F-22 Raptor 5th Generation Stealth Fighter

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crazyinsane105

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F/A-22 RAPTOR ADVANCED TACTICAL FIGHTER AIRCRAFT, USA

The F/A-22 Raptor advanced tactical fighter aircraft is being developed for service with the US Air Force from the year 2005. The USAF requirement is for a fighter to replace the F-15, with emphasis on agility, stealth and range. By 1990 Lockheed Martin, teamed with Boeing and General Dynamics, had built and flown the demonstration prototype aircraft, designated YF-22. The first F-22 fighter aircraft was unveiled in April 1997 and was given the name Raptor. In September 2002, the USAF decided to redesignate the aircraft F/A-22 to reflect its multi-mission capability in ground attack as well as air-to-air roles.

The decision to proceed to low-rate initial production (LRIP) was authorised in August 2001 and Lockheed Martin has delivered 49 aircraft under LRIP contracts. Initial Operational Test and Evaluation began in April 2004 and was successfully completed in February 2005. The F/A-22 entered full-rate production in April 2005 and is planned to achieve initial operating capability by December 2005. The USAF has a total requirement of 381 aircraft but funding may not be made available for more than 180. The first operational wing of F/A-22 Raptors will be based at Langley AFB in Virginia, eventually replacing F-15 Eagle aircraft.

During flight tests, the F/A-22 has demonstrated the ability to 'supercruise', flying at sustained speeds of over Mach 1.5 without the use of afterburner.

Lockheed Martin has put forward proposals for a fighter-bomber version of the F-22, the FB-22, which will have larger delta wings, longer range and the ability to carry an external weapons payload of 4,500kg and total weapons payload of 15,000kg.

DESIGN

The F/A-22 construction is 39% titanium, 24% composite, 16% aluminium and 1% thermoplastic by weight. Titanium is used for its high strength-to-weight ratio in critical stress areas, including some of the bulkheads, and also for its heat-resistant qualities in the hot sections of the aircraft. Carbon fibre composites have been used for the fuselage frame, the doors, intermediate spars on the wings, and for the honeycomb sandwich construction skin panels.
COCKPIT

The cockpit is fitted with hands-on throttle and stick control (HOTAS). The cockpit has six color liquid crystal displays. The Kaiser Electronics Projection Primary Multifunction Display provides a plan view of the air and ground tactical situation including threat identity, threat priority and tracking information.

Two displays provide communication, navigation, identification and flight information. Three secondary displays show air and ground threats, stores management and air threat information.

A BAE SYSTEMS head-up display (HUD) shows target status, weapon status, weapon envelopes and shoot cues. A video camera records data on the HUD for post-mission analysis.
WEAPONS

A variant of the M61A2 Vulcan cannon is installed internally above the right air intake. The General Dynamics Linkless Ammunition Handling System holds 480 rounds of 20mm ammunition and feeds the gun at a rate of 100 rounds per second.

The F-22 has four hardpoints on the wings, each rated to carry 2,270kg, which can carry AIM-120A AMRAAM or external fuel tanks. The Raptor has three internal weapon bays. The main weapons bay can carry six AMRAAM AIM-120C missiles or two AMRAAM and two 1,000lb GBU-32 Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM). The bay is fitted with the EDO Corp. LAU-142/A AVEL AMRAAM Vertical Ejection Launcher which is a pneumatic-ejection system controlled by the stores management system. Raytheon AMRAAM air-to-air missile is an all-weather short to medium range radar-guided fire and forget missile, with a range of 50nm. The side bays can each be loaded with one Lockheed Martin/Raytheon AIM-9M or AIM-9X Sidewinder all-aspect short-range air-to-air missile.

