Making the Lockheed Martin F-22 appear at the Paris Air Show can't be easy to pull-off. The show is a marketing opportunity. If the F-22 isn't for sale, apparently even in the United States, why put it on display? So it's not a huge surprise -- although it is truly a pity -- to read the US Air Force has withdrawn the F-22 from the show. (Nice reporting by Amy Butler on the Ares blog, by the way.)
However, I do wonder if other motivations may have been involved. A few years ago, there was a lot of talk about the F-22 making a debut international appearance at the 2007 Paris Air Show. That didn't happen either.
For decades, the Pentagon has been concerned about French espionage inside the US aerospace industry. These concerns reached a head after the landmark 1991 Paris Air Show, which featured an appearance by the Lockheed F-117 stealth fighter. Two years later, the Clinton Administration boycotted the appearance of any US military aircraft at the show apparently over concerns about French spying. [Read a New York Times article about the episode.]
There have been many rumors about what happened on that fateful F-117 trip. It was long before my time. If anybody here remembers or was there, please share.
However, I do wonder if other motivations may have been involved. A few years ago, there was a lot of talk about the F-22 making a debut international appearance at the 2007 Paris Air Show. That didn't happen either.
For decades, the Pentagon has been concerned about French espionage inside the US aerospace industry. These concerns reached a head after the landmark 1991 Paris Air Show, which featured an appearance by the Lockheed F-117 stealth fighter. Two years later, the Clinton Administration boycotted the appearance of any US military aircraft at the show apparently over concerns about French spying. [Read a New York Times article about the episode.]
There have been many rumors about what happened on that fateful F-117 trip. It was long before my time. If anybody here remembers or was there, please share.
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