Pilots say new U.S. stealth fighter has no equal [F-22]

HeraldToday.com ^ | Wed, Dec. 21, 2005

[Gaffer]

This sort of reminds me of the Germans' "Tiger Tank" and the Sherman M-4. The Germans had the best, bar none tank in the world..firepower, armor....that could cut a swath through the enemy easily....What they did not expect, though, was the NUMBER of Sherman M-4s that the US could produce, nor the number of T-39s that the Russians could produce. What they lacked in armor and firepower, they made up with speed and numbers, pure and simple.

The Raptor IS probably the best, but we don't have enough and can't afford what we'll need....

[Oztrich Boy]

All these carriers can hadle are VSTOL type aircraft....no match for the aircraft deplyed on our carriers...can you spell "FLOATING TARGET?"

Not Quite

Su-27K Beats anything but a F-22 Raptor or Eurofighter Typhoon.

A Superhornet isn't in the running.

True a Su-27 ramp takeoff is limited to 80% max gross weight, but that's plenty for air to air missions

[Tommyjo]

Not VSTOL. The Chinese would operate a licenced produced Flanker variant from Varyag.

[Frenetic]

I think that was the whole point in the excercise. India is not building it's air force to compete against us, so we didn't throw what we are trully capable at them. Rather, we simlulated the kind of adversaries they would be likely to face in a confrontation (ie Pakistan or some other "Stan").

[nonliberal]

That is $350 million well spent!!

[roaddog727]

"One of the more ridiculous arguments I've heard is them comparing our defense budget to that of other countries. They come right out and say that we should lower our military funding to match other countries, in effect to give other countries a better chance at fighting us."

These dopes never read or understand Sun Tzu.

Beat your opponent before even reaching a point of combat action.

[phil1750]

I was told that the F-22 has the same power as the entire starting grid of 3 NASCAR races. [still looking for an internet source to confirm this].

[Yo-Yo]

It was sure a wake up call for the U.S. Air Force when the Indian Air Force handed the Americans their hats in mock air battles.

Joe, Cope India 2005 was an exercise designed for one purpose: To alay the Indian fears of newer F-16s in the hands of the Pakistanis.

Cope India 2005 pitted our F-16s against their Su-30s, and our F-16s were not permitted to use AIM-120 missiles. They could only use Sidewinders and guns, and could not use their in-cockpit data link to share radar information among the pilots. The U.S. was simulating Pakistani F-16s with Pak tactics and Pak equipment.

The fact that the Indians cleaned our clocks was a good thing.

[nonliberal]

The more I read about these things, the more I like them.

See tagline.

[bmwcyle]

What is next after this great plane?

[A. Pole]

"This is what's next," Krumm said. "The stuff that we have is great and it's capable, but this is what's next."

Lt. Col. Krum is alread testing the next stuff.

[ericthecurdog]

Air F[o]rce pilots are good, but Marine pilots are just as good, AND... have bigger balls.

Hear hear.

[pabianice]

Great news. Now -- what will it fight?

[holden]

"Someone could come in flying a Cessna 172 with a pistol if you wanted after we're done."

Well, it's good to know my emails are getting through! I love that they're still thinking of me. I could probably still haul a sidewinder, though, if'n it'd help the cause.

HF

[xusafflyer]

When you need ground attack, you call in the best, The Warthog.

[Tallguy]

And more recently wasn't it Indian Fulcrums against Eagles, and the results were... disappointing?

We sent F16's to that scrimmage. No AWACS, nothing fancy. We lost as expected.

[Lazamataz]

It's only right that I get to own one of these.

[Tallguy]

The "Tiger Tank" analogy is not a good one. The Tiger had a major defect: it wasn't mechanically reliable. It was best used on the defensive as a kind of Tank Destroyer. Out in open country it was slow and suseptible to breakdowns. Not a very good offensive tank.

One of the features of these modern aircraft is the lower maintenance hours per flight hour. The "Up Time" on these planes is going to be one of their strongest features.

[MeanWestTexan]

"I do remember a few years back that Israeli pilots embarrassed US pilots during war games."

The Israeli pilots are amazing, but you have to be careful about such war games scenarios, as the rules/scenario are generally (and intentionally) stacked heavily against the US.

[Tallguy]

I do remember a few years back that Israeli pilots embarrassed US pilots during war games.

Do the New England Patriots play their full defensive package in a pre-season game? No. They play straight "Cover 2" in the secondary and they basically don't disguise their Blitzes -- that is if they blitz at all. Any college quarterback would look good with no pressure. I suggest the USAF is holding back in several key areas in any wargame against a foreign power -- even a friendly one.