What makes the f 22 stealth

In the air-to-ground configuration the aircraft can carry two 1,pound GBU Joint Direct Attack Munitions internally and will use on-board avionics for navigation and weapons delivery support. In the future air-to-ground capability will be enhanced with the addition of an upgraded radar and up to eight small diameter bombs. Advances in low-observable technologies provide significantly improved survivability and lethality against air-to-air and surface-to-air threats.

The F brings stealth into the day, enabling it not only to protect itself but other assets. The F engines produce more thrust than any current fighter engine. The combination of sleek aerodynamic design and increased thrust allows the F to cruise at supersonic airspeeds greater than 1.

Supercruise greatly expands the F 's operating envelope in both speed and range over current fighters, which must use fuel-consuming afterburner to operate at supersonic speeds. The sophisticated F aerodesign, advanced flight controls, thrust vectoring, and high thrust-to-weight ratio provide the capability to outmaneuver all current and projected aircraft.

The F design has been extensively tested and refined aerodynamically during the development process. The F's characteristics provide a synergistic effect ensuring FA lethality against all advanced air threats. The combination of stealth, integrated avionics and supercruise drastically shrinks surface-to-air missile engagement envelopes and minimizes enemy capabilities to track and engage the F The combination of reduced observability and supercruise accentuates the advantage of surprise in a tactical environment.

The F will have better reliability and maintainability than any fighter aircraft in history. Increased F reliability and maintainability pays off in less manpower required to fix the aircraft and the ability to operate more efficiently.

The prototype aircraft YF and YF both completed their first flights in late Get important industry news and analysis sent to your inbox — sign up to our e-Newsletter here.

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Receive our newsletter Sign up to our e-Newsletter here I consent to Verdict Media Limited publisher of Airforce Technology collecting my details provided via this form in accordance with the Privacy Policy. While both the F and F are 5th-generation jets that leverage stealth to enable mission accomplishment and both are able to conduct air-to-air and air-to-ground combat operations, they each specialize in a different aspect of air combat and were intended to serve in very different roles.

Unlike the F, the US continues to receive new Fs, though comments made by senior defense officials over the past year have placed the Joint Strike Fighter's future into some question. America will undoubtedly be flying Fs for decades to come, but it's beginning to seem less and less likely that the F will replace the F as the Air Force's workhorse platform. The Air Force originally intended to purchase Fs to develop a robust fleet of stealth interceptors for the 21st century.

But as the United States found itself further entrenched in counter-terror and counter-insurgency operations against technologically inferior opponents, the need for advanced dogfighters became far less pressing. With ongoing combat operations in multiple theaters to fund, the F program was shut down in December with just fighters delivered.

Today, nearly a decade later, the F exists in precious few numbers, despite its fearsome reputation. Now the United States faces concerns about its dwindling fleet of F Raptors that were once intended to replace the F outright.

Only around of those delivered Fs were ever operational, and today the number of combat-ready Fs is likely in the double digits. With no new Raptors to replenish the fleet as older jets age out, each hour an F flies anywhere in the world is now one hour closer to the world's best dogfighter's retirement. Charles "CQ" Brown has plainly stated, doesn't include the mighty Raptor. But America needs an air superiority fighter that can stand and swing with the best in the world, and as capable as the FEX Eagle II may be, it lacks the stealth it would need to survive an open war with a nation like China or Russia.

With the NGAD program still years away from producing an operational fighter, America's air-superiority mission now runs the risk of not having the jets it needs for a high-end fight if one were to break out — as unlikely as that may be.

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