the stealth death match you have been waiting for
the united states was for over a decade the only country in the world to deploy
fifth generation fighter aircraft with the first fighter of the generation the f-22 raptor having
entered service in december 2005 followed by the f-35 nine years later and the chinese j-20
only from march 2017. the collapse of the ussr and termination of multiple promising
fifth generation fighter programs most notably the su-47 and mig 1.44 played an important role
in allowing the us to maintain a near monopoly in the area for several years
with the new generation defined by a number of features including radar evading stealth airframes
a new generation of avionics and electronic warfare systems and use of active rather than
semi-active radar guided missiles the us military has fielded the f-22 and f-35 in complementary
but very different roles reflected by the significant differences in their designs
with each having its own relative strengths and shortcomings a comparison of the two fighters thus
provides insight into how they have been designed and what the primary purposes of each fighter are
the development of two fighters in parallel with complementary roles one heavyweight and more
costly and the other light and relatively cheap is far from unprecedented the f-22 is an elite heavy
fighter built to engage the most advanced enemy combat aircraft is a direct successor to the f-15c
eagle and f4e phantom from their respective 4th and 3rd generations while the f-35 follows on from
the f-16 falcon and the f5e tiger 2 in fulfilling the role of a low-cost and versatile light fighter
capable of fulfilling any number of roles on the battlefield but specialized in none of them the
heavy air superiority fighters have been far more restricted in their exports compared to
their lighter counterparts with the f-22 banned from export entirely while lighter aircraft have
been built in much larger numbers widely exported to all manner of u.s allies and non-aligned states
and in the fourth and fifth generations also acquired in much larger numbers by the us military
the f-22 was designed to penetrate deep into enemy airspace and accordingly has high endurance
although one notable shortcoming was that it failed to match the endurance of the f-15
due to its more fuel-hungry engines the f-22 also has the ability to fly for sustained
periods supersonically as previously only the soviet mig-31 could and doing so without using
afterburners this was originally a requirement for an aircraft to be considered 5th generation
but was changed to accommodate the f-35 which otherwise would not have been considered part
of the generation the f-22 also benefits from a larger am apg-77 radar and greater firepower with
the raptor able to carry eight air-to-air missiles internally where the f-35 carries a tiny payload
of just four not only does the raptor have more missiles but due to its higher speed and altitude
it can impart more energy onto them when firing than the f-35 can despite using a significantly
older airframe designed in the 1980s the f-22s radar cross-section remains significantly lower
than that of its cheaper counterpart the f-35 making it far more survivable and beyond visual
range combat and leading some western analysts to term the f-35 as a pseudo-stealthy fighter
ultimately the f-22 and f-35 are the most ambitious fighter programs in the western
world to have produced aircraft ready for combat although the f-35 is currently restricted to a
limited initial operating capability and is not yet ready for medium or high intensity engagements
the f-22 uses a much higher and more costly airframe but has suffered from difficulty
incorporating upgrades and very high maintenance issues which along with its low production run
mean it is likely to be retired from service decades ahead of the lower maintenance but
more modern f-35 or even the old f-15 although the f-22s airframe had more potential from the outset
the handling of the program means it will eventually be comfortably superseded by the f-35
which continues to receive upgrades and new technologies while efforts to modernize the raptor
have been much more conservative this contrasts to their predecessors the f-15 and f-16 which both
received upgrades and continued to be improved in parallel ensuring that the f-22s predecessor the
f-15 has always retained its superiority over its cheaper and lighter counterpart the f-35s
predecessor the f-16 the f-22 and f-35 are set to continue to define the fifth generation for
many years to come alongside china's j-20 and possibly other upcoming non-western designs
a pair of stealthy 5th generation u.s air force lockheed martin f-22a raptor air superiority
fighters squared off against a pair of royal norwegian air force lockheed martin f-35a
joint strike fighters there are very few details available about the exercise but some inferences
can be made about the type of training the two sides undertook the norwegians for their part
were impressed by the raptors fearsome air-to-air prowess the f-22 is a very formidable opponent
norwegian air force major morton hanch who piloted one of their norwegian f-35s told reuters andrea
shalal the norwegians told shalal that practicing with the american f-22s provided the stealthy new
jets with training opportunities that would not normally be available since the f-35s are usually
able to surprise and overpower conventional non-stealthy aircraft in general there are
a few assumptions that can be made based on how u.s and nato alliance air forces operate
professional air forces do not engage in the sort of chest thumping bravado one might see in movies
such as top gun rather the entire affair is about building professional competence that includes
developing air crew skills practicing and refining tactics techniques and procedures among other
things further when there are air forces from different allied states participating those air
forces are often trying to develop professional relationships between their aviators and build
interoperability between their forces that is so that they are familiar with each other's
tactics and procedures in the event of a war air crews from different nato partners norway and
the united states in this case may find themselves fighting alongside each other during a contingency
operation as they did in 2011 during operation odyssey dawn indeed interpersonal relationships
between allied aviators are amongst the most valuable gains from international air exercises
security limitations are a serious issue for the f-22 community raptor pilots are often
not allowed to utilize the full capabilities of their jets during international exercises
f-22 units are often directed to participate in exercises as part of air force efforts to
build relationships with partners notes a recent report from the government accountability office
however due to security concerns regarding exposing the f-22s unique capabilities f-22 pilots
may be restricted from flying the aircraft the way they would in combat according to air force
officials as a result the value of the training is reduced and these types of exercises can result
in the f-22 pilots developing bad habits that must be corrected in future training
according to air force officials the only time during air exercises where the gloves come off
to an extent so to speak is during basic fighter maneuvers bfm training or the typical within
visual range dog fights that are often depicted in movies and other media while aircraft and
weapon capabilities are important during bfm engagements and depending on the precise setup
defensive high aspect offensive purge victory often comes down to individual pilot skills
and luck a more maneuverable aircraft with more thrust and with better missiles might often win
those engagements but even the most capable fighter in the hands of a highly capable pilot
can lose if they are having a bad day thanks for watching and don't forget to subscribe you