Fitzgibbon said he wanted the F-22 to be part of a review of Australia's air defences he ordered after his centre-left Labor government was elected last November.

"We do want the opportunity to consider the F-22 in the air capability review," he told reporters.

The minister said Australia wanted to maintain air superiority over its northern neighbours, although he refused to say if the interest in the F-22 was due to a perceived threat from China.

"I don't think it's appropriate for me to talk about a threat but I would make one simple point, there is no question that the key to Australia's defences is maintaining the air superiority we enjoy to our north," he said.

"On that basis we have to make absolutely sure we make the correct decisions as we plan for both the near and long-term future."

US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said Washington was unable to sell F-22s to Australia because exports of the hi-tech aircraft were banned under a bill introduced into the US Congress by Democrat Dave Obey in the 1990s.

"So while we in principle have no objection to it, until the statute is changed we are not able to sell it to any country," he said.

Fitzgibbon said Gates had told him to lobby not only the US administration but also Congress if Australia wanted access to the F-22, particularly Congressman Obey.

"We agreed that I should write to him," Fitzgibbon said.

Australia will phase out its elderly F-111 strike bombers in 2010 but it not scheduled to take delivery of a new fleet of F-35 Joint Strike Fighters until 2015.

To plug the gap, Canberra signed a contract last year to buy 24 F/A-18F Super Hornets from the US Navy at a cost of six billion dollars (5.52 billion US).

But Fitzgibbon said this month that he would cancel the order if the air defence review found they were unsuitable for the job, a move he admitted would invoke financial penalties and strain relations with the US.

The review is scheduled for completion by the end of April.

related report
Gates makes no promises on F-22 fighters for Australia
US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said Sunday he will look into F-22 fighters for Australia but made no promises to lobby the US Congress to lift a ban on foreign sales of the most advanced US fighter.

Gates said he would pursue it when he returns to Washington next week "given the importance that our Australian friends attach to it," but he said he did not know if it was realistic to expect action to lift the export restrictions.

"Because we have not had the ability to sell the F-22, to be honest I haven't delved into all the reasons for that -- what the complications would be, the questions about whether a new design would be required for export," he told reporters here.

"I just need to go back and get better educated on this and in concert with the secretary of state decide if this is a matter that we should pursue with the Congress," he said.

Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon said at a news conference with Gates Saturday that Australia wanted the opportunity to consider the F-22 as part of a review of the country's air capabilities.

Gates said then that the United States had no objection in principle, but could not sell the fighter until the law was changed.

"I would have to say, quite honestly, I am not optimistic about that prospect. But we will work on it," he told Sky News in an interview broadcast Sunday.

Japan also has been pressing Washington to release the F-22 for export.

The stealth fighter can cruise at supersonic speeds, has radars capable of detecting cruise missiles, and wideband data links for networked operations.

But Beijing is likely to perceive the fighter's introduction in the region as directed against it.

Fitzgibbon said Australia wanted to maintain air superiority over its northern neighbours, although he refused to say if he was referring to China.

"I don't think it's appropriate for me to talk about a threat but I would make one simple point, there is no question that the key to Australia's defences is maintaining the air superiority we enjoy to our north," he said.

"On that basis we have to make absolutely sure we make the correct decisions as we plan for both the near and long-term future."

The F-22 is only one of a range of issues raised in annual US-Australian security talks hosted here by the new Labor government.

They discussed Australia's plans to draw down combat troops from Iraq by midyear and a change in approach in Afghanistan from strictly combat operations to police training and civil affairs work.

They also shared perspectives on regional issues, including China and southeast Asia, officials said.

Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Stephen Smith, speaking on television on Sunday, said among the issues discussed was whether Canberra would join a United States missile defence system.

In opposition, Labor had opposed the system on cost and the available technology but Smith said the technology had changed and the government was now considering joining the system.

"We'll do that very carefully and do that in a deliberative and sober way," he said.

"It's not a matter of being coy... (but) we don't want to make any decisions which would deprive us of technology which might, in the end, be in our national security interests and be able to protect our forces in the field."

Gates departs Monday for Indonesia, and will make stops in India and Turkey next week before returning to Washington.

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