A friend's email reminds me that certain persons were discussing the possibility of Japan's Air Self Defense Forces acquiring the F-22 Raptor in order to meet the challenge posed by China's acquisition of Sukhoi-27 variants.
In the as-yet not warm and fuzzy aftermath of the Tamogami Affair, I would rate the odds against the U.S. Congress passing a waver of the export ban on F-22s at about a quintillion to one.
Thanks a quintillion, Toshio-kun!
Later - The count of Air Self Defense Forces officers identified as contestants in the APA Group essay contest has risen to 94.
While I agree with you, it would make a lot of _fiscal_ sense to have the US sell the Raptor to Japan. It would be a good way to move a few hundred million dollars from Japan to the US. The US needs things to sell, and deep-pocketed customers, in order to dig itself out of this carnage. Selling Raptors to Japan would be an obvious way to do that.
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