Australia to push US on supply of Raptor fighter

Posted on: Mar. 25th, 2008 || Source: theage.com.au | E-mail Article | Print Article

Once again the Australian Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon has signaled his desire to purchase the F-22 Raptor, to replace the ageing F-111 Aardvarks.

Fitzgibbon told ABC Radio: "I will continue to push for it so that it can become an option as part of our mix of considerations," he said.
[...]
"If you don't ask, you just don't know."

On Feb 17th last year, the US flatly ruled out the possibility of exporting the stealthty fighter. But as more nations (Japan, Israel) began pushing, and the closure of the F-22 production line draws ever closer, this may soon change.
On Feb 25th, the Australian newspaper The Age reported US Defence secretary Robert Gates stated there was no reason why Australia could not be trusted with the F-22.

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