The US Deputy Defence Secretary, Gordon England, has written to Defence Minister Brendan Nelson saying the US will not export the world's most deadly warplane - the F-22 Raptor - to Australia.
The US statement ends a growing debate among defence experts about which plane should replace the RAAF's ageing F-111 strike bombers and form the front line of the nation's future air force.
This seems to end several Australian defence analysists crusades to have the F-22 in Australian service (you know who you are!), the interim is to purchase F18E/F's as a stop gap measure.
This IMHO side steps a flyoff and real evaluation process for suitable aircraft that a purcase of this magnitude requires.
it all seems very odd to me.
Cheers