American Ingenuity!!!!!!!!

 

The F-15 has dominated the air to air arena for 20 years now, without a single aircraft lost to an enemy fighter. But its reign is over with the activation of the F-22 Raptor. This is the first aircraft to achieve "supercruise " ( able to fly supersonic without use of afterburners) , is very stealthy, has an internal weapons bay,and offers vectored thrust. Plus,its radar is  so powerful, that the Air Force is testing it as a weapon to disrupt an opponents electronics .In war games over Alaska recently , it was virtually untouchable against F-18 and F-15 adversaries. They're not cheap, but so far ( other than a programming hiccup as they flew over the international date line) , they have achieved performance beyond expectations.

 

A couple of things about the story that confuses me, though:

1.  What happened to the adversary aircraft that the F15 collided with?  I don't believe they ever mentioned anything about it.

2.  They said the adversary jet he collided with was an A4, however in the video, they show an F100 Super Sabre.  I realize much of the video is probably a reinactment, but it seems they should have at least used the right airplane.

3.  I assume when he said he "fired a missile" at the plane, he meant a simulated missile, right?  It was, after all, a "training mission."  However, the video depicts an actual missile fired, so even though it was a reinactment, the depiction of a missile firing makes the story of events more confusing.

4.  The pilot mentions using the tailhook to assist with landing the plane at the speed he had to be traveling to land with only 1 wing, however, the F15 is not equipped with a tailhook, as it's an air force plane not intended for carrier operations.  Evidently the Israeli configuration is equipped with a tailhook.

 

Martin, the F22 is one fearsome machine!  I am a military aircraft enthusiast, and the F22's published capabilities (much about its performance specs is classified) are incredible!  I read an article in a miltary aircraft magazine, and it made its debut at Red Flag (annual aerial combat training near Nellis AFB in Nevada where US and allied aircraft train in simulated war scenarios) this year.  Reportedly, it kicked @ss against anything and everything that was brought against it, with each F22 "killing" like 5 other world class fighters each!

 

I have heard that with no weapons and a light fuel load, the F16 is also capable of supercruise under certain circumstances, though the F22 is designed with enough engine thrust to do it under full operational conditions, while loaded to the gills.