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by On Thursday, the United States Air Force officially fielded the first F-22 Raptor fighter planes into its inventory. The aircraft has been in development by Lockheed Martin for twenty years. First conceived as the ultimate air superiority fighter, the F-22 is slotted to replace the F-15C Eagle. The airframe is meant to evade the latest developments in surface to air missile defense systems in order to ensure continued first strike capability for the United States military.
The F-22 Raptor brings a host of technological updates to the aging Air Force fleet. Supercruising is a new capability, sustained supersonic flight without the use of afterburners. Advanced aerodynamics and computer flight control systems enable the aircraft to maintain total control while varying speed from as slow as a Piper Cub to supersonic. In order to maintain its superior stealth, the F-22 features an internal hold for all weapons systems, but extra armaments of AMRAAM and Sidewinder missiles can be attached to wing pylons. Additional weapons include a 20 mm cannon and GPS guided JDAM munitions.
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Decision making at its finest by romanizzo :: NR6 :: Show
I would like to be the first to thank the Air Force for buying these new jets. The Stars and Stripes (incidentally the worst newspaper in the world) reported that the bill for the planes was $135 million each, not counting R&D costs. So now we have the most advanced air superiority fighter in the world - because clearly, we don't have air superiority right now. Big time threat from the terrorists and Iran on the air superiority front. Wait, thats sarcasm. There is no air superiority threat, and the US is certainly the front runner with the worlds 2 biggest air forces (USAF and USN.)
Another mark on the "stupid things done in the Pentagon" board. As I recall, they are getting at least 100 F-22s, and asking for another 100 after that. My beer math tells me that we could field hundreds of C17s to increase force projection of relevant capability (tanks and infantry), possibly establish a whole new Mechanized Infantry division, certainly field a whole new light infantry division, or could even just train the hell out of our soldiers and Marines and make them even better than they are now for that $10 billion check they are cutting. And thats what will win the war on terror, not another plane that isn't designed for Close Air Support.
Sure, I'm biased. Sure we need to stay ahead of the enemy on air technology. But we're miles ahead of the competition and the money is better spent elsewhere.