F-22 Raptor attractive to Japan as missile threats grow

Aerospace Daily and Defense Report ^ | Apr 20, 2007 | David A. Fulghum

[sukhoi-30mki]

F-22 attractive to Japan as missile threats grow

Apr 20, 2007

David A. Fulghum/Aerospace Daily & Defense Report

Japanese military officials are eyeing the F-22 Raptor as an antidote to growing regional missile threats, Aviation Week & Space Technology will report on April 23.

The Lockheed Martin-built fighter is expected to become a key element in missile defense because it can detect and destroy small cruise missiles and also evade sophisticated air defenses to bomb ballistic missile launch sites. Whether Japanese law might be interpreted to allow the country's Self Defense Force to use the bombing to defend against ballistic missiles is still an open question.

Japanese military officials are quietly but firmly making it known they want the U.S. to release the F-22 to compete for its air force's F-X fighter program, and that they are adamant in wanting to field the most advanced air combat technology available.

Tokyo wants a stealthy fighter equipped with an active electronically scanned radar for cruise missile detection and wideband data links to push additional information into Japan's increasingly sophisticated air defense system - a package offered, for the moment, only by the F-22.

"I'm aware the Japanese are interested in the F-22," Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said last week in response to an Aviation Week question. "I'm also aware of our concerns about what we export and don't export of our high technologies. The Japanese are very close friends. We're committed to protecting Japan, so we'll work our way through it. We all need to be concerned about both ballistic and cruise missile defense. It's something that we...need to work on."

However, Congress is demanding oversight and approval of any plan for foreign sale of the stealth fighter, and active marketing of the aircraft is prohibited. The U.S. has been trying to pitch either an upgrade of in-service designs (such as F/A-18E/Fs or F-15Es equipped with advanced, small-target, long-range radars) or the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter for the F-X program. The primary driver for the F-X requirement remains air superiority - which includes cruise missile defense - for which Tokyo wants the F-22 made available.

Release of the F-22 is becoming a point of pride with the Japanese, who provide the U.S. forward bases in the region as well as dispersal and rapid deployment options in case of a military confrontation or natural disaster in the region, U.S. officials say.

[LuisTiant]

That’s good hear.

Given that incident, I don’t think it’s a good idea to trust Japan with our latest tech.

Why not put a squadron of USAF F-22 in Okinawa? The Japanese get F-22s in the theater and we keep control of them.

[Little Ray]

You’d be right if the F-35 was available RIGHT NOW. However, deliveries of the F-35 START in 4-6 years. The Japanese would like on the production line, now.
Makes sense. The F-35 is going to be in danger from the Democrats the moment as soon as the next budget is released.

[miliantnutcase]

Thank you. I knew I was right about that mark-up.

[Paul Ross]

I think it was to the Russians, not the Chicoms.

Correct. But the Russkies then sold it to the Chi-Coms...

[Paul Ross]

When development costs are included, each Raptor costs over $350 million.

Yes, but that assumes only 184 were ever made. Produce 500 more of them, and the unit cost would go below $75 million each. Cheaper than the F-15. Lot fewer parts.

[Yo-Yo]

I think $75 million in production costs alone is low. Regardless, why should we make our taxpayers foot the entire development bill for the Raptor, then sell it "at cost" to Australia, Japan, and Israel? Nope, there needs to be a markup to recoup development costs on any potential export sales, and those export sales shouldn't happen until the Raptor is about a decade old.

[Paul Ross]

I agree with you. They shouldn’t get the benefit of the returns on investment and lowered unit cost that the US taxpayer should instead reap.

[Consoleman]

Japan do not need F22;

Japan must pay for their aggression during WWI & WWII & pacific war, killed thousands of US citizens, Koreans, Chinese, rest of asians and more ppl in pacific.

So it’s alright that Japan is payingup in UN.

There are many reasons why Japan should not be armed with US weapons.

1 - They hate US and rest of the world
2 - They are war loving nation
3 - They are cunning and not trustworthy
4 - They are deceptive
5 - They have agressive history - pure cold blooded killers!
6 - They murdered US citizens
7 - They starved POW to death
8 - They have no morality
9 - They are likely will start world war
10 - They like to rape young girls
11 - They have highest child molesters in the world
12 - They are narrow minded and senseless
13 - They are dirtiest race in the world