SPECULATION is mounting that a Suffolk airbase could become home to the US military's most advanced fighter aircraft.
SPECULATION is mounting that a Suffolk airbase could become home to the US military's most advanced fighter aircraft.
The £70million F-22 Raptor, which uses stealth technology, this week wowed crowds when it went on display at the Farnborough Airshow.
The Lockheed Martin-built Raptors have been part of the US military's airforce since December 2005 and are currently assigned to six US bases.
But speculation is now mounting both among air enthusiasts and service personnel that the F-22 might be assigned to Europe in the next few years, with RAF Lakenheath believed to be the most likely base.
The news comes just weeks after it was revealed that 110 American nuclear weapons had been withdrawn from the base prompting fears it may close. It is now hoped if the F-22s are stationed there it could secure the future of the base.
A spokeswoman for RAF Lakenheath said: “It certainly is an impressive aircraft and most of what it can do cannot actually be seen. Any decisions about where it might go are made so far above base level that it would be impossible for us to speculate here.”
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