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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| New Israeli immigrant: F22 stealth bomber? |
| 2006-08-03 |
| Humm -- could maybe be used in keeping an eye on Iran? The United States may supply Israel with the most advanced stealth fighter jet in the world – the F22 Raptor – considering the war in Lebanon and the Iranian threat, the Israeli security establishment has assessed. The US has not yet exported the F22 to any of its allies. Recently, however, the House of Representatives lifted its nine year ban on the sale of the advanced jet outside the United States. No real contacts have yet been made on the matter, but the lifting of the ban on its sale has paved the way for such a deal. US officials have apparently hinted to Israel lately that as part of American efforts in the international war on the “axis of evil,” the US would offer Israel to buy the stealth fighter. The F22 Raptor is manufactured by Lockheed Martin. Originally, the US Air Force planned to buy 750 of the jets, but the number dropped first to 350, then to a mere 183. The price of each F22 is roughly USD 150 million. Lockheed Martin wanted to export the plane to American allies, but up until now it was barred by the US government from offering them for sale. The Israeli Air Force enthusiastically welcomed reports that the stealth jet could come to Israel. The F22 Raptor is the most advanced warplane in the world and is almost undetectable to radar systems. The plane’s stealth is achieved through the combination of its shape, color, composite materials, and various installed systems. The single-seater plane is armed mainly with air-to-air missiles, but also with the smart missiles used by the Israeli Air Force. In addition, security officials assessed Wednesday that the US administration would significantly boost funding of the joint American-Israeli program to develop anti-missile systems. “The threat is on the whole world, and Washington understands that a solution must be found – and fast,” one of the sources said. Even before the current war, the security establishment assessed that all types of rockets – starting at the simple Qassam all the way to accurate long-range missiles – would be the main weapon of terrorism used against Israel in the upcoming years. For this purpose, the Defense Ministry decided to take up a joint offer by the Rafael Advanced Development Authority Ltd. and the American Raytheon Company to manufacture an unprecedented defense system, jointly funded by Israel and the US. The initial investment amounted to USD 250 million. The project’s main aim was to develop a portable system that would quickly identify rocket launches and respond immediately by destroying the enemy rocket. |
| Posted by:Sherry |
| #10 Personally, i would suggest a cheaper way - just flatten any grid square that has a radar array in it - anywhere within the Muslim Midlle East. Tell them - "You are barbarians, and are not permitted to own radar. If you put in place anything that emits radar waves, we destroy everything within 1,000 meters of that point." Then do it. Cheaper thn Stealth Fighters. |
| Posted by: Lone Ranger 2006-08-03 23:04 |
| #9 They don't need stealth fighters. They need cruise missles. We are well beyond the air war and need to get ord to a target. GPS missles are fine for that. |
| Posted by: 49 Pan 2006-08-03 22:42 |
| #8 Remember that the Russians have been giving the Syrians some of their most advanced export SAM systems. We are betting that the Raptor is better than these Russian systems, and so the Israelis could pound the Syrians at will after taking them out. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2006-08-03 20:21 |
| #7 We could just sell F-22s ourselves to the Chinese, thus bypassing the middleman. |
| Posted by: Iblis 2006-08-03 20:06 |
| #6 Just hope they don't sell the tech. They have a history of that. |
| Posted by: 3dc 2006-08-03 17:59 |
| #5 Why do the Israelis need the F22? Don't they already have complete, uncontested control of the skies in that region? Yes, but if missions and challenges change, Israel has to have the tools in its belt to deal with the problem. Geographically, they are about as big as a postage stamp, and they don't have the size or isolation that allows them luxury of a slow response to quick developments. Israel may need to attack Iran, and Iran may send SAMs or other anti-aircraft systems to whoever Israel is beating up at the moment. |
| Posted by: gorb 2006-08-03 17:55 |
| #4 They just need a heavy 'Mech battalion. |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2006-08-03 17:53 |
| #3 F-22's might serve them well in an attack on Iran. What they need today is about 100 Warthogs which could do some serious damage in ground attack mode. |
| Posted by: SOP35/Rat 2006-08-03 17:51 |
| #2 Nice to think about, but it would be best to be able to do this NOW! Do any significant number of these things even exist today? Do we have any of our useless CVN-hulled carriers in the area? :-) |
| Posted by: gorb 2006-08-03 17:50 |
| #1 Why do the Israelis need the F22? Don't they already have complete, uncontested control of the skies in that region? |
| Posted by: WhitecollarRedneck 2006-08-03 17:49 |