The 2007 defense appropriations bill specifically prohibits the sale of the F-22A to “any foreign government.” The House had approved a foreign sales provision, but the House-Senate conferees stripped it from the bill. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Michael Moseley said in July that he thought selling the Raptor to allied nations would be OK; however he said such a move would require much discussion both from a production standpoint and from technology transfer concerns.
A three-month continuing resolution that ended in December inflicted less pain on the Department of the Air Force than it had expected, as procurement and construction continue in the new year. The federal government operated under a stopgap spending measure that stretched from the beginning of the fiscal year on…