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US lawmakers said exploring F-22 version for Japan
Reuters on Yahoo ^ | 6/1/09 | Andrea Shalal-Esa

Posted on 06/01/2009 4:51:10 PM PDT by NormsRevenge

WASHINGTON, June 1 (Reuters) - The Senate Appropriations Committee's defense subcommittee is considering requiring the U.S. Air Force to study the viability of creating an export version of the Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N) F-22 fighter jet, a source closely following the issue told Reuters on Monday.

"There may be language inserted into the fiscal 2010 appropriations bill that would at least look at the possibility," said the source, who asked not to be identified since the legislative language is still being finalized.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates in April said the Pentagon would halt production of the radar-evading F-22 fighter at 187 airplanes, after ordering four more aircraft in fiscal 2009 that ends Sept. 30.

Japan for years has expressed interest in buying two squadrons of its own F-22s, which could translate into orders of 40 to 60 more airplanes for Lockheed, said defense analyst Loren Thompson of the Virginia-based Lexington Institute.

Foreign sales of the F-22 fighter are banned under an amendment by House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey that was passed in 1998, but recent North Korean missile launches and continued interest by Japan in buying the F-22 may be softening congressional opposition, particularly since the Lockheed production line is now nearing a shutdown.

Some lawmakers are concerned about the loss of tens of thousands of jobs, and are considering adding funding for additional F-22s to the Pentagon's fiscal 2010 budget request to keep the line running a little longer -- possibly as a "bridge" to an export version.

(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Foreign Affairs; Japan; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: aerospace; exploring; f22; japan; lawmakers

1 posted on 06/01/2009 4:51:11 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
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To: NormsRevenge

hey Australia want them too. We dont want the JSF, we want the f-22 but JSF is the only choice :(


2 posted on 06/01/2009 4:54:26 PM PDT by 4rcane
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65 years ago , we couldn’t build enough planes to bomb the Japanese off their power trip.

Time to sell some advanced warplanes to the Japanese who seek to defend themselves from old enemies alongside new allies, once bitter adversaries.

Heck Yeah. It’s about jobs, right?


3 posted on 06/01/2009 4:55:01 PM PDT by NormsRevenge (Semper Fi ... Godspeed.)
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To: NormsRevenge
Won't take long for Clinton types and honey traps to get the technology to China.
4 posted on 06/01/2009 4:55:23 PM PDT by BGHater (It's easy to be a Conservative now.)
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To: 4rcane

I hear ya, there are two camps when it comes to the latest greatest warplane technology.

I admit my prejudice and for personal reasons. I am no warmonger but who better to build and buy those weapons that keep us safe at home.


5 posted on 06/01/2009 4:56:51 PM PDT by NormsRevenge (Semper Fi ... Godspeed.)
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To: NormsRevenge

Wonderful.

Faster, please.

(Oh, and sell them to Israel, too. Not that Hussein would do that.)


6 posted on 06/01/2009 4:59:10 PM PDT by Jewbacca (Yes, I am very hairy and good with small arms.)
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To: NormsRevenge

I trust whoever is leading Japan over Obama.


7 posted on 06/01/2009 5:00:06 PM PDT by Jewbacca (Yes, I am very hairy and good with small arms.)
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To: NormsRevenge
The problem was that Japan's defense ministry had been deeply penetrated by China and (I think) Israel.

However, I agree that the political climate has changed. Our allies may now recognize that they are on their own, and they will make the changes necessary to have the finest weapons available. Also, I've been surprised by the nasty internal AF chatter about the F-22’s issues with up time, cost, maintenance, etc.

I think I'd prefer to keep the Lockheed assembly line going, if Japan can address their security issues.

8 posted on 06/01/2009 5:01:25 PM PDT by Wiseghy ("You want to break this army? Then break your word to it.")
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To: 4rcane
hey Australia want them too. We dont want the JSF, we want the f-22 but JSF is the only choice :(The DoD has already scrapped domestic use of the F-22, so now we're selling the project off as a moneymaker. Brilliant.
9 posted on 06/01/2009 5:11:09 PM PDT by Renderofveils (My loathings are simple: stupidity, oppression, crime, cruelty, soft music. - Nabokov)
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To: Wiseghy
Ha ha ha ha.

Not half as deeply as ours has been...

10 posted on 06/01/2009 5:15:08 PM PDT by JasonC
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To: Wiseghy

“I think I’d prefer to keep the Lockheed assembly line going, if Japan can address their security issues. “

our own R&D and production lines are HEAVILY infiltrated by the Chinese.


11 posted on 06/01/2009 6:06:57 PM PDT by driftdiver (I could eat it raw, but why do that when I have a fire.)
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To: NormsRevenge

Who would want the JSF that over done turkey when the F-22 can be had.


12 posted on 06/01/2009 6:26:32 PM PDT by Cheetahcat (Zero the Wright kind of Racist! We are in a state of War with Democrats)
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To: Cheetahcat

The F-35 is already a boondoggle and not yet in IOC, yet the F-22 is already in production and active service, so the big bird goes first.


13 posted on 06/04/2009 8:42:54 PM PDT by myknowledge (F-22 Raptor: World's Largest Distributor of Sukhoi parts!)
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To: myknowledge
“The F-35 is already a boondoggle and not yet in IOC, yet the F-22 is already in production and active service, so the big bird goes first.”

Nothing makes sense Here they have something that will give our pilots a fighting chance to prevail But yet this flying version of the Swiss Army knife is still being worked on! How in the Hell did we ever forget this much of aircraft design?

14 posted on 06/05/2009 10:21:49 AM PDT by Cheetahcat (Zero the Wright kind of Racist! We are in a state of War with Democrats)
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To: NormsRevenge

Obama cant see the use for them, unless of course he can sell them to line his pockets.


15 posted on 06/05/2009 10:35:28 AM PDT by American in Israel (A wise man's heart directs him to the right, but the foolish mans heart directs him toward the left.)
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To: Cheetahcat
How in the Hell did we ever forget this much of aircraft design?

When aircraft design became a political who's who on which pockets get filled instead of something to do with flying. We have become a turd world country politicaly.

16 posted on 06/05/2009 10:37:43 AM PDT by American in Israel (A wise man's heart directs him to the right, but the foolish mans heart directs him toward the left.)
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To: 4rcane
http://www.ausairpower.net/ Dr. Carlo Kopp has made the best recommendation for Australia's 5th Gen fighter: The F-22 Raptor (made by LockMart and Boeing), an American import from Marietta, GA.
17 posted on 06/07/2009 8:12:04 PM PDT by myknowledge (F-22 Raptor: World's Largest Distributor of Sukhoi parts!)
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