The GPS-guided, Boeing Small Diameter Bomb (SDB) is being integrated on the F/A-22. Up to eight SDBs could be carried.
RADAR

The AN/APG-77 radar has been developed for the F/A-22 by the Electronic Sensors and Systems Division of Northrop Grumman and Raytheon Electronic Systems. The radar uses an active electronically scanned antenna array of 2,000 transmitter/receive modules, which provides agility, low radar cross-section and wide bandwidth. Deliveries of the AN/APG-77 began in May 2005.
COUNTERMEASURES

The aircraft's electronic warfare system includes a radar warning receiver and a BAE Systems Information & Electronic Warfare Systems (IEWS) (formerly Lockheed Martin Sanders) missile launch detector.
NAVIGATION AND COMMUNICATIONS

The TRW CNI communications, navigation and identification system includes an intra-flight datalink, joint tactical information distribution system (JTIDS) link and an identification friend or foe (IFF) system. Boeing is responsible for mission software and avionics integration. The aircraft has a Northrop Grumman (formerly Litton) LTN-100G laser gyroscope inertial reference, a global positioning system and a microwave landing system.
ENGINE

The F-22 is powered by two Pratt and Whitney F119-100 engines. The F119-100 is a low bypass after burning turbofan engine providing 156kN thrust. The F119 is the first fighter aircraft engine equipped with hollow wide chord fan blades which are installed in the first fan stage. Thrust vectoring is controlled by a Hamilton Standard dual redundant full authority digital engine control (FADEC). The FADEC is integrated with the flight control computers in the BAE Systems Flight Controls vehicle management system.

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crazyinsane105

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Re: F-22 Raptor: The New Threat to the PLAAF

Now, let us begin our discussion. The F-22 is the biggest threat to the PLAAF and in general, the Chinese military. Is there anything that the PLAAF can do to counter this plane (assuming that Congress decides to allow the production of several squadrons of it)? I am trying to find an article in which I read that a squadron of F-15's (probably the E versions) are trying to "defeat" the F-22. So far, they have had no luck. :eek:
 

Malizia

New Member
Registered Member
Re: F-22 Raptor: The New Threat to the PLAAF

SU-27 and evolutions (SU-30 Mki, SU-37..) and j-10 could perhaps (?) challenge f-22.
Prototype SU-47 Berkut could be the real response if exported to China next years...
China works on a future native stealth fighter....we'll see later !
Virtually, SU-30 mki, SU-37, Berkut and the french phenomena called Rafale could challenge the f22s. F22 is stealth and highly maneuvrable ; Rafale and modern russian warbirds are higly maneuvrable and equipped with highly advanced radar (Rafale proved it) enable to detect stealth us planes in security distance (enough to shoot first the F22 ?!?).
US strategy is developing costly stealth techology and Europeans/Russiand is developing advanced radar (cheaper than steath techno). Highly maneuvrability is the common challenge.
China could evolve in the Rafale/Su way, couldn't it ?
 

IDonT

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Re: F-22 Raptor: The New Threat to the PLAAF

This is from an Airforce Magazine article

By Laura M. Colarusso
Times staff writer

NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. — Among the F/A-22’s opponents, there’s none more determined than Maj. Robert Garland, whose job is to beat the Raptor, the Air Force’s most advanced fighter jet.

It’s a tough job. He flies an F-15C.

He’s never won.

Garland and his F-15 buddies, assigned to the 422nd Test and Evaluation Squadron, fly against the Raptor to find its weaknesses and help develop the tactics to employ the Air Force’s newest fighter jet.

“The Raptor is going to win, but that’s what it’s designed for,†said Garland, who is also an F/A-22 pilot. “It doesn’t matter, really, how experienced we are or if we have a good day or a bad day. The Raptor is going to succeed.â€

Even though they rarely win, the pilots of the 422nd radiate confidence. They say they use each sortie to improve their skills in the F-15. They’re on a mission to prove themselves against the aircraft the Air Force has billed as the best in the world because of its speed, stealth and integrated avionics.

“When I go out in an F-15 and I fight a guy in a Raptor, if a guy does a good job in that airplane, there’s no chance that I have to defeat him,†Garland said.

It sounds discouraging, and these pilots talk at length about being throttled, kicked in the face and frustrated by the Raptor. But Garland and the others who train against it say the fight’s not supposed to be fair.

The training missions almost always start out with the Raptor in a defensive position, because otherwise it would be a “waste of gas,†said Maj. Robert Novotny, another F-15 pilot with the 422nd.

When the F/A-22 is on the defensive and the fight is taking place in a visual maneuvering environment — meaning the aircraft are in close, so everybody can see each other — the F-15s have more of a chance.

