Battery

The premier fighter jet in the U.S. Air force arsenal is the F-22 Raptor. The radar evading fighter jet has been seen at air shows before, but has yet to see combat. Reuters reports that the Air Force has pulled the F-22 from the Paris Air Show and stated that the plane would not fly at the Royal International Air Tattoo in Britain next month.

Officials from Lockheed Martin Corp, the builders of the F-22 claim that the Raptor was pulled from the air show because of other demands on its time. The F-22 has previously flown at other air shows in Europe.

Reuters reports that industry executives feel there may be more to pulling the F-22 from the air shows than time demands alone. According to the insiders, there may be concerns over whether the F-22 would be exposed to radar in attempts to unlock its secrets.

The concerns may stem from the 1991 Paris Air Show where the F-117 stealth fighter first appeared. Two years after the show, President Clinton boycotted the Paris Air Show. An industry executive claims that the reason the show was boycotted was because the French government had followed the F-117 with its ultra-low frequency, long-range radar to try to glean secrets from the aircraft during its approach.

Another possible reason for pulling out of the air shows is that U.S. officials have been telling interested allies that the F-22 isn’t for sale. The reason the plane is reportedly not for sale to allies is that the cost to protect or remove classified equipment from the aircraft would cause delays and increase the cost of the aircraft.

The Obama administration has ordered four more F-22 fighters and placed a cap on orders at 187 planes, ending the program early.