• Former F-15 Pilot Explains Why the F-22 Raptor Is Unmatched

    From a425couple@21:1/5 to All on Sat Aug 3 09:42:10 2024
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    from https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/no-contest-former-f-15-pilot-explains-why-f-22-raptor-unmatched-207357

    August 2, 2024 Topic: military Blog Brand: The Buzz Tags:
    F-22F-35F-15U.S. Air ForceAir ForceAviation
    No Contest: Former F-15 Pilot Explains Why the F-22 Raptor Is Unmatched
    The F-22 Raptor, the world's first fifth-generation fighter, has earned legendary status for its stealth, speed, and maneuverability since
    entering service with the U.S. Air Force in 2005.

    by Maya Carlin Follow Mayarcarlin on TwitterL

    Summary and Key Points: The F-22 Raptor, the world's first
    fifth-generation fighter, has earned legendary status for its stealth,
    speed, and maneuverability since entering service with the U.S. Air
    Force in 2005.

    F-22

    -Developed during the Cold War to counter advanced Soviet fighters, the
    F-22 was designed with cutting-edge avionics and supermaneuverable
    flight characteristics, making it nearly invisible to enemy radar and
    highly effective in dogfights.

    -Despite the introduction of the newer F-35 Lightning II, the Raptor
    remains a formidable air-superiority platform, respected by pilots and
    industry experts alike for its advanced sensors and combat capabilities.

    F-22 Raptor: The Stealth Fighter That Redefined Air Superiority
    As the world’s first-ever fifth-generation platform, the F-22 Raptor has legendary connotations. The stealthier, faster, and more maneuverable
    fighter platform has wowed industry experts and aviation buffs alike
    since it entered service with the Air Force several decades ago.

    The workhorse of the service recently made headlines when U.S. Central
    Command (CENTCOM) deployed Raptors to the Middle East in response to
    Russia’s escalating provocations in the region. Although the F-35
    Lightning II is newer and equipped with better technology, the Raptor
    continues to serve as a formidable deterrent to America’s adversaries
    across the globe.

    A Brief History of the F-22 Raptor
    During the later years of the Cold War, the Air Force first recognized
    the need to develop an air-superiority fighter in light of the Soviet
    Union’s advanced air defense systems.

    Intended to replace the F-15 Eagle and F-16 Fighting Falcon, the new
    program would be designed to go head-to-head against the USSR’s Sukhoi
    Su-27 “Flanker” and Mikoyan MiG-29 “Fulcrum” fighter jets.

    The Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) would have to sport cutting-edge
    avionics and technologies in order to perform both offensive and
    defensive counter-air operations in a highly contested environment. For
    this reason, the service turned to the aerospace industry for help.
    Ultimately, seven bidding teams worked collaboratively on two
    demonstration prototypes, and Lockheed Martin and Pratt & Whitney were
    selected as winners. The F-22 took its first flight in the late 1990s
    and officially entered service with the Air Force by 2005.

    Perhaps the most important aspect of the Raptor platform is its supermaneuverable flight characteristics. The fighter’s smaller radar cross-section and twin thrust-vectoring F119 turbofan engines enable the
    jet to fly undetected by enemy airframes and outclass near-peers in a
    dogfight. Additionally, the Raptor’s advanced sensor suite allows its
    pilot to detect, identify, and take down air-to-air threats prior to
    being detected. The F-22 also packs quite the punch ordnance-wise. In
    the air-to-air configuration, the F-22 can carry half a dozen AIM-120
    AMRAAMS and two AIM-9 Sidewinders.

    What a Former Eagle Pilot Has to Say About the Raptor
    The F-22 Raptor is highly respected among aviation buffs, especially
    those who have actually been able to pilot the fighter. One former
    aviator even said that comparing the Raptor to its predecessors like the
    F-15 Eagle is “like having two Football Teams against each other and one
    of them [the Raptor] is invisible.”

    In an interview with the Aviation Geek Club, former USAF pilot Mike
    ‘Dozer’ Shower described his experience flying the F-15 Eagle when the
    F-22 first entered into service:

    “In an F-15 you’re sensor operator, you’re working the radar; you’re the
    guy working this all out and managing the systems and putting together
    the 3D picture in your head. That’s the difference with the F-22 Raptor.
    It does it all for you … you could take four weapons instructors in an
    F-15 each and you could have some lieutenant who is ‘weapons clueless’
    and he’s gonna find them all and kill them all. Then you put one really
    good guy in an F-15 against a Raptor and he’s still gonna get killed; there’s that much of a difference in technology. It’s about sensors and training.”

    F-15

    Although the F-15 was the top-of-the-line jet an Air Force pilot could
    hope to operate for many years, the emergence of the F-22 Raptor really showcased its limitations.

    Author Biography
    Maya Carlin is an analyst with the Center for Security Policy and a
    former Anna Sobol Levy Fellow at IDC Herzliya in Israel. She has
    by-lines in many publications, including The National Interest,
    Jerusalem Post, and Times of Israel. You can follow her on Twitter: @MayaCarlin.

    All Images are Creative Commons.


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