Japan Eyes Typhoon & Rafale
Japan plans to upgrade Air Force with new fighters
TOKYO, March 19 (RIA Novosti) - Japan is considering the possibility of upgrading its outdated fleet of F-4 fighters with advanced European aircraft, an anonymous source at the Defense Ministry said Monday. Japan currently has about 60 F-4 Phantom strike fighters known for their extensive use by the U.S. Air Force, Navy and Marines during the Vietnam war.
"We are considering the Eurofighter Typhoon or the French-manufactured Rafale among others," the source said. "Japan believes that the U.S. F-22A Raptor fighter is a wonderful aircraft, but its purchase has to be approved by U.S. Congress and that poses a serious problem," he said.
The export sale of the F-22, which is a fifth-generation stealth fighter jointly produced by Lockheed Martin and Boeing, is barred by the U.S. legislation......
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Fallout, perhaps, from the statement from Washington that the F-22 would not be offered to Australia if requested. The chances of Japan getting acces would therefore be low, and they wouldn't take the chance of losing face by asking.
I wonder when the USA will catch onto the fact that they're losing the top end of the market...