Forum: F-22A Raptor

Japan already is producing its own fighter (F-2) in spite of its "pacifistic constitution".....or whatever is being refered to here (I think the reference is about Japan's surrender agreement at the end of WWII).

If Austrailia were allowed to buy the F-22 now, that would have a negative effect on the F-35 project not only for Austrailia but for LM and the U.S. You must think about how defense contractors get past the "peace-nics" in Congress with defense contracts and the billion$ that are associated with them. LM wants the F-35 operational before FMS buyers change their mind. Get the F-35 up and going then discuss F-22 FMS. Doh

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Dwightlooi, all of those articles pre date the one I linked to and they either talk about committees or the House, not the Congress. The article I linked to states that after a joint conference on Sept. 27th the Congress upheld the F-22 "ban" on FMS.

PhillyGuy wrote:

Dwightlooi, all of those articles pre date the one I linked to and they either talk about committees or the House, not the Congress. The article I linked to states that after a joint conference on Sept. 27th the Congress upheld the F-22 "ban" on FMS.

I see.

Spitfire-FreeBirds-VFW wrote:

Japan already is producing its own fighter (F-2) in spite of its "pacifistic constitution".....or whatever is being refered to here (I think the reference is about Japan's surrender agreement at the end of WWII).

If Austrailia were allowed to buy the F-22 now, that would have a negative effect on the F-35 project not only for Austrailia but for LM and the U.S. You must think about how defense contractors get past the "peace-nics" in Congress with defense contracts and the billion$ that are associated with them. LM wants the F-35 operational before FMS buyers change their mind. Get the F-35 up and going then discuss F-22 FMS. Doh

I don't think that F-22 exports will be bad for L-M. If anything, L-M will prefer to see F-22 sales and will want to keep the F-22 line open forever.

The F-35's export potential and the value of the aircraft does not rest on the unavailability of the F-22. The F-35 sells on its own tremendous merit -- value, capabilities and versatility.

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That's not a valid argument - NOBODY among US tech customers can afford to pay 1 bilion $ for one plane

Then what about the F-117? That's a valid arguement.

Lurch wrote:

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That's not a valid argument - NOBODY among US tech customers can afford to pay 1 bilion $ for one plane

Then what about the F-117? That's a valid arguement.

High maintenance stealth and limited strike only / stealth_at_night ability.

Dwightlooi -

I agree with what you have said Very Happy

but Congress doesn't work that way particularly when Democrats are in charge.

As far as keeping the F-22 line open forever...again a good idea but it all comes down to Congressional funding. I for one would like to see the U.S. with about 5,000 F-22s and 10,000 F-35s.....but that will surely never happen. The U.S. military has been cut down to such bare minimums it is scary. A record low 3% of GDP is defense spending. It should be near 10%.

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Lurch wrote:
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That's not a valid argument - NOBODY among US tech customers can afford to pay 1 bilion $ for one plane

Then what about the F-117? That's a valid arguement.

High maintenance stealth and limited strike only / stealth_at_night ability.

I do understand that the F-117 is very high maintenance and used at night, (Hence it's retirement) but the point is that it's still not available even if another country would accept those conditions.

Forum: F-22A Raptor

F-22 not to be exported - Bush Admin