The Inspector wrote:
One of the reasons given for cancelling the F-22 'RUPTURE' is it's unique ability to get it's butt kicked against F-15's and F-18's in close in ACM on a very regular basis, nice to know that the latest and 'greatest' can't top 35 year old aircraft.
That and the fact it's avionics gets 'confused' in high threat areas (like combat zones)
1. The Raptor was not "cancelled". It is all ready an operational USAF aircraft with numerous squadrons active.
2. The reason the Raptor's production run was cut short was because it is very expensive compared to current frontline fighter aircraft (2-3 times as costly). Its capability to perform the air dominance has NEVER been in question, much less cited as a reason for "cancellation".
3. A few pieces of HUD footage appearing on the internet does not constitute in any way getting its "butt kicked against F-15's and F-18's in close in ACM on a very regular basis."
3.a. There are only three pieces of HUD footage in the public domain that I know of; a series of three (inside minimum range!) still shots from an F-18 video, a video from a T-38, and a single frame of footage from an F-18G.
3.b. As the Raptor is the "latest and greatest", pilots who do get an opportunity to take a photo through the HUD are going to boast about such a capability to everyone they possibly can. You don't generally post the footage of you getting your ass beat by a Raptor, though.
3.c. Great aircraft get gunned by lesser aircraft in dissimilar combat daily. I have flown as a "bandit" against many Eagle and Viper units in the T-38, and have "killed" them on numerous occasions. I guess by your standard, then, the F-15 and F-16 are pieces of junk and should have been canceled long ago because they were bested by a 1950s era trainer that costs half a million $.
The fact is, such encounters are not indicative of overall capability in any way. These are tiny slices of air to air engagements that have a much bigger picture. I know with the Eagle and Viper Kills I mentioned above, they were usually accompanied by 2 or 3 or 4 fellow T-38s getting completely slaughtered while I happened to get a lucky shot (that's "the rest of the story"). The same is true of the Raptor; you have 99 engagements in which the Raptor easily wins, and when it loses on the 100th engagement, the tale of that single loss is the one that is told.
My experience against the F-22 -- in two different USAF aircraft -- has been that it has completely wiped the floor with anything it goes up against.
But, then again, your experiences fighting against the Raptor may have been different.
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ellice_island_kid wrote:
I am only in my 20s but someday I will fly it at airshows. I am getting rich really fast writing software and so I can afford to do really stupid things like put all my money into warbirds.
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