The Defense Department wants just 183 F-22 Raptors, no matter how much the Air Force begs for extra. The Australian government, on the other hand, wants Raptors more than anything ... but Congress refuses to sell them. Canberra joins Tokyo and Jerusalem on the list of governments that say they would buy F-22s if the U.S. would just release the $150-million (not counting development) jets for export.
Australia's case is most compelling. The F-22's long range and twin engines make it a good choice for replacing aged Australia's F-111s and F/A-18s. On a recent visit, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said there was no reason Canberra couldn't be trusted with the radar-evading Raptor. "The reality is we have a law that prohibits the United States from selling F-22 to any country," he added. Since Gates' comment, Aussie media has only pumped up the volume on its Raptor punditry.
Australia's in the middle of a huge economic boom thanks to its oil and mineral wealth. The government has plowed a big chunk of that windfall into new destroyers and amphibious ships, M-1 tanks, MRAP-style armored trucks, a couple squadrons of F/A-18E/F Super Hornets and airborne radar planes. The F-22s would top off what amounts to the biggest rearmament in decades for the island nation. Barring a change of heart by Congress on the F-22 ban, Canberra's planning on buying F-35s. But the single-engined F-35 is nobody's favorite.
(Photo: me)
