After all many of the most promising u s
air force platforms, such as the F-15, F-16 and F-35 have for many years been
sold extensively around the world to
strengthen u.s partnerships with allies
and further fortify u.s friendly
military forces. Saudi Arabia for instance made an
enormous F-15 buy in just the last few
years and the foreign reach of several
u.s built fighters has been quite
significant.
The us has a history of selling export
variants of major platforms abroad to
include even some adjusted variants of
the abrams tank. Why not the F-22? Well exact reasons may not be entirely
available and one typically tries to
avoid wild speculation. Yet there are
several sensible variables to consider
related to this question.
Simply put it may simply be too superior
and contain too many exquisite
performance enhancing technologies. It has been known for years that there
are of course many u.s technologies
simply not available for foreign
military sales, because they are simply
too sensitive or high value for even
allies to have.
The F the 22nd of may fall into this
category. Why? several reasons jump to mind such as
its supercruise thrust ability. A technical system enabling the aircraft
to sustain supersonic speeds without
using afterburners. This is significant as it not only
increases speed but also naturally
extends mission dwell time such that an
aircraft can linger over target areas
and hit more targets. It also conserves fuel in order for the
stealth fighter to sustain high speeds
for longer periods of time before having
to return to refuel, a survivability
enhancing attribute.
Also while its stealth configuration may
be visible and therefore be somewhat
copyable, it is quite reasonable to
assume that its radar absorbing
materials and stealth coating may be
decidedly unique and completely unknown. Very little is known about the
composition of its stealth exterior yet
it would not be off base to assume it is
quite advanced. Also the air force and F-22 maker
lockheed martin have in recent years
been conducting maintenance on the
aircraft's stealth coating.
Maneuverability is also quite likely
another substantial reason why the F-22
has remained u.s only for decades. The thrust vectoring and engine capacity
may simply be unparalleled and there may
be reasons why early image renderings of
6th gen aircraft do in some respects
appear somewhat F-22 like in external
configuration. among other things the F-22 is
especially respected for its dog
fighting ability and air-to-air
maneuverability. Attributes which many
contend separate it into a superior
category compared with any other
potential rival.
This might be of great importance
especially given the well-known chinese
habit of stealing or attempting to steal
and replicate u.s designs, platforms and
technologies. For example although it has a dual wing
configuration which is different from an F-22, the chinese J-20 does have a wing
body external structure which does
appear to closely resemble an F-22.
Finally the F-22 is engineered with a
unique weapons ability. A dynamic which
has in recent years been massively
upgraded. The air force raytheon and lockheed have
integrated performance enhancing
software upgrades into the F-22s weapons
to include the construction of newer AIM-120D and AIM-9X air-to-air weapon variants.
