Replies

Trust me, Bro, this one's worth it. These two rocket scientists are spreading absolute Bravo Sierra to people who are honestly looking for answers and discussion.

We've got one apparent teenaged cellar-dweller who just FEEEEEEEeeeellllllls that the -22 should be scrapped (and who will not provide bona fides OR proof of his case) and REPLACED with the F-35, and a guy who thinks crop circles and UFO's are real.

Your help would be appreciated in separating the wheat from the cow patties.

Okay, dude. It doesn't mean that folks will listen though.

First a few facts:

1. There is no fighter aircraft anywhere on the planet in production or on the drawing board that is as capable and dangerous as the F-22, excepting the F-23.

2. The US never goes into war games or exercises with other nations with a mind towards testing our own capabilities. Instead, we tank, play dead, fake it, play dumb and other things to see just how capable the other guy is. We don't need to know if we can whip India. I think we have that question covered?

3. Any aircraft produced by any opposing nation as an answer to the F-22 would not be able to be developed in sufficient numbers as to have any impact on our Air Superiority status over ANY nation. Russia does not have anything that approaches super-fighter status after you hang a few tanks and weapons on them. We see all those pretty Cobras, loops and other things they do in demos and air-shows, but anyone inclined can check the wing-loading and calculate just how agile these aircraft would be with a full load of fuel and a combat package.

4. Combat capability does not matter, if the F-22 blows your ass out of the sky while you are still picking your nose and waiting for your gear to come up. Even if you manage to get off the deck, and fire up your fancy ruskie radar, the only thing that your sensors are going to pick up are the two -120s going hound-dog on your ass. "Uh, this might be a good time to drop those tanks and break, Ivan?"

5. Currently, our front-line fighters are more than a match for anything out there. Where the fighter might have disadvantages, they are completely made up by the training of our pilots. When you can go out in an A-4 Skyhawk and fly circles around an F-18, (until that kid is trained) then you understand the advantages we have.

6. Lastly, the facts are clear. One F-22 is superior to at least 7 F-15s at this time. If the F-22 could carry more weapons, that gap would grow even stronger. There is not a single person on this long thread who has anything negative to say about the Raptor that has the slightest idea of what they are talking about. The F-22 ends the contest. If there are F-22s in the sky over some enemy country, the leaders of that enemy country know that they might as well save their aircraft and pilots, because they aint comin back from that fight. When you combine the capabilities of JStars, AWACS, AEGIS and the F-22, you know that these fights are over before they begin. The outcome is not in doubt. The US owns the sky. Deal with it.