U.S eases F-22 flight restrictions; to deploy to Kadena

American Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has eased some flight restrictions on the troubled F-22 Raptor fighter jet, and a squadron of the aircraft will deploy within days to Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, south of Japan. In a briefing on Tuesday, the USAF's Chief of Staff said the service “minimized but perhaps not eliminated” the risks of problems with oxygen deprivation in pilots.

The F-22s will still be required to fly within an hour and a half of land on its trip to Japan and will do so by taking a route over the Aleutian Islands across the North Pacific. The aircraft will have to fly below 45,000 feet and will be restricted to training flights within a half-hour of Kadena.