DUBAI:The Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor, the world’s most advanced fighter jet, made a stunning flying demonstration at Dubai Air show 2009, signaling intent to offer this latest fighter in the U.S. arsenal, to its friends and allies in the Middle east.
F-22 Raptor at Dubai Air Show signals a new Middle-East arms procurement raceThe UAE is in talks with France's Dassault Aviation to buy Rafale combat jets which will be on display at the Nov. 15-18 air show. Rafale has been trying to notch up its first international sale and one of the conditions reportedly set by the UAE is that France buys back its stock of Mirage 2000 fighters bought nearly a decade ago.
The Gulf countries are willing customers for advanced fighters though they have not felt the need to use them in combat. Customers for new fighters are said to include Kuwait and Oman. Saudi Arabia has recently ordered Eurofighter Typhoons and may look at F-15 Eagle fighters too.
The F-22 made an impressive 14-minute display, with some eye-popping stunts designed to impress the assembled VVIPs from the Middle East and Arab countries who had gathered there. While officially the F-22 has not been offered for sale, its presence at the Dubai Air Show clearly indicates a testing of the waters if not an outright solicitation of sale.
Some analysts believe that the reason for the F-22 being at Dubai is to flex muscles verses Iran.
But that seem unlikely as the U.S. sixth fleet does enough of that on a daily basis while patrolling the Mediterranean and the Straits of Hormuz.
“It is marketing for U.S. equipment, maybe reminding the UAE that there are alternatives to Rafale”, a French aeronautics company executive was quoted as saying.
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