Sandboxx: Why can’t America build any new F-22 Raptors?
The U.S Air Force has two air superiority fighters in their stable in the F-22 Raptor and F-15 Eagle, but when looking to bolster the fleet with purchases of a new (old) jet for the job, it was the Eagle, not the famed Raptor, to get a second lease on life.
That really begs the question: if America can buy new F-15s, a design that’s nearly 50 years old, why isn’t it looking to build new F-22s instead?
By most accounting, the F-22 Raptor remains the most capable air superiority fighter on the planet, with its competition in China’s J-20B beginning to shape up and Russia’s Su-57 still lagging a bit behind.
The F-22 really is still at the top of its game… but that doesn’t mean building more actually makes good sense.
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WNU Editor: There are currently 183 F-22s in service.
I wish we would, those f15s are pretty old.
ReplyDeleteWhy would you want too? The F22 program is really a wonderful program, simply because they shut down shop, they removed all the tooling and ultimately they stopped the likes of China and Russia obtaining the tech. Pretty sure nothing matches the output of those F22 engines and with new more powerful engines insight.
ReplyDeleteYou build an airframe around an engine, the F22 is still a monster in aerial engagements and honestly until one goes down in foreign territory, i think the key take away from the F22 program is its secrecy.
Infact i would even argue, the problem is not that we can't build more F22's rather the problem is we don't have the experts to put the F22 in the rubbish bin. Because around the 1980/90's the forefront of advancements just died, is like the collapes of the soviets ushered in an era of inaction, of we won, of we don't need this level of experts anymore and that level of expertise has never been nurtured like it was in the 1980s.
I don't know if its politics, if its univeristies or just there is no need, but building a air superiourty fighter that can trump the F22, SU57 and the J20 and can do it for the next 50 years is an impossable task inwhich it seems no one in the USA has been progressing towards.
Just buy some Tempists from the British when they are done, or some what evers from Japan.
With the Chinese J-20 mighty dragon, its limitations are its engine doesnt have thrust vectoring.
ReplyDeleteIf they can figure that out, well lets just say in a 1 circle dogfight after a merge the J-20 could take out an F22. The F22 pilot wants to abuse that thrust vectoring and go vertical after the merge to win the dogfight, which is really the most natural thing to do as going vertial usally means losing speed and energy.
In dogfights with the SU-57 on the otherhands, i mean wow that plane can manoeuvre, not to say the F-22 can't follow it but with more thrust in the F22 you want to use every advantage you can get. And thrust is where you need it to defeat Fox3's active homing radar missiles that last i heard could splash kills 200miles away. Chinese missiles have ranges out to 300miles from what i've heard, be real interesting to have a fighting war between Russia and China because they are on a more even playing field. The US have a sizable advantage, more so in combat experianced pilots.
ReplyDelete