Posted on 11/30/2003 7:18:34 PM PST by BenLurkin
At a time when the news is filled with stories of low-tech "improvised explosive devices" and donkey-cart rocket launchers dogging American and other coalition soldiers in Iraq, one may wonder just what role high-technology military hardware such as the F/A-22 Raptor may play in this and future conflicts. Lt. Col. Dawn Dunlop, the latest pilot to join the ranks of those testing this newest addition to the Air Force arsenal, does not wonder at all.
"It has tremendous capabilities to support the global strike task force," she said.
Dunlop, a 1997 graduate of the Air Force Test Pilot School, was checked out on the F/A-22 at Edwards earlier this month.
None other than aviation legend Chuck Yeager called her "one of the best pilots, man or woman."
Much of Dunlop's prior experience is in piloting the F-15E Strike Eagle, one of the fighters the F/A-22 will eventually replace.
"It's a phenomenal opportunity for any test pilot to be part of the newest program getting great capability to the field," she said.
Although it was originally conceived to fight the threats of the Soviet Union in the Cold War, supporters of the F/A-22 say it still brings vital capabilities to the U.S. Air Force now and in the future.
During its development, the Raptor has evolved from an "air superiority" fighter, capable of defeating an enemy in air-to-air combat, to what is called "air dominance," meaning it can conquer threats both in the air and on the ground.
To highlight this distinction, the Pentagon changed the fighter's designation from F-22 to F/A-22 to emphasize the ground attack capabilities.
The aircraft's unique strengths cover four area important to air dominance: stealth, supercruise, avionics integration and maneuverability.
Stealth is important from the very beginning for an attack, Dunlop said, to ensure the fighter can safely get to the target through ground defenses. The F/A-22 employs low-observable technologies that are improvements on those pioneered with the B-2 stealth bomber and F-117 stealth fighter and include such measures as internal weapons storage.
As the fighters converge on the target area, the Raptor's integrated avionics can provide the pilots with tremendous data from other fighters, reconnaissance vehicles, "and a whole host of other information sources," Dunlop said.
What's more, she said, the data is combined in a simple presentation that "makes human processing much easier."
The Raptor's supercruise capability - the ability to fly supersonic without using afterburner - means that the fighters may speed in and out of the target area using less fuel and without providing a heat source for heat-seeking missiles, Dunlop said.
This ability also means that the aircraft is well-suited for attacking from a distance. However, should a defender's weaponry get too close, the F/A-22's extreme maneuverability should get it out of a tight spot, she said.
Such agility is important for meeting air-to-air threats, a danger that remains as technology from the former Soviet Union has spread, Dunlop said. Nations such as China, North Korean and Iran possess technologies - both air and ground - that could pose a danger.
"The threat is no longer isolated to the former Soviet Union," she said.
In the types of battles the United States often faces today in the war on terrorism, the enemy is not the traditional nation-state, but individual organizations. In such a war, "precision is absolutely key," Dunlop said. Weapons such as the F/A-22 and satellite-guided munitions help ensure that precise targets are hit, while advanced information systems between the services coordinate attacks.
"Flexibility of the Air Force to meet the demands of different wars is the key to our success," she said.
And, is she cute?
FReepers are focused.
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Dunlap first woman to fly F-15 ACTIVEAir Force Flight Test Center test pilot Capt. Dawn Dunlop recently became the first woman test pilot to fly Dryden's F-15 ACTIVE. Capt. Dunlop was assigned by the 445th Flight Test Squadron as the flight test center's pilot on the Advanced Control Technology for Integrated Vehicles (ACTIVE) "smart controls" project.She flew several research missions for the "smart controls" program, which also is known as the Intelligent Flight Control System (IFCS) experiment.Capt. Dunlop has extensive experience in F-15E aircraft and is a graduate of the Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base.She joins Dryden research pilots Jim Smolka, Dana Purifoy and Rogers Smith, and Boeing Phantom Works test pilot Larry Walker. |
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 NASA Photo by Tom Tschida Air Force Flight Test Center test pilot Capt. Dawn Dunlop recently became the first woman test pilot to fly Dryden's F-15 Advanced Control Technology for Integrated Vehicles (ACTIVE). |
Not bad!
We don't need no stink'in 21st century version of an A-10 - we got the original!
1939: "Those d@mned Army generals know nothing about strategic airpower."
Maybe it's time to resurrect the U.S. Army Air Corps. Then everybody will be happy.
As long as she can prepare "Fried Moose-limbs", that's all I want her to serve up!
I know they have, and they are living my childhood dream. I wanted to fly jets... Had F-16 posters on my walls when most girls had Sean Cassidy posters. I didn't go. Dad told me I was too opinionated to be military... really, I think he just thinks like too many FReepers about what some women can do. I still learned how to fly little planes... and I guess I felt ~almost~ as cool.
~Who am I kiddin'~
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