Posted on 02/19/2007 4:03:22 AM PST by Fennie
Yeah, everybody knows how badly the Japanese in their advanced Zero fighters outclassed the Flying Tigers outdated P-40s over China. So they adopted slash and run attack tactics that exploited the heavier firepower, armor and diving speed of the P-40 and effectively countered the technological superiority of the Mitsubishi airframe.
Yeah, their advanced technology and their experienced pilots made Me-262s and Fw-190 D-9s tough customers deal with at altitude over Germany, so we wrecked their airfields (so they had to fly farther to get into the fight), then we scrummed with them to keep them off of the bombers until they went bingo for gas and shot them down in their landing patterns.
To be fair, the opponent is allowed to adjust to us. The arrival of Ki-84 Hayate (Frank) squadrons to China in late 1944-1945 redressed some of the imbalance created by the technological superiority of the P-51 that replaced the P-40. And the Germans developed a swarm tactic using heavily armored Fw-190 (Fw-190 A9?) groups in late 1944 that was costing us a couple of squadrons every time it was used. Fortunately, both were too late to change the ultimate outcome of the war, just make it more costly.
Until we replace pilots with robots, its a human-machine combination. The machine may have technological limits but, in the hands of a properly trained pilot using the proper tactics, those limitations can be compensated for and the enemy's limitations exploited.
Where needed, F-22s will CAP the F-15s and F-16s. F-15s and F-16s will continue to be used as utility fighter and attack aircraft until they are replaced by F-35s. So the technological fix for the Su-27's airframe superiority is already in process. If necessary, it is easier to backfit the older fighters with the compensating fire control and advanced missile technologies should we need to fight a long airwar with an opponent armed with substantial numbers of the Su-27.
And, realistically now, that long air war opponent is?
Does Newsmax make this up or do they make a habbit of quoting obsolete sources. The f-22 is operational and is "in service". It is much more advanced than the F-15 or Sukhoi Su-30 Flanker
The other thing that no one talks about in these kinds of discussions is combat infrastructure. This means aerial refueling, maintenance, large combat exercises, AWACS vectored intercepts, and more. The Chinese have little to no experience in large, complex combat operations. I'm willing to bet that a squadron of F-15s will easily take out a squadron of SU-30s based on these factors alone. You add F-22s and F-35s into the formula and the Chinese would need to lose a lot of aircraft just to get into dogfighting range.
I think what the Chinese are doing is that they are going for the "quick victory" in political and military terms. They know that in a long term contest that the U.S. carriers and USAF aircraft would do some serious damage to their combat forces and infrastructure. However, if they could even just sink one or two ships,, knock down some aircraft, and just cause casualties, they're betting that the U.S. would "cut and run" and leave Taiwan to its fate. It's actually a strategy that might work.
They already are. JHMCS and the Aim-9X are operational. So are several other systems that make the airshow antics of the Sukhoi family irrelevant.
It is time to upgrade to very high speed, high maneuverability drone fighters as our first line of fighter defense, keeping manned Raptors as the second eschelon. Unmanned aircraft can do things that are impossible for manned aircraft.
But using drones creates a whole new paradigm of air war: massive air armadas.
If one side can create a drone aircraft for under $100,000, mass produced like automobiles, the only way to fight such an armada is with another armada.
"If one side can create a drone aircraft for under $100,000, mass produced like automobiles, the only way to fight such an armada is with another armada."
Laser technology comes to mind?
How old is this story?
Wednesday, May 26, 2004
"Technically, I don't think any of those squadrons are yet operational"
Raptors arrive at Kadena
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1787369/posts
The only thing that impreses congress (see Murtha SPECIFICALLY) is how much does the particular weapons program cause to be contributed in REALL dollars to my re-election campaign.
No money in politician coffers then the weapon system, no matter how good for the USA, will never get out of committee.
excellent point
Story dated: Wednesday, May 26, 2004
Why did you post this?
I have a book on airplanes from the late 70's and the F-15 is in it.
The F-22A Raptor -- Air Force’s most advanced weapon system -- is ready for combat, Air Force officials announced at Langely Air Force Base, VA.
