The U.S. government has aid it is “positively inclined” to selling 100 F-22 fighter jets to Japan. It would be the first overseas sale of the state-of-the-art stealth fighter jets.br /The F-22 Raptor is a fighter jet capable of incapacitating entire air forces of other countries. It has radar-evading stealth technology and its range of surveillance is vastly wider than that of other fighter jets. It boasts radically improved maneuverability. Its effectiveness in aerial combat is guaranteed by the fact that it can see others, while being invisible to others. In mock battles with F-15, F-16 and F-18 fighter jets, the F-22 won 144 dogfights and lost none. The South Korean Air Force, composed mainly of F-15 and F-16 fighters, would be powerless in front of the Japanese Air Self Defense Force equipped with F-22s.br /South Korea is in a double bind: a nuclear and biological missile threat from North Korea and being trapped between a fierce armament race between China and Japan. China surprised the world by shooting down a satellite with its own missile and increasing its fleet of nuclear submarines. A decade later, China is about to launch its own fleet of aircraft carriers.br /Japan will not sit by idly as China arms itself. The U.S. is seeking to counter China by aggressively supporting Japan’s missile defense systems and by boosting the country’s air force and naval capabilities. And Washington’s gift, coinciding with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s visit, is 100 F-22 fighter jets.br /The U.S. cited North Korea’s nuclear missile threat and China’s modernizing air force as reasons for selling the F-22s to Japan. And Washington did that without even glancing at South Korea, which is more directly exposed to such a threat. In order to facilitate the sale of F-22 fighter jets to Japan, the U.S. is ready to change its law banning overseas sales of the planes until 2015. But Washington has yet to give South Korea a definitive answer regarding the sale of Global Hawk unmanned surveillance aircraft. Meanwhile, the U.S. and Japan are forming a Pacific security triangle with Australia, which is filling a place once held by South Korea.br /South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense says it will reexamine its air force reinforcement plans, which were centered around F-15K fighter jets. But there is no way of knowing whether the United States would sell the F-22 to South Korea. And even if it does, South Korea will find it hard to purchase the F-22, which costs up to US$300 million apiece, or double the price of an F-15K. With GDP growth only in the four percent range, South Korea is facing a tough time looking for ways to protect itself in Northeast Asia, where it is stuck between North Korea, which is unwilling to give up its nuclear program, and China and Japan, which are about to embark on an armament race.br /br /Source: http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200704/200704270015.html

a href=”http://bp2.blogger.com/_RRbP6fpJWAc/RjHyJZY6KzI/AAAAAAAAAC0/gnV2PTLaZCk/s1600-h/Jaquar-RAF-aircraft_1.jpg”img id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5058090099761883954″ style=”FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand” alt=”" src=”http://bp2.blogger.com/_RRbP6fpJWAc/RjHyJZY6KzI/AAAAAAAAAC0/gnV2PTLaZCk/s320/Jaquar-RAF-aircraft_1.jpg” border=”0″ //abr /The MOD announced that the RAF’s ten remaining Jaguar aircraft will leave service after 33 years at the end of April 2007.br /In July 2004 MOD announced the Jaguar would reach the end of its distinguished service during 2007. The ageing Jaguar is being replaced by the much more capable multi-role Typhoon aircraft, with the Tornado fleet taking on the bulk of the Jaguar’s air-to-ground role.br /As the RAF has no plans to use the Jaguars on operations, the decision has been taken to take them out of operational service on 30 April 2007.br /br /This decision will ensure that the Typhoon’s air-to-ground capability can be established more quickly. Many Jaguar personnel will re-deploy to the Typhoon Force ahead of their planned dates and be part of the work-up for operational deployment of the aircraft. No 11 Squadron, the first squadron to bring in the Typhoon’s air-to-surface capability, will now be able to establish itself in its permanent accommodation sooner, and build on the momentum it has created thus far.br /br /RAF Coltishall, the spiritual home to the Jaguar, closed in September 2006.br /br /br /A disbandment event for 6 Squadron, the last Jaguar squadron, is planned for 25 May 2007 at RAF Coningsby. This will include the last flypast of the RAF Jaguar Squadron.br /br /br /br /p align=”center”embed src=”http://www.youtube.com/v/ZaJG3OYezmA” width=”425″ height=”350″ type=”application/x-shockwave-flash” wmode=”transparent”/embed/p

Azerbaijan Defense Minister Safar Abiyev and Defense Industry Minister Yavar Jamalov are scheduled to make an official visit to Pakistan.br / br /The meetings during the visit are to cover cooperation between Azerbaijani and Pakistan in defense industry, APA reports.br /br /While attending the IDEAS international defence military exhibition in Pakistan, Azerbaijan showed interest to JF-17 multirole fighters as well as tanks and small arms made in Pakistan.br /br /JF-17 Thunder fighter aircraft is result of joint effort between Pakistan and Chinese aerospace industries. The production of JF-17 is set to start in 2008 with two aircraft already delivered to Pakistan air force in March, 2007, Pakistan is expected to receive total of 150 to 200 aircrafts.br /br /Azerbaijani Embassy in Pakistan and Foreign Ministries of the two countries are preparing for the visit.br /br /Safar Abiyev and Yavar Jamalov are said to hold several official meetings in the Pakistani Defense Ministry. Defense Industry Minister Jamalov will talk with the Secretary of Pakistan Defense Ministry Shaig Siddig Termidi on cooperation prospects.

Quote:br /emFrom the Jerusalem Post 20 Apr 2007.the Israel Air Force has expressed new found interest in receiving the F-22 and has requested that the Defense Ministry present the request on its behalf to U.S./embr /em/embr /This is just a piece of information I got from some forum. I would be really grateful if someone gave me a link.br /br /Now the big question, will United States sell it’s most deadliest fighter to Israel? Even Australia had interest in the F-22, but United States had made it clear that F-22 was not for sale, but that was to Australia. United States can change their policies anytime they like. United States might consider selling F-22′s to Israel as US has tensions with Iran over it’s nuclear program and Israel can prove to be a good ally. If Israel had the right tools it would be great help to United States.br /br /But what about the technology transfer? Perhaps, for now we are uncertain as there is no solid decision of Israel acquiring the F-22′s just yet. F-35 looks more realistic to Israel, but F-35 is still under development and will take longer time for the production to begin.br /br /Conclusion:br /My opinion is that the US should loosen up and sell at least 50 F-22′s to Israel and when F-35′s are out Israel needs minimum 100 of them. For now Israel has the deadliest Airforce in the middle east, but after acquiring F-22′s and F-35′s Israel will be the deadlier than all of the middle eastern airforces combined together.