Thread: How does the aircraft export ban work?

It's not just military technology the US uses, any military tech has to be approved for export. If the XM-8 program was completed and the US decided not to use it, the government would still have to approve overseas sales.

The YF-23 was developed under US government contract so it is still subject to export laws and companies that do business with the US government are also prevented from developing a completely new fighter on the same level as the F-22/23 for another country.

But mainly because few other countries are capable of producing aircraft that advanced, even from a pre-existing design like the YF-23. And the few that could cannot buy them in numbers that would justify their cost. If they could, they would.