Australia could be trusted with the United States’ Lockheed F-22 Raptor fighter, US defence secretary Robert Gates says. Currently an Act of the US Congress bars any foreign sales of the Raptor. The aircraft is the US Air Force’s most advanced fighter and its sale is prohibited to any foreign country, under a 1998 amendment to a budget bill moved by Wisconsin Democrat Congressman Dave Obey.
The production line will remain open until 2009, allowing for the next President to decide if we’ll continue manufacturing the birds. If it’s McCain, sympathetic ears may be willing to hear the Air Force out. Obama or HRC, maybe not. But the Raptor’s current mission is as much about winning a war with China as it is about preventing one. In that sense, it’s in our best interest to equip trustworthy Pacific rim allies with the world’s most advanced fighter. If Australia gets access, so will the Japanese, which could mean as many as 200 allied F-22s in the theater. The real problem: if the U.S. starts selling F-22s in the Pacific, it will come at the expense of the Joint Strike Fighter.
