Ratchet it on up...air dominance.
Posted on 04/21/2005 7:14:51 PM PDT by iso
OUTSTANDING!
About bloody time. I thought that I would reach retirement age before congress moved on this aircraft.
Ratchet it on up...air dominance.
Really, awesome technology.
http://exposingtheleft.blogspot.com/2005/04/raptor-wins-aprroval-for-full-rate.html
F/A-22 
F119-PW-100 
F/A-22's APG-77 AESA 
F/A-22's Weapon M61A2 AIM-120C AIM-9X HARM GBU-32 GBU-22 III 
JASSM WCMD 
SDB
> The F/A-22's balanced design of stealth, supercruise
> speed, supportability and super-agility, along with
> its advanced integrated avionics, will enable combat
> commanders to change the way future wars are fought.
It might have been impolitic of them to point out that,
despite the description given to the F-117, the F/A-22
is actually our first "stealth fighter". The F-117,
perhaps oughta have been called the A-117, as it has
no significant air-to-air capability.
That deficiency hasn't mattered so far, because all the
opponents to date haven't had serious airforces (or
any airforce, for long after hostilities commenced).
China might have considerable a-a threats, by the time
the PRC-ROC tension finally boils over. We may yet
need the F/A-22.
With any luck, the software will be mostly debugged by
then.
I'm sure Bejing is thrilled ;)
How do you say tough nuggies in Chinese!
No kidding... I knew a pilot in training - in '94 he was told the Raptor would be delivered in '97. I think they lied just to recruit him.
I think the approval for full rate production came from the DOD after the completion of Operational Testing. I don't think Congress was involved.
I worked on the radar for the F-22 for about five years before I retired in 1991.
The Congress has been responsible for delaying full rate production for at least a decade, by cutting funding.
Yes it is. What I have always found fascinating is that in one aspect, everything that was old is new. By this I am referring to the internal weapons bay for fighters. This concept was first expressed in the F-102/F-106. Who would have thought, back then, that the internal weapons bay would return as an element of stealthiness.
I have kept tabs on this aircraft since it was first revealed to the public as the YF-22. The Donkey boys have done everything to kill it aside from outright sabotage. The Congress found new ways to play with budget lines for it. Finally, the aircraft has the green light.
Gotta love it. The Ruskies and ChiComms air planners are going to have some sleepless nights...and well they should.
They'd better get it down. Next generation of fighter won't even have pilots on board, most likely.
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