In reaching initial operational capability, the Raptor is certified ready for operational use.
The first combat-ready Raptors are flying with the 27th Fighter Squadron of the 1st Fighter Wing at Langley. The squadron’s deployment capability is a 12-ship package designed to execute air-to-air and air-to-ground missions.
“If we go to war tomorrow, the Raptor will go with us,” said Gen. Ronald E. Keys, commander of Air Combat Command.
Declaring the transformational stealth fighter “IOC” means the Raptor’s proven capabilities are available for combat and supported by a properly trained and equipped force.
2/9/2007 - An F-22 Raptor flies off after being refueled by a KC-135 Stratotanker during the Red Flag exercise Feb 7 at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. The two KC-135 Stratotankers from the 319th Air Refueling Wing at Grand Forks Air Force Base, N.D., make up the lead tanker unit during the exercise. Red Flag is an exercise designed to hone the warfighting skills of Air Force pilots
2/19/2007 - KADENA AIR BASE, Japan (AFNEWS) -- Ten F-22 Raptors arrived here Feb. 17 and 18 for the first overseas deployment of the Air Force's newest air supremacy aircraft.
The aircraft, assigned to the 27th Fighter Squadron at Langley Air Force Base, Va., started their deployment to Kadena almost 10 days previously with a stop at Hickam AFB, Hawaii. While en route, a software issue affecting the aircraft's navigation system was discovered Feb. 11 causing the aircraft to return to Hickam.
The issue was corrected and the aircraft continued on to Kadena. According the 27th FS commander, Lt. Col. Wade Tolliver, the unit is excited about the opportunity to work with the 18th Wing and other services while in the Pacific.
"Every time we fly this jet we learn something new, and to have to opportunity to fly it here in the Pacific with the F-15s (Eagles) and other aircraft is something we are looking forward to," said Colonel Tolliver.
The deployment is part of an air expeditionary force rotation. While the first deployment overseas as part of the AEF, it is not the first time the unit has sent its aircraft to other locations. Most recently the aircraft deployed to Alaska.
"This deployment is a great opportunity for the squadron. We are 8,000 miles away from our support system and home base," the colonel said. "Not only will we be learning about operating from an overseas operation, we will get the opportunity to educate the Air Force and our sister services on the capabilities the jet brings to the fight."
The colonel emphasized that the F-22 was not necessarily created to replace any one airframe in the Air Force.
"The F-22 brings an enormous capability to the Air Force," Colonel Tolliver said. "It is not about what aircraft it is replacing but about how to integrate this new aircraft into the fleet and what advantages it brings to the force."
Colonel Tolliver said the squadron will use this deployment to not only educate but to learn more innovative and advanced tactics to enhance the warfighting capability.
"This is history in the making," said Brig. Gen. Punch Moulton, the 18th WG commander. "This deployment definitely brings unmatched combat airpower to the Pacific highlighting the importance of the bilateral alliance of promoting peace and stability in the region."
The 27th FS deployed more than 250 Airmen to Kadena for the 90-120 day deployment, which is part of a regularly-scheduled U.S. Pacific Command rotational assignment of aircraft to the Pacific.
The F-22A Raptor is the Air Force's newest fighter aircraft. Its combination of stealth, supercruise, maneuverability, and integrated avionics, coupled with improved supportability, represents an exponential leap in warfighting capabilities. The Raptor performs both air-to-air and air-to-ground missions allowing full realization of operational concepts vital to the 21st century Air Force.
The F-22A , a critical component of the Global Strike Task Force, is designed to project air dominance, rapidly and at great distances and defeat threats attempting to deny access to our nation's Air Force, Army, Navy and Marine Corps. The F-22A cannot be matched by any known or projected fighter aircraft.
Features
A combination of sensor capability, integrated avionics, situational awareness, and weapons provides first-kill opportunity against threats. The F-22A possesses a sophisticated sensor suite allowing the pilot to track, identify, shoot and kill air-to-air threats before being detected. Significant advances in cockpit design and sensor fusion improve the pilot's situational awareness. In the air-to-air configuration the Raptor carries six AIM-120 AMRAAMs and two AIM-9 Sidewinders.
