Global General

F-22 likely to join air show in India

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2011-02-11 14:07

BANGALORE, India - The US most sophisticated stealth fighter F-22 will arrive here to participate in the final day's air show, said a US aeronautical official on Friday.

The US will only dispatch one F-22 to fly to India for the air show Aero India 2011 that began on Wednesday, and the F-22 will be only showcased as a static display instead of flying display, said the official, who was participating in the air show as a member of a US aeronautical team.

According to the report by the Indian newspaper Indian Express before the air show, two F-22s were set to make its debut during Aero India 2011 in Bangalore. An official from the Indian Defense Ministry confirmed F-22 was likely to appear at the air show.

F-22 is not only the US most advanced stealth fighter with the radar cross section of merely a steel marble, also the most advanced stealth fighter in the world. It entered the US Air Force service in December 2005, and it could carry out the tasks of air- to-air and air-to-ground attacks with the precision-guided weapons.

It will the first time for the US most advanced fighter to visit India, showing the US strong intention to greatly promote the development of the two countries' military relations.

F-22 was rarely seen outside the US, and its appearances in the international air shows were limited. As of January,2011, only three international air shows were joined by it, including UK's Farnborough air show in 2008, Dubai air show in 2009 and Chile's air show last year.    

However, the staff of the US Defense of Department team in the air show here refused to make any comment on the issue of the F-22's participation in the air show.

Aero India 2011 is the India's biggest air show, which started from 1996, and over 100 civilian and military planes are on static show or flying display. It will last for five days,ending on Sunday.