These fights are violent, said Lt. Col. Art McGettrick, a former F-15 pilot who now solely flies the F/A-22 with the 422nd. The pilots pull 9 Gs, perform jarring maneuvers and generally try to beat each other up when the F-15s and the F/A-22 fight, because they are trying to wring out the Raptor to find any deficiencies.

The pilots prepare for the mental and physical demands of dogfighting, Garland said. They study tactics constantly and try to learn from the mistakes highlighted in the mission debriefings. The pilots also train like professional athletes, lifting weights and running several miles a week, he said.

Once in a while, if the scenario is set up right, Novotny has been able to shoot the Raptor. Two new technologies, the AIM-9X missile and the Helmet Mounted Cueing System, have leveled the playing field by giving the F-15s the ability to shoot off-bore sight shots.

Pilots once had to maneuver so the noses of their jets were pointing at the enemy. Now they can simply look at the target and shoot, shaving seconds off the targeting process.

But if the mock battle starts from a distance, the F/A-22 is in its element, and there is little an F-15 can do against it, according to Garland. The Raptor’s radar and standoff weapons allow it to shoot enemy aircraft before they even know the Raptor is there, McGettrick said.

Yet they keep trying. Novotny has never gunned down a Raptor, the ultimate in air-to-air combat. But when asked whether he’s given up fighting the Raptor, Novotny’s enthusiasm for the mission is clear.

“Hell no,†he says, pounding the table. “I love it.â€

Novotny says sometimes his goal is to just survive for 60 to 120 seconds.

“Nobody wants to get beat,†said Novotny, who has flown about 1,700 hours in the F-15. “It’s a very frustrating fight for me, because I almost never, ever, ever see, hear [or] smll the Raptor, and I’m dead. So, it’s a really boring ride for me, because I get killed all the time.â€
 

IDonT

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Re: F-22 Raptor: The New Threat to the PLAAF

Malizia said:
SU-27 and evolutions (SU-30 Mki, SU-37..) and j-10 could perhaps (?) challenge f-22.
Prototype SU-47 Berkut could be the real response if exported to China next years...
China works on a future native stealth fighter....we'll see later !
Virtually, SU-30 mki, SU-37, Berkut and the french phenomena called Rafale could challenge the f22s. F22 is stealth and highly maneuvrable ; Rafale and modern russian warbirds are higly maneuvrable and equipped with highly advanced radar (Rafale proved it) enable to detect stealth us planes in security distance (enough to shoot first the F22 ?!?).
US strategy is developing costly stealth techology and Europeans/Russiand is developing advanced radar (cheaper than steath techno). Highly maneuvrability is the common challenge.
China could evolve in the Rafale/Su way, couldn't it ?

The F-22 is a generation ahead of its nearest competitors.
The SU - 27 family and the Rafale barely beats the F-15 C (argueable).
The Berkut, Mig 1.44 are all technology demostrator.
J-10 will probably be as good as the early model F-16. The JXX is still stuck at models with no engine, avionics, or for that matter, airframe.

Stealth+Supercruise+superior avionics = First look first kill capability.
Nothing comes close.
 

bd popeye

The Last Jedi
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Re: F-22 Raptor: The New Threat to the PLAAF

Stealth+Supercruise+superior avionics = First look first kill capability.

Yeah baby. :cool: You are so right. :D While other countries have ll sorts of weapons in development the US actually has the F-22 Raptor in production. Not on the tip of someones ink pen.

The only thing I do not like about the aircraft is how many the US will build. The orignal plan was to build 381+. Now it looks like 181+. I tried to find some sort of verfication on how many would be built but could not. I don't think the US Congress has decided on a final number yet. It probaly depends on future US DoD expenditures. A truel awesome aircraft.

f22.jpg
 

bd popeye

The Last Jedi
VIP Professional
Re: F-22 Raptor: The New Threat to the PLAAF

What does the PLAAF have to counter the F/A-22 ? Nothing at the moment. Perhaps the PLAAF has a "skunk works" somewhere developing a fighter like this? Anyone think so?????
 

IDonT

Senior Member
VIP Professional
Re: F-22 Raptor: The New Threat to the PLAAF

bd popeye said:
Yeah baby. :cool: You are so right. :D While other countries have ll sorts of weapons in development the US actually has the F-22 Raptor in production. Not on the tip of someones ink pen.

