F-22 Raptor Might Be In Trouble

[BlueOvalFitter]

ls China just using this as a scare tactic?
https://eurasiantimes.com/china-shoot-down-f-22-raptors-within-seconds-hypersonic-missiles/

 

[tyman]

Raptor was in trouble the second they stopped the production lines.

 

[JustN89]

People won't buy a widget made in China because they don't believe the quality is there, yet will believe that China can produce a missile that will defeat the most advanced fighter the world has ever seen. Makes no sense. Why anyone would trust anything that comes from a "Chinese expert" is beyond me.

 

[MrHorspwer]

Propaganda to justify those $768 billion payments to the DoD.

If China didn't have a super-missile that can shoot down planes, what ever would the government spend our money on?

 

[gman2304]

A ground to air hypersonic missile can shoot down a F22 even if it can’t see it?

 

[TumblrDucks]

I'd rather trust a hypersonic missile from Russia than China!
With all the incremental upgrades on F-22 I doubt PLA could even find them in the first place... Well who knows.

 

[Malo83]

Just like the F117 Stealth fighter in the gulf war, not so stealthy when it was being tracked by Iraqi radar.
https://www.jstor.org/stable/43987628

 

[ripcord]

China may be able to detect low visibility stealth aircraft with ground based ultra low frequency (long wavelength) radar, but according to the analysts I've read, those systems aren't going to be able to guide a missile closer than in the general direction of said aircraft.

 

[xgmad]

lol infared missiles? Those are easily blinded i believe using infared blasts

 

[y_p_w]

People won't buy a widget made in China because they don't believe the quality is there, yet will believe that China can produce a missile that will defeat the most advanced fighter the world has ever seen. Makes no sense. Why anyone would trust anything that comes from a "Chinese expert" is beyond me.

It depends on how motivated they are. Manufacturing in China is a weird thing where products are made to quality levels commensurate with how much the customer is willing to spend, and the Chinese military is willing to spend. Frankly a lot of manufacturers take shortcuts, while others (think Foxconn which is actually Taiwanese) are world class.

I'm frankly skeptical, and this article is from someone based in India. If long range infrared tracking was all that reliable we would have seen it by now. Granted there's this false impression that everything was like Top Gun where missiles are fired from a few hundred feet away, but I understand the latest Sidewinders require going more than 2 miles before they arm.

 

[BlueOvalFitter]

Raptor was in trouble the second they stopped the production lines.

Which jet is better of the two, F-22 or F-35?

 

[y_p_w]

A ground to air hypersonic missile can shoot down a F22 even if it can’t see it?

I guess the claim is that once the weapons door is open and a missile or bomb released, it can be tracked and then locked on. But I'm skeptical. I thought the purpose wasn't that it's invisible to radar, but it's ridiculously difficult to lock on and continue tracking.

 

[BlueOvalFitter]

I guess the claim is that once the weapons door is open and a missile or bomb released, it can be tracked and then locked on. But I'm skeptical. I thought the purpose wasn't that it's invisible to radar, but it's ridiculously difficult to lock on and continue tracking.

ypw, you seem to be very knowledgeable about fighter jets and aviation in general. Were you a fighter pilot at one time?

 

[tyman]

Which jet is better of the two, F-22 or F-35?

Depends on what for. Dogfighting? F22. CAS? F35. Speed? F22. Looks? F22. Literally everything but CAS? F22.

xD

 

[BlueOvalFitter]

Depends on what for. Dogfighting? F22. CAS? F35. Speed? F22. Looks? F22. Literally everything but CAS? F22.

xD

Why is the Pentagon/government keeping the F-35 in service? From what you replied, the F-35 is like the A10, it's being kept in service because it can do things other fighter jets can't. Is this true to some extent?

 

[IndyFan]

Why is the Pentagon/government keeping the F-35 in service? From what you replied, the F-35 is like the A10, it's being kept in service because it can do things other fighter jets can't. Is this true to some extent?

The F-35 is the real deal, as is the F-22. The F-35 has a networking capability that nothing else at this time has, so situational awareness is said to be much greater. He who sees first shoots first, right? Also, the F-35's stealth is a newer generation. And it isn't as bad a dogfighter as everyone thinks. There was a famous test against an F-16 that got lots of press, but many of the details were left out, including the fact the F-35 at the time was not certified to its full g-load and also had other restrictions. The biggest restriction was that it had to leave its stealth and other technology out of the fight. So the story stuck.

They've learned a lot over the last few years of how to fight with the F-35. It is a new game and they are still learning because in many ways, it is rewriting the book.

I also don't believe a darned thing the Chinese propaganda mouth says. If it were true, I doubt they'd say much about it. Why give away what would be a huge advantage? Especially when F-22's rotate through Japan all the time, with an almost permanent presence. They'd love to have us keep them away from the South China Sea, now wouldn't they?

 

[y_p_w]

ypw, you seem to be very knowledgeable about fighter jets and aviation in general. Were you a fighter pilot at one time?

Nope. Too nearsighted. That would be Astro. I used to read books on military aircraft in high school though. I also had opportunities to work for defense contractors. But yeah there's all this stuff on how unrealistic Top Gun was. I read some documentary with some of the pilots interviewed who worked on the movie, and when asked what was the most unrealistic thing, they said that dogfighting would almost never be that close with modern jets but they had to make it look close for filming.

 

[y_p_w]

I also don't believe a darned thing the Chinese propaganda mouth says. If it were true, I doubt they'd say much about it. Why give away what would be a huge advantage? Especially when F-22's rotate through Japan all the time, with an almost permanent presence. They'd love to have us keep them away from the South China Sea, now wouldn't they?

There are a few movies that were made with the cooperation of the People's Liberation Army Air Force. And as an aside there is also the People's Liberation Army Naval Air Force, which is just a bizarre name. But in one of them there's is one general who is giving a presentation in a university lecture hall with several foreign students present. One asks if his forces are as good as others around the world, and he claims the J-10 is advanced as anyone else. And of course that's laughable (the F-22 was operational at that point), but it's basically propaganda.

 

[tyman]

Why is the Pentagon/government keeping the F-35 in service? From what you replied, the F-35 is like the A10, it's being kept in service because it can do things other fighter jets can't. Is this true to some extent?

Because the F35 is a multi-role plane whereas the F22 is primarily air superiority/dogfighting. And yes, the F35 (and it's future replacement) are the future of CAS and multi-role.

 

[y_p_w]

Why is the Pentagon/government keeping the F-35 in service? From what you replied, the F-35 is like the A10, it's being kept in service because it can do things other fighter jets can't. Is this true to some extent?

That doesn't sound right. I get that there are a lot of F-35 detractors out there, but there's no alternative. It was a very expensive project with a lot of moving parts. Many feel that the joint platform was a bad idea and it would have cost less and been more effective to just make three completely different, specialized aircraft rather than try to bend one platform to meet all of this. But abandoning it now would be pointless. It's working now after having a ton of teething pains.