The F-22A has a significant capability to attack surface targets. In the air-to-ground configuration the aircraft can carry two 1,000-pound GBU-32 Joint Direct Attack Munitions internally and will use on-board avionics for navigation and weapons delivery support. In the future air-to-ground capability will be enhanced with the addition of an upgraded radar and up to eight small diameter bombs. The Raptor will also carry two AIM-120s and two AIM-9s in the air-to-ground configuration.
Advances in low-observable technologies provide significantly improved survivability and lethality against air-to-air and surface-to-air threats. The F-22A brings stealth into the day, enabling it to not only protect itself but other assets.
The F-22A engines produce more thrust than any current fighter engine. The combination of sleek aerodynamic design and increased thrust allows the F-22A to cruise at supersonic airspeeds (greater than 1.5 Mach) without using afterburner -- a characteristic known as supercruise. Supercruise greatly expands the F-22A 's operating envelope in both speed and range over current fighters, which must use fuel-consuming afterburner to operate at supersonic speeds.
The sophisticated F-22A aerodesign, advanced flight controls, thrust vectoring, and high thrust-to-weight ratio provide the capability to outmaneuver all current and projected aircraft. The F-22A design has been extensively tested and refined aerodynamically during the development process.
The F-22A's characteristics provide a synergistic effect ensuring F-22A lethality against all advanced air threats. The combination of stealth, integrated avionics and supercruise drastically shrinks surface-to-air missile engagement envelopes and minimizes enemy capabilities to track and engage the F-22A . The combination of reduced observability and supercruise accentuates the advantage of surprise in a tactical environment.
The F-22A will have better reliability and maintainability than any fighter aircraft in history. An F-22A squadron will require less than half as much airlift as an F-15 squadron to deploy. Increased F-22A reliability and maintainability pays off in less manpower required to fix the aircraft and the ability to operate more efficiently.
Background
The Advanced Tactical Fighter entered the Demonstration and Validation phase in 1986. The prototype aircraft (YF-22 and YF-23) both completed their first flights in late 1990. Ultimately the YF-22 was selected as best of the two and the engineering and manufacturing development effort began in 1991 with development contracts to Lockheed/Boeing (airframe) and Pratt & Whitney (engines). EMD included extensive subsystem and system testing as well as flight testing with nine aircraft at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. The first EMD flight was in 1997 and at the completion of its flight test life this aircraft was used for live-fire testing.
The program received approval to enter low rate initial production in 2001. Initial operational and test evaluation by the Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center was successfully completed in 2004. Based on maturity of design and other factors the program received approval for full rate production in 2005. Air Education and Training Command and Air Combat Command are the primary Air Force organizations flying the F-22A . The aircraft designation was the F/A-22 for a short time before being renamed F-22A in December 2005.
General Characteristics
Primary Function: Air dominance, multi-role fighter
Builder: Lockheed-Martin, Boeing
Power Plant: Two Pratt & Whitney F119-PW-100 turbofan engines with afterburners and two-dimensional thrust vectoring nozzles.
Thrust (each engine): 35,000-pound class.
Length: 62 feet, 1 inch (18.9 meters).
Height: 16 feet, 8 inches (5.1 meters).
Wingspan: 44 feet, 6 inches (13.6 meters).
Speed: Mach 2 class.
Ceiling: Above 50,000 feet (approximately 15 kilometers).
Empty Weight: 40,000-pound class (approximately 18,000 kilograms).
Armament: One M61A2 20-millimeter cannon with 480 rounds; side weapon bays can carry two AIM-9 infrared (heat seeking) air-to-air missiles and main weapon bays can carry (air-to-air loadout) six AIM-120 radar-guided air-to-air missiles or (air-to-ground loadout) two 1,000-pound GBU-32 JDAMs and two AIM-120 radar-guided air-to-air missiles.
Crew: One
Initial Operational Capability:
Inventory: Unavailable.
Point of Contact
Air Combat Command, Public Affairs Office, 115 Thompson St., Suite 211; Langley AFB VA 23665-1987; DSN 574-5014 or (757) 764-5014; e-mail: acc.pai@langley.af.mil.
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