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.
Secretary of Defense Austin Lloyd III met with his counterparts from Australia, Japan and the Philippines to discuss bolstering defense ties on May 2. The discussion included plans for joint F-35 exercises with Japan and Australia in the coming years.