F-22 Raptor, What the hell are we doing?

[Tresselbeliever]

Saw this a few days earlier.

Growler Power: EA-18G boasts F-22 kill

[MililaniBuckeye]

Originally Posted by Tresselbeliever

Saw this a few days earlier.

Growler Power: EA-18G boasts F-22 kill

Penile-envy Navy [censored] claiming a "kill" at Red Flag. What the [censored] is a jamming aircraft doing with AMRAAMs?

[jimotis4heisman]

i shot down a f22 with a rock. hold on let me write the report...

[Muck]

These goodies are being released as the Air Force makes a pitch to delay some F-35 production in order to build more F-22s.

...and once again the AF proves that it is willing to throw everyone else (USN, USMC, USA, our allies around the world & national security) under the bus in order to have the toys it wants (regardless of what's actually necessary for fighting a war).

Hey want to make the F-22 fleet more effective? Install a common [censored]ing data link that can talk to the other aircraft in the fleet rather than just your wingman. Besides what's the use of more Raptors if you can't get them anywhere because you've let your tanker fleet fall apart?

Maybe Gates should start charging these [censored]nuts under the UCMJ this time around rather than just letting them "resign".

(Yes I'm a proponent of keeping the Raptor line open as a strategic resource...but you can't ignore every other goddamn program to do so)

Originally Posted by BuckeyeMike80

That said, the plane itself is likely capable of things that the human body can't withstand (meaning Gs and whatnot).

So can just about every other modern fighter air frame (Sukhosis, Typhoons, Gripens, J-10s etc etc etc)

The F16s and F15s and F18s are old and getting older. The F-22 can replace all of them if ONLY we build enough of them.

We can't afford to replace all of the aforementioned aircraft with F-22s.

Most of the F-18's have already being replaced with SuperBugs & with the rest getting swapped for F-35s in the near future.

Originally Posted by IronBuckI

Air to air combat, I guess. Ground targets stand no chance in hell against an F-22. Too high...too accurate...too fast.

More like the F-22 has no chance against ground targets as it doesn't have the necessary software & can't carry much in the way of air to ground munitions.

BTW "high" & "fast" are negatives when it comes to ground attack rather than positives.

Originally Posted by MililaniBuckeye

Penile-envy Navy [censored] claiming a "kill" at Red Flag.

Envious of what? The AF's need to borrow Navy EW assets because they have proven to be entirely incapable of fielding their own platform that isn't a piece of [censored]?

What the [censored] is a jamming aircraft doing with AMRAAMs?

Probably the same thing AIM-9s were doing on the EF-111.

[MightbeaBuck]

Originally Posted by Mili

What the [censored] is a jamming aircraft doing with AMRAAMs?

Originally Posted by Muck

Probably the same thing AIM-9s were doing on the EF-111.

Not to argue with you, Mili & Muck, (and possibly agreeing with both of you) but the Aardvark is supposed to be a multitask aircraft, and built to change configurations quickly. And that would be the same argument used to defend the SuperHornet's quick change abilities (in armament packages) - though the EA-18G is farther from an F-18 than an EF-111 is from an F-111.

As a side note, I love the F-111's name: Aardvark, but hate the EF configuration's: Raven.

[jimotis4heisman]

BBC NEWS | Americas | Stealth jet crashes in US desert
you guys bring this up and look what happens...

[Muck]

Originally Posted by MightbeaBuck

though the EA-18G is farther from an F-18 than an EF-111 is from an F-111.

Actually I'd disagree pretty heavily with that statement.

The primary difference between the Growler & the SuperBug is that the internal gun & the wingtip weapon stations are used for the EW pods. All of the other weapon stations are still intact and could be used for the full range of ordinance if so desired (or drop tanks, addtional EW pods etc etc).

If by some insane reason it were necessary you could load up a Growler with a normal A2A, A2G or mixed load (minus the gun & sidewinders on the wingtips) and it could carry out the same missions as any other F/A-18F.

