A Senate panel is pushing to repeal a 1998 law that bans the export of the F-22, the stealthy fighter that Secretary Robert Gates put on the chopping block earlier this year. If the proposal, passed by the Senate Appropriations Committee, becomes law, it would offer a lifeline to Lockheed Martin’s production line, which is otherwise schedule for closure.“Japan, Israel and Australia have shown interest in buying the supersonic, radar-evading F-22 Raptor, designed to destroy enemy air defenses in the first days of any conflict and clear the way for other missions,” reports Reuters.
Japan, in particular, is considered the major market for the f-22. “The Japanese have expressed interest in fielding some Raptors, and Japanese procurement of forty to sixty aircraft would go far to bolster Japan’s ability to deter a belligerent North Korea and other prospective security challenges in Northeast Asia,” says Barry Watts, of the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments in a new report looking at the F-22.
Selling the F-22 abroad would still not be easy — the aircraft would have to be modified to protect some of the most sensitive technology, and cost would certainly be a factor. Some estimates place the export price tag at $250 million per aircraft.