Press reports emanating from the Middle East earlier this month stated that the F-22 would be appearing at the Dubai airshow in November in the United Arab Emirates. This would be stealth fighter’s first publicly acknowledged appearance in that part of the world. The National, an English-language newspaper in Abu Dhabi, UAE, reported, for example, that the stealth fighter would be one of 10 US aircraft types appearing at the annual airshow, citing airshow organizers. However, this news appears to be premature, at the very least, if not incorrect. Indeed, Air Combat Command spokesman Capt. Peter Hughes told the Daily Report Thursday afternoon that Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz “has not yet approved the proposal” for the F-22 to go to Dubai. So far in 2009, the F-22’s only international airshow appearance was in Toronto, according to 1st Fighter Wing spokeswoman 1st. Lt. Georganne Schultz.
In the face of Chinese war plans to disrupt U.S. command-and-control networks in the event of a conflict, the Air Force needs to focus less on its “connect everything” efforts and prepare its combat aviators to fight without a constant connection to higher-ups, according to a new report from AFA’s…
