F-22 Raptors are being sent over from the United States to Okinawa, Japan as part of an effort to demonstrate the reliability of the United States to it's allies in the Pacific Theatre. Kadena Air Force Base in Okinawa, Japan will accept 12 F-22 Raptors as part of a defense force for the Pacific. The Raptors had to turn around to Hawaii due to a software glitch, but intend to continue to Kadena AFB once Engineers update the navigational software. Lieutenant-General Bruce Wright, a US/Japan forces commander stationed at the base has commented that the deployment of the F-22's to Kadena AFB have absoloutly nothing to do with the recent political talks to disarm North Korea and it's Nuclear Program.
"What the F-22 deployment does is ... make the (U.S.-Japan) alliance stronger, and that is a factor for dealing with the complexities of North Korea."
Wright also commented that the F-22 Raptor is the most costly US fighter plane, but is designed to take down threats before it is even detected by radar. A few hundred residents showed up outside the Okinawa Base to protest the Raptor's arrival, citing crime, noise and pollution from the AFB to the surrounding perfecture.
Source information provided by (Reuters)
Images Provided by the United States Air Force Website
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