JAPAN’S stealth fighter gambit.

UPDATE: A reader emails: “Japan has been begging to buy F-22’s for years now. Kept getting shot down thanks to the (Kit) Bond Amendment, a Federal law that specifically prohibits foreign sales of the Raptor… but allegedly preserves export sales of the decidedly un-stealthy (but built in Missouri) F-15E Strike Eagle. Apparently, the Japanese have now given up on trying to buy American, and have decided to build their own jet. The last F-22, tail number 193, is on the assembly line in Marietta, GA, and will roll out early next year. Layoffs at the plant are well underway.”