Posted on 04/17/2006 8:12:58 AM PDT by dead
The US Air Force has unveiled a stealth fighter so advanced that no other aircraft in the world stands a chance against it, writes Roger Makings
ASK any modern fighter pilot and he’ll tell you that the last thing he wants is a fair fight. He’s not interested in matching his skills with the enemy. He doesn’t want to see whose aircraft has the tighter turning circle, the more potent weaponry or the more powerful engines.
All he wants to do is fire off his missiles and run like hell.
But that has never been possible because aviation technology has, for decades, been more or less on par.
Pilots were forced to meet at 20000ft and manoeuvre like crazy for the advantage. They are crushed into their seats as they wrench their fighters around, frantically scanning for the “bogey”. Rolling into position with guns or missiles selected, they blast away for all they are worth. Their reward — a fireball as the bogey explodes.
And they bask in the adoration and hero-worship.
In an article on the famous combat school Top Gun, which inspired the movie of the same name, these hotshots, the “greatest of the greats”, were described thus: “They didn’t have to tell anybody how great they were. All they had to do was just stand there and the aura said it all.”
But those days of glorious combat have ended and the fighter pilot’s nirvana, the unfair advantage, has become a reality — well, for a handful at Langley Air Force Base in the US, where 12 Raptors went on standby for worldwide deployment.
KILLING MACHINE: The US Air Force’s terrifying F-22A Raptor, a fighter in a new
class of its own. The aircraft will become the scourge of its enemies around the world
And the new aircraft’s pilots will be the “greatest of the greats” chosen to fly the best of the best.
The aircraft is simply the most advanced ever built. There is nothing on earth to touch it. In simulated dogfights it has wiped the floor with the opposition.
In one such encounter, six F-15 Eagle air-superiority fighters — which the Raptor is replacing and which has a perfect combat record of 101 victories with zero defeats — were sent up to “kill” a single Raptor. All six were shot down.
A bit of perspective is needed here. The Eagle is the most lethal air-superiority fighter in the US arsenal and its pilots are the best in the world.
One of those “aura” pilots I was talking about earlier is Lieutenant-Colonel Paul Huffman, the commander of the 64th Aggressor Squadron.
The Aggressors are the dogfighting experts of the US Air Force. In aerial combat training they act as the “enemy”. It’s their job to give the opposing fighter jocks a hard time. It’s also their job to “kill” them. A sort of baptism of fire — a wake-up call.
Huffman and his hot-shots were sent up against the Raptor. I’ll let him finish the story.
“We still joke about our missions against the Raptor, because they can be fairly boring.
“We fly to the [designated combat] range. Die. Go to the tanker [to refuel]. Go back out to the range. Die. Go back to the tanker. Go back out. Die. After the third time we go home.”
Same thing the next day, and the next.
As Huffman told Code One magazine, the 64th flew almost 300 sorties against the Raptors “and we never once got to merge [make visual contact] against a single Raptor”.
Another hard-assed air combat supremo, Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Garland, a former F-15 Eagle pilot and now a Raptor jockey, told Code One magazine: “Six adversaries provide a good workout for two F-15 Eagle pilots. But for two Raptors, defeating six adversaries is about as difficult as eating breakfast. We [Raptor pilots] don’t even break a sweat.”
So what is it that makes the R800-million Raptor so special? In a word, technology. Stealth technology in the main, supported by mighty engines with supercruise ability, thrust vectoring agility and integrated avionics.
What all this means is that you can’t see the damned thing. It can go faster than sound without afterburner flames coming out of its backside and it has nozzles at the rear that make it turn on a tickey.
It also flies higher, faster and further than any other fighter in the world and all its weapons are tucked away in bays in its stealth-faceted fuselage.
When needed, a variety of missiles pop out and scream off towards the hapless enemy, who has no clue that he has just seconds left to live.
The problem with the Raptor, for its enemies, is that it can’t be seen on radar. Opposing fighters rely on their radar to pick up bogeys, which they chase until they get a visual on the aircraft. Also, because the engines don’t have to use afterburners to go supersonic there is no telltale flame or smoke. And nothing for heat-seeking missiles to latch onto.
So how do you fight something you can’t see, fire at or out-turn? The short answer is: you don’t. You just die.
Now all this sounds like a lot of US hype so I asked a guy who is probably more qualified than anyone in South Africa to comment.
He’s Johannes “Blokkies” Joubert, Denel’s Gripen project test pilot for the past five years, a graduate of the International Test Pilot School in Britain, a former Mirage and Cheetah fighter pilot, and still an active combat pilot at 2 Squadron, Makhado Air Force Base.
“Look,” he says, “there is no doubt about it. It’s going to be a tough day at the office for any fighter pilot going up against the Raptor in an air-to-air scenario. It’s an awesome aircraft with incredible technology, even without the stealth factor.”
Joubert says the problem in duelling with the Raptor is that fighter pilots need to build a mental picture of the developing combat scenario as they approach each other.
“We rely on fighter controllers and our onboard radars to build this picture, but if you can’t pick up the enemy you can’t build the picture. Meanwhile, the Raptor pilot, with all his advanced control and command systems, is building a very precise picture and is planning his tactics. By the time you see the Raptor — if ever — it’s too late, you’ve lost the fight.”
But he doesn’t believe the Raptor is invincible. “If you do get a visual and he hasn’t already fired at you, some fourth-generation fighters will give the Raptor a good fight. And radars are improving all the time and could in the near future detect stealthy aircraft.”
“So,” I ask Joubert, “the first of the SAAF’s new Gripen fighters will be arriving in July. What if one day . . ?”
“Aah yes,” he leans back in his chair and looks at the ceiling. “You remember that tough day at the office I was talking about earlier...”
Tough day?
I think a very short day.
Yeah, but what about Iran's flying stealth boat with the prop on top?
While I am excited at the amazing abilities the Raptor puts forth, I would be more excited at the implementation of a bomber with similar such dominance. Air to ground is going to be far more important in upcoming warfare than air-to-air superiority, in my opinion.
Good reading.
“They didn’t have to tell anybody how great they were. All they had to do was just stand there and the aura said it all.”
What BS.
There's serious truth to the old joke:
"How can you tell if a naval aviator is in the room?"
"Don't worry. He'll tell you."
Russia will or does have somthing like the Raptor.
Ever heard of the B-2 Spirit?
L
I met a Raptor pilot.
That "AURA" thing.
Yup, he had it.
Signed a poster for my 12 year old.
Said "Stay in school,never quit"
Yeah but russian and chinese rip offs are always crude and never as good as the original. Its better to be on the innovative side of tech than to be a generation behind and frantically try to copy your advesaries. The US will always take its own path.
Without air dominance air to ground becomes much more difficult. Control the skies and we can assert our will.
No, I sure haven't. Is it a new generation or just an upgrade?
I wouldn't say Raptor's were couldn't be beaten. Check this out
http://www.strategypage.com/messageboards/messages/6-33303.asp
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