The only thing I do not like about the aircraft is how many the US will build. The orignal plan was to build 381+. Now it looks like 181+. I tried to find some sort of verfication on how many would be built but could not. I don't think the US Congress has decided on a final number yet. It probaly depends on future US DoD expenditures. A truel awesome aircraft.

181 numbes will grow. There are plans for a strike F-22B (the F-15E's replacement) that is slated to replace the F-15E and F-117.

Even at such low numbers, these planes are very formidable especially if used in conjunction with E-3 and F-15C.

Check this scenario:
PLAAF is operating an AEW plane in the East China Sea to support its Invasion of Taiwan. This AWACS is escorted by a squadron of J-11. USAF base in Okinawa wants to take it out.

After locating where the AEW's is, USAF sends in 6 F-15C on an intercept course for the AEW. Seeing this, the radar operators vectors in its escorting J-11 to intercept the F-15Cs. Simultaneously, 2 F-22 races towards the AEW at above Mach speeds undetected by radar. 1 F-22 is 30 miles ahead of the other. The tail end F-22 lights up its radar and acquires the AEW, the lead F-22 fires an AMRAAM and uses radar firing solution from the other F-22. Radar operators, notice a slight radar signiture detected by passive radar, could it be a radar has locked on to them? But the active radar does not show anything.. Moments later, the AEW explodes. F-22 heads towards Okinawa at high speeds

Without AEW, the J-11 has lost their situational awareness and are ambushed by the F-15C.
 

MIGleader

Banned Idiot
Re: F-22 Raptor: The New Threat to the PLAAF

the f-22 is not the biggest threat to thr plaaf. by the time of the taiwan war(if any) the u.s will only have a few f-22, mainly deployed to the mainland, maybe iraq. puting an f-22 in guam or japn would be seen as a direct threat to china and would not be allowed. the f-22 is also not carrier able.
a j-11 with ram, tvc, and bars will take on any u.s fighter with ease.
 

Raven

New Member
F-22 Raptor

Hey All,

I think that the most important fighter to the PLAAF aand PLAN was the F-14D. But since this wonderful aircraft and it's long range AIM-54C are being retired, the F22 is the aircraft to beat in a BVR fight. The greatest weakness from a fighter standpoint of the F22 is the cost of them. I think at the moment there will be one Wing of these wonderful aircraft. I think there may end up being more but at the current cost, I doubt there will be a plane for plane replacement of the F-15C. The F-14 and F-15 are at the moment America's best fighter aircraft. The F14D is extremely deadly at all ranges plus can carry air to ground weapons. This makes the F-15C the only pure fighter in the USAF arsenal. The F15E is an excellent strike aircraft but I am not sure how it would do on self escort strike missions like the F-14B/D,F/A-18C or F/A-18E/F. While the SU35 and SU30MKI,MKK,and the other variants are great birds, I doubt they would do well against the F-22. As for the new non-US Aircraft, I like the Rafale. But we have to see what each aircraft can do.

To MiG Leader, I disagree. F22s would not need to be deployed to Iraq for any situation in that nation. The lack of an air to air threat means that the standard attack aircraft(A10S,F16s and USMC F18s) would be backed up by current deployments of F15Cs and USN/USMC F18s flying from USN CV/Ns.
Be aware that it is an old USAF capability to rapid deploy fighter aircraft from CONUS directly to the battle area non stop. USAF F15Cs flew directly to Saudi Arabia armed with full war loads prepared to fight their way into the theater. This is something that the USAF and the USMC have practiced and trained for since the 1960s. To add to this capability, the CVSG will smaller in aircraft deploys with more SSMs and atleast 48 F18s (C,E and F variants). Anyone taking on a F22, be it combat or training has much to fear from it. It would not be impossible to wake up and hear on the news that 30 F22s are in the region. And the new F/A-18E/F while not fully a stealth is very steathy (although by far the slowest fighter in the US inventory). We are still waiting to see how good the F35 is, which will also be joining the USAF,USMC and USN.

Oh what would prevent the USAF from deploying a squadron,group or wing of F-22s to Hawaii,Guam or various other facilities in the region? (Diplomatic,military,etc means)
 
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