PARIS, June 15 (Reuters) - The U.S. Air Force has pulled its premiere F-22 fighter jet from the Paris Air Show, citing other demands on its time, said a spokesman for Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N), which builds the Raptor.
Spokesman Christopher Trippick said on Monday that the F-22 would also not make an appearance at the Royal International Air Tattoo, the the world's largest military air show, to be held next month in Britain.
The F-22 made its first international air show appearance at the Farnborough air show last year, a 12-minute flight that generated a great deal of buzz. It also flew at the Royal International Air Tattoo.
Trippick said the Air Force decision was based on availability, but had no further information.
But European industry executives said there might have been concerns over whether the stealth plane would be exposed to radar trying to unlock its secrets.
The Obama administration said in April that it would only order four more of the radar-evading fighters, capping production at 187 planes.
Some U.S. lawmakers are pushing to repeal a law banning exports of the aircraft to keep the production line running a little longer. (Reporting by Andrea Shalal-Esa; Additional reporting by Tim Hepher in Paris; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)
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