[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 2] [Extensions of Remarks] [Page 1712] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]EARMARK DECLARATION ______ HON. ROY BLUNT of missouri in the house of representatives Tuesday, February 23, 2010 Mr. BLUNT. Madam Speaker, I submit the following: Priority Name: Thunder Radar Pod (TRP) Appropriated Amount: $1.6 million Account: Air Force--RDT&E Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Mid-American Precision Products Address of Requesting Entity: 1927 West 4th Street, Joplin, MO 64801 Description of Request: The use of taxpayer funds is justified because the Air National Guard (ANG) has an essential requirement to provide its F-16 fighter forces with all-weather, day & night strike and situational awareness capability that will complement its current EO/IR capability with the Advanced Targeting Pods. This capability can only be provided with an airborne Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) that is capable of seeing through cloud cover, inclement weather, and smoke obscured targets or areas of interest. Lack of an all weather targeting capability will continue to limit the USAF's ability to effectively fulfill its Destruction of Enemy Air Defense (DEAD) tasking regardless of weather and allow the enemy to operate unfettered in poor metrological conditions. This all-weather DEAD capability will not be realized until approximately 2018 with the fielding of a like capability in the F-35, making the procurement of the TRP in the near- term time frame critical. ____________________