, the Defense Department sent a request to reprogram last year's funds. This means that funds that were appropriated for a specific purpose can be redirected for purposes other than those originally funded.
The Defense Department's request has been approved by the necessary committees: the Senate Armed Services Committee, the House Armed Services Committee, the Senate Appropriations Committee, and the House Appropriations Committee.
It's expected that Rockwell Collins in Cedar Rapids will compete for the project.