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A senior U.S. Defense Department official denied reports of the possible sale of the ultramodern F-22 stealth fighter jet to Japan, Reuters reported Friday. ¡°This airplane was built to give us an edge way into the future, and that's why it's not exportable,¡± Air Force Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kohler, head of the Pentagon's Defense Security Cooperation Agency, told the news agency. He ruled out export of the fighter jet even if Congress approves it. ¡°If (export) were to be considered, which it's not, it essentially would have to be redesigned, rebuilt, retested and then go into production,¡± Kohler said. That would cost more than US$1 billion per unit and make it "prohibitively expensive" for any would-be foreign buyer.
The radar-evading F-22 was developed by Lockheed Martin Corp as the U.S.¡¯ fifth-generation fighter jet. U.S. Congress has banned the overseas sale of the fighter jet since 1998. However, Dennis Wilder, senior director for East Asian Affairs on the White House National Security Council, told reporters this week that the Bush administration is "very positively disposed to talking to the Japanese about future-generation fighter aircraft,¡± prompting concern that the sale could lead to a regional arms race by disrupting the balance of security in Northeast Asia. Japan is reportedly hoping to purchase 100 F-22 fighter jets from the U.S.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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