Russia's top fighter jets to face competition?

19 May, 2007 02:38 / Updated 17 years ago

The U.S. F-22 “Raptor” has finished its first deployment overseas, returning from a 90-day trip in Japan. This may soon lead to the Raptor's first ever foreign sales, possibly making Russia's top fighter jets face competition.

The U.S. F-22 “Raptor” is one of the world's most expensive and powerful fighters. Japan, as well as Israel and South Korea, have long been interested in the F-22, which varies in cost from US $ 120 MLN to US $400 MLN depending on modifications and the number purchased.Exporting the F-22 fighters is not yet possible, as the U.S. Congress is still considering whether to lift a ban on foreign sales.The fifth generation Raptor, also called ghost fighter aircraft, is hardly detectable by radar, as it runs the latest stealth technology.But even if F-22 launches on the international market, it is not likely to damage the export of Russian Su-35 fighters, as it's at least 4-times more expensive.