Its a scary development. Coupled with a totally unpredictable Dear Leader who just announced that he is no longer bound by the terms of the Armistice that put a halt to the fighting, then things get even scarier.

Does this type of sale between two third-parties require US approval?

Show me one that has range and payload of larger than that of a housefly without compromising it’s LO and i’ll consider agreeing with you, Supersonic V/STOL is something of the 1960’s and don’t confuse STOVL with V/STOL.

Ontop of this Lightning will not provide as much of an improvement over Harrier in FAA/RAF service as you may well like to think, take that into consideration.

Yup should’ve said STOVL.. What supersonic V/STOL flew in the 1960’s? As for range and performance, you’re guessing and so am I.. but suffice it to say that the people who really know and who will authorize the spending of vast amounts of money are voting with their wallets that it can get the job done.

So let’s say the legislators program additional money for X number of Raptors in excess of the 187, is the Executive Branch obligated to actually purchase the aircraft or could they just find some excuse not to do so? Sorry, this is probably a 5th grade level question.

the Beluga transport? The Flying Guppy?

Under rinternational law can Japan shoot down the missile if it overflies its territory? Is it that simple. At what altitude does airspace cease to become sovereign territory?

If you assume that the basic shape is fine due to the attention given to the LO attributes, any changes would likely be mostly under the surface in the form of systems or avionics. There could be some airframe changes insofar as maybe using different materials, but don’t expect a drastic rethinking of the design.

There’s something like US$8Billion in updates planned for the Raptor fleet, right?