IIRC the first 3-4 operational Gs were nothing more than Fs pulled off the line that had the EW gear swapped in.

Originally Posted by jimotis4heisman

BBC NEWS | Americas | Stealth jet crashes in US desert
you guys bring this up and look what happens...

Condolences to LtCol Cooley's family.

Oh there are no fighter pilots down in Hell
Oh there are no fighter pilots down in Hell
The place is full of queers
Navigators, Bombardiers
But there are no fighter pilots down in Hell!

[TRON 2.0]

F22 this, F18 that...

Just have the AF buy a few of these and we should be good for a thousand years or so.

[Muck]

Originally Posted by KING

F22 this, F18 that...

Just have the AF buy a few of these and we should be good for a thousand years or so.

Psst Starscream is an F-22 now.

Of course Boeing's new F-15 SE (Silent Eagle) proposition for export looks like a Macross variable fighter.

[NewYorkBuck]

Originally Posted by Tresselbeliever

Saw this a few days earlier.

Growler Power: EA-18G boasts F-22 kill

Yup. And the Soviets claimed they destroyed over 1200 Tiger tanks during the Battle of the Bulge. The only problem was Germany never had more than 700 operational at any one time......

[Muck]

Originally Posted by NewYorkBuck

Yup. And the Soviets claimed they destroyed over 1200 Tiger tanks during the Battle of the Bulge. The only problem was Germany never had more than 700 operational at any one time......

Very nice job of calling Naval Aviators liars.

The F-22 isn't a magic [censored]ing carpet people. If it ever goes into a real shooting war there will be Raptors shot down. End of story.

[Tresselbeliever]

Originally Posted by Muck

Very nice job of calling Naval Aviators liars.

The F-22 isn't a magic [censored]ing carpet people. If it ever goes into a real shooting war there will be Raptors shot down. End of story.

Muck, I've heard people say that certain radars, AESA, can fry the seekers on long range missiles, thus rendering the first shot advantage useless in the future. Is that anywhere close?

[Muck]

Originally Posted by Tresselbeliever

Muck, I've heard people say that certain radars, AESA, can fry the seekers on long range missiles, thus rendering the first shot advantage useless in the future. Is that anywhere close?

AESA radar are a completely new paradigm when it comes to capabilities.

They're still learning exactly what they can do in a tactical environment.

Using the radar itself to send/receive data & for various EW functions (among other things) are being looked at.

Anything more specific is going to be PI and/or violate OPSEC.

FWIW the integrated sensor suite on the F-35 is a generation+ ahead of the F-22 (or anything else currently flying) and is mind boggling in some of it's capabilities (the Raptors AN/APG-77 is always going to have the potential for more transmission power due to the greater number of modules but a lot of the other parts of the F-35's suite are unique).

[Tresselbeliever]

Originally Posted by Muck

AESA radar are a completely new paradigm when it comes to capabilities.

They're still learning exactly what they can do in a tactical environment.

Using the radar itself to send/receive data & for various EW functions (among other things) are being looked at.

Anything more specific is going to be PI and/or violate OPSEC.

FWIW the integrated sensor suite on the F-35 is a generation+ ahead of the F-22 (or anything else currently flying) and is mind boggling in some of it's capabilities (the Raptors AN/APG-77 is always going to have the potential for more transmission power due to the greater number of modules but a lot of the other parts of the F-35's suite are unique).

Interesting stuff buddy. Thanks for sharing.

[Gatorubet]

Originally Posted by NewYorkBuck

Yup. And the Soviets claimed they destroyed over 1200 Tiger tanks during the Battle of the Bulge. The only problem was Germany never had more than 700 operational at any one time......

What were the Soviets doing in the fricking Ardennes with my dad and the 18th and 62 Volksgrenadiers? Or did they have their own Bulge fun on the Eastern front?