The US. Air Force F-22 Raptor stealth fighters recently arrived in the Middle East.
United States Central Command or CENTCOM has stated that US Air Force F-22 Raptor
stealth fighters had touched down at an unspecified air base in the Middle East
and directly linked this to the increasing friction with Russian aircraft in the region.
CENTCOM has said that the jets had come from the Air Force's 94th Fighter Squadron,
which is headquartered at Joint Base Langley–Eustis in Virginia.
The command hasn’t disclosed the total number of F-22s which are part of this deployment.
Pictures and videos released along with the announcement showed at least two F-22s touching
down, as well as flying together with a pair of F-16C Viper fighters armed with
AIM-120 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM), AIM-9X Sidewinders,
GBU-39/B Small Diameter Bombs, and Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) precision-guided bombs.
In this video Defense Updates analyzes why US is sending mighty F-22 Raptor to Middle East?
Let’s get started.
Viewers may note that within Syria, U.S. forces are stationed at multiple locations on the ground,
primarily to provide support for ongoing coalition operations aimed at combating
the terrorist organization ISIS. Additionally, American personnel
work closely in collaboration with local predominantly Kurdish groups in the region.
According to the senior commander of the U.S. Air Force in the Middle East, there has been a
noticeable increase in unsafe and unprofessional Russian aerial maneuvers over Syrian airspace.
During Defense One's Tech Summit, U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Alexus Grynkewich,
the head of U.S. Air Forces Central (AFCENT), provided an update on the situation in Syria.
Lt. Gen. Grynkewich has been consistently vocal for several months regarding the noticeable
escalation of Russian aircraft engaging in aggressive maneuvers
near American planes and displaying other concerning behaviors in Syria.
He stated that some of this is influenced by Russia- Iran nexus.
Grynkewich said,
"I'll tell you, I... think this is driven by a confluence of our adversaries now. So,
with Russia being beholden to Iran, with the mighty Russian Air Force having to buy
UAVs [uncrewed aerial vehicles] from Iran, the Russians actually owe the Iranians something."
Russia has been employing multiple types of Iranian-made uncrewed aircraft,
especially kamikaze drones, in Ukraine for months now and it is likely that Tehran
may get weapon systems like Su-35 Flanker-E fighter jets in return.
Grynkewich further stated, "So that dynamic, I think,
has resulted in collusion, if you will, between the Russians and the Iranians,
both of whom want to see us out of Syria. They're [also] colluding with
the Syrian regime and trying to push us out of Syria as quick as they can."
While Grynkewich says that the situation in the skies above Syria has not risen to this level yet,
the situation there does appear to have escalated to a new degree recently.
The commander of AFCENT highlighted a notable incident that occurred in March, involving a
collision between a Russian Su-27 Flanker fighter and a U.S. MQ-9 Reaper drone over the Black Sea.
As a result of this encounter, the MQ-9 Reaper crashed.
The incident was characterized by the commander as a reckless and unprofessional intercept,
with the Flanker making multiple close passes to the unmanned aircraft and even dumping fuel on it.
Initially, Russian authorities denied the occurrence of the incident in the
Black Sea. However, despite the denial, the pilot
of the Su-27 responsible for colliding with the MQ-9, along with his wingman,
were later awarded medals for their actions by Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.
Grynkewich said, "If you're gonna give
medals to Russian fighter pilots for pouring gas on a UAV and then knocking it out of the
sky by crashing into it while they're operating over the Black Sea, then the Russian pilots that
serve in other parts of the world, such as Syria, see that and that's going to incentivize them,"
F -22 Raptor brings massive offensive power.
It is an engineering masterpiece designed for "First Look, First Shot, First Kill"
F-22 combines powerful flight dynamics, excellent situational awareness,
and stealth characteristics in a single platform.
It can super-cruise that is it can fly with supersonic speeds without using
fuel inefficient after-burner and has super-maneuverability.
The AN/APG-77 radar-equipping F-22 features a low-observable, active-aperture,
electronically scanned array that can track multiple targets under any weather conditions.
It has a range of around 400 km or around 250 miles against a 1 m2 target.
This radar can also be used for electronic-attack
by focusing its signals on the enemy to overload their sensors.
F-22 Raptor is developed from the grounds up to be stealthy. F22 is the stealthiest
fighter ever built & has a very low RCS (Radar Cross Section) of only 0.0001 m2.
As per some analysis, Russia's most stealthy but still not operational fighter Su-57 has an RCS
of 0.05 m2 which makes it around 500 times larger on the radar when compared to F-22.
Raptors can’t be detected by most sensors. Even if some radars are able to detect it, they will find
it very hard to track it and have a radar lock. Hence, Raptor can strike with its plethora of
air-to-air and air-to-ground weapons without the enemy knowing it is there in the first place.
The Russian Air Force had a 10:1 advantage against Ukraine when the campaign started.
It was thought that Russia would have full control
of the skies in a few days and will be able to neutralize important military
targets like Ukrainian Command & Control Centers as well as air defense systems.
But more than 1 year down the line, Russia still doesn’t have absolute air superiority.
Russian aircraft, supporting assets, and tactics have been found wanting on several fronts.
It is not hard to see that even a few F-22 Raptors could put the Russians on the edge.
Raptor is also now equipped with Link 16 through which it can connect with military
aircraft as well as ships and ground forces to exchange tactical pictures in near-real-time.
Given the situation, it seems that CENTCOM has taken the right decision
to send F-22 to the Middle East to bolster US’s aerial might.