I wonder how long the US will keep hold of the f22 before selling it to foreign nations? Most planes are exclusive to start with for obvious reasons but i think even the f-16 and f-18 were that way originally so that begs the question as to how long it will be before any allies can buy the plane, surely they would like to regain some of the R+D costs (which were huge). I bet lockheed cant wait for the market to open up, unless the gap gets filled by the eurofighter.
I am also interested to know if there are any next gen planes in the works for around 2225 that are being worked on now to replace the raptors.


[edit on 26-3-2005 by ufo3]

[edit on 12-4-2005 by Seekerof]

If I were to sell the F-22 to another country, I would wait until I would have produced another fighter. That or wait until the F-22 had at least 20-30 years of service, so that would be around 2025-2035. As for the gov't doing research for a new fighter, I doubt they are doing it now, but they will probably heavily fund research around 2015 after the F-22 has around 10 years of service.

[edit on 26-3-2005 by beyondSciFi]

I would expect the UK , being an absolutely unquestionable ally of the usa could get some before that time....?

maybe "on loan" but doubtful so prolly no but hell no till we rank up some service time

the US wont let any other country have the Raptor. it is too new of a plane to let go. the Raptor is for US use only. we made the JSF fighter to share with our allies. (Joint Strike Fighter)

I think there are four nations that could get them if they wanted them: The UK, Australia, Canada, & Japan. But the Canadians and Australians probably don't have the budget, and the UK could only afford a few, plus they already have the Typhoon.

Thus the only country I see with a realistic chance of purchasing F-22's would be Japan.

I cant see any european countries buying the 22 purely because they are already commited to the eurofighter. I personally prefer the raptor but only if it can do all that it has hyped for otherwise the eurofighter is probably better from an airframe point of view because it has not had many restrictions to keep it stealthy like the raptor has.