The Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor it is an amazing machine, something that is clear in this video. In the video, recorded at the famous OshKosh Airshow, two F-22s perform a series of flights and maneuvers. The F-22, which costs more than $100 million apiece and is no longer in production, is flown more conservatively at air shows than cheaper and more readily available fighters like the F-15 and the F-16. You’re not going to see F-22s in the USAF Thunderbirds anytime soon.
But even if flown somewhat conservatively, the grace and power of the F-22 is fully apparent in the Oshkosh video and, indeed, in all public demonstrations of the F-22. The US Air Forces They have been publicly demoing the F-22 since 2007, performing power loops, split and tailslides, speed passes and dedication passes. In total, the F-22 has performed more than 250 demonstrations. If you have the means, I highly recommend you take the opportunity to see an F-22 demo.
aerial combat fighter
The F-22 was designed to be the world’s premier air superiority fighter, which means it was destined to be the world’s greatest fighter. Design choices and performance results that allow the F-22 to outperform its competition in the air are suggested in aerobatic demonstrations. The plane accelerates and decelerates apparently without friction. Control inputs seem to register smoothly, with pinpoint precision.
There is nothing like it. Not even the new F-35, America’s other fifth-generation fighter, moves with such latent athleticism or power.. The F-35 was created to be a versatile and exportable fighter, famous for its data sharing and network connectivity, rather than being used as an air superiority fighter. The F-22 remains the most impressive fighter, and thus the most impressive aerobatic demonstrator, in the US military inventory.
The F-22 owes much of its performance to its two Pratt & Whitney F119-PW-100 turbofan engines, each of which is equipped with thrust vectoring nozzles. The nozzles can be moved twenty degrees up or down, giving the F-22 the super-maneuverability that is so appreciated in its demonstrations. Additionally, each Pratt & Whitney engine is very powerful, providing 35,000 pounds of thrust each. With this power, the F-22 can exceed Mach 2.
The F-22 can also achieve supersonic flight without using afterburners.. Typically, a jet plane needs its afterburners to achieve supersonic flight. The problem with using afterburner is that it uses up fuel quickly: Afterburner is essentially fuel, mixed with oxygen, that is spit out into the engine’s exhaust stream, causing an explosion that increases thrust. But the F-22, an air superiority fighter, needs to conserve its fuel for dogfights, which is a fuel-intensive activity.. If the F-22 burned through all its fuel just to get into dogfight, the plane would be disabled. Supercruise technology was introduced as a way to allow the F-22 to conserve the fuel it needs to effectively carry out its air superiority missions.
When it comes to avionics and raw computing power, the F-22 isn’t nearly as impressive as the F-35, which is still the industry standard. But the F-22 is still very capable: a true fifth-generation fighter that uses sensor fusion to synthesize data from multiple onboard sensor systems, allowing the pilot to have a more coherent tactical picture. The result is a pilot who operates with better situational awareness and an easier workload in the cockpit. Specifically, the F-22 has the Martin Marietta AN/AAR-56 infrared and ultraviolet missile launch detector; the AN-APG-77 active electronically scanned array radar from Westinghouse/Texas Instruments; the TRW communication/navigation/identification suite; and a Sanders/General Electric AN/ALR-94 electronic warfare system. The result is a fairly capable aircraft that Air Force personnel often refer to as the “mini-AWACS.”
Of course, none of the F-22’s software power is shown in the Oshkosh video, just the plane’s aerobatic abilities, which are perhaps the best in military aviation.