I'm wondering that myself.  Mainly because everyone participating in the exercise are those countries most likely to hit Iran--though naturally the Israelis weren't there.

 

This would be a good time for everyone to get familiar with each other before dropping the hammer on the mullahs.  Something that our French friends, I think, would be happy to help with, if Sarkozy's rhetoric is to be believed.  We can argue about Rafale this and Rafale that, but I don't think anyone here's going to have too much trouble over a Rafale that comes home with 20 Iranian roundels painted on its nose.  (What's Clostermann's record again?)

 

Not gonna derail the thread talking about the Revolution.  Nope, not gonna.  But I am going to suggest James McPherson's Battle Cry of Freedom as the single-best volume on the Civil War ever written.

 

Sentinel :

Quote :

 

I asked :

"What could be the reason(s) ?"

 

I don 't know what to think . I trust the USAF to bring 6 perfectly flying F-22s with enough spares (if needed) for the exercise . Then , if one F-22 (or two) had an unforeseen problem, the USAF would probably informs the others and take care of the problem(s) . So , it can 't be a mechanical or a logistical problem .

 

Could it be a marketing shot ? I don 't think so , they (the USAF) look bad now .

Could it be a political move ? I also don 't think so , the USA don 't have anything to gain by withdrawing the F-22s .

What 's left ?

 

Rules of Engagement ? 

Lack of will ?

Just not interested anymore ?

Stealth compromised ?

(other)

 

This is the second time the USAF withdraw its F-22s from an exercise .

The most probable option , IMHO , is that the USA don 't want to have its stealth technology compromised , or negated in the open for all to see .

Not that I would blame them , warfare is and must be unfair , but I can understand ;-)

 

U.S. F-22s, F-16s Deploy to UAE 

U.S. Air Force F-16s and F-22s have deployed to the United Arab Emirates, the service announced Sunday.

The F-16s will be supporting Exercise Iron Falcon until Dec. 10 at the United Arab Emirates Air Warfare Center. The exercise is designed to bring together Gulf Cooperation Council nations and other countries to strengthen military-to-military relationships, promote regional security, improve combined tactical air operations, and enhance interoperability of forces, equipment and procedures.

During the same period, F-22s will participate in bilateral training opportunities with coalition partners.

 

 

A poster on another forum claimed that the three aircraft were/ are supposed to be on the same side. Intersting that Flight global stated that the aircraft were already involved in the war games on the 19th, then on the 20th said they were not.

 

 

If all three had been in the exercises then yes they would have been "on the same side".

 

Flight Global got the story wrong, nothing new there.

Cheers .

I disagree with that.  The F-22 wouldn't be used for intel gathering--it's a fighter, not the SR-71--and the USAF isn't going to risk another Francis Gary Powers U-2 incident that the Iranians can exploit.

 

I agree with BW that war is the last resort.  The problem is, thanks to the West's vacillation, Russia's duplicity, and Iranian fanaticism, we're rapidly approaching that last resort.