F-22 Raptor Thread

[FORBIN]

It means that Raptors can communicate with other Raptors on their own stealthy link, but Link 16 isn't stealthy at present, and Raptors use Link 16 to communicate with the F-35s and in time their 'loyal wingmen", but it is NOT stealthy, so they must develop a stealthy Link 16 for very, very high threat environments.

Yet a lot of buzz for F-22 link not able receive or transmet dépends others fighter types but on the fund enought logic " special fighter " have special link remains a problem mainly for A2G missions, tactical coordination, F-22 doing the job between them in general in case of big conflict also a problem with big formations including F-35A and the 2 types... so not urgent but necessary fixed that for some years

Right now her 'loyal wingmen", new expression for me is the F-15C and the new pod is able to do the job with F-22 yet a good point.
440 fighters whose 250 F-15C/D udapted right now about 100 + with a very good APG-82 is more than a decent specialized fighters force.

 

[Jura The idiot]

the pictures come from
Six F-22 jets Have Deployed To RAF Lakenheath, UK
Read more at

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

 

[FORBIN]

Fleet ( CAM 08/2017 ) interesting :

Block 30/35 can be armed with the small GBU-39 in more GBU-31, Block 20 only GBU-31
and Block 30/35 APG-77 include a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) ground-mapping mode main differrences.

Yet number buit : 197
- 2 Prototypes YF-22 1 lost, 1 retired
- 8 Pre series yet 5 retired
- Series 187 Block 10, 20 upgraded to block 30/35, 4 lost

Fleet 2017 : 186
- 3 Pre series
- 12 development test/ operational test (DT/OT) Block 20/30/35s
- 32 training Block 20s OCU to Tyndall
- 39 combat coded Block 20s
- 100 combat coded Block 30/35s

Fleet 2020 about :185
- 2 Pre series
- 12 development test/ operational test (DT/OT) Block 20/30/35s
- 32 training Block 20s
- 139 combat coded Block 30/35s

 

[Jura The idiot]

Interesting Photo Shows F-22 Raptor Landing At RAF Lakenheath With Open Missile Bay
Oct 16 2017

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

here:

This Is Something You Don’t See Too Often.
The photographs in this post were taken by our contributor Alessandro Fucito on Oct. 12, 2017. They show a U.S. Air Force Raptor jet, belonging to the 27th Fighter Squadron and 94th Fighter Squadron, Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia, deployed to the UK, since Oct. 8, landing at RAF Lakenheath with the side weapon bay open.

The stealth multirole jet AF 08-154 is

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

. The aircraft have just completed a tour of duty at Al Dhafra airbase, UAE, in support of

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

Noteworthy, an AIM-9X Sidewinder can be seen inside the open weapon bay.

The latest variant of the Sidewinder missile is a recent

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

: the IR-guided missile has been integrated on Mar. 1, 2016, when the

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

belonging to the

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

stationed at

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

, Alaska officially became

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

to equip an F-22 with the AIM-9X Sidewinder.

Most of US combat planes use the AIM-9X along with a Helmet Mounted Display since 2003 (by the way, one

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

recently, but failed for

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

): with a HMD (like the American Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System – JHMCS), information imagery (including aircraft’s airspeed, altitude, weapons status, aiming etc) are projected on the visor enabling the pilot to look out in any direction with all the required data always in his field of vision. The HMD enables the pilot to exploit the full HOBS (High Off-Boresight) capabilities of the AIM-9X and engage a target by simply looking at it.

However the AIM-9X will not be coupled to a HMD as the Raptor is not equipped with such kind of helmet that provides the essential flight and weapon aiming information through line of sight imagery as the project to implement it was

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

.

In 2019, the Air Force plans to equip the F-22 with the AIM-9X Block II, the F-22 will probably fill the gap as the most advanced variant of the Sidewinder is expected to feature a Lock-on After Launch capability with a datalink, for Helmetless High Off-Boresight (HHOBS) at intermediate range: the air-to-air missile will be launched first and then directed to its target afterwards even though it is behind the launching aircraft.

This will not give the

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

, still better than nothing.

 

[FORBIN]

Upgrades Increment 3.2B

The F-22 Is the World’s Most Lethal Stealth Fighter (And Its About to Get Better)

Like the F-35, the latest F-22s have radar (Synthetic Aperture Radar) and data-links (F-22 has LINK 16), radar warning receivers and targeting technologies. Being that the F-22 is regarded as the world’s best air-to-air platform, an ability for an F-35 and F-22 to more quickly exchange sensor information such as targeting data would produce a potential battlefield advantage, industry developers and Air Force senior leaders have explained.

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

 

[FORBIN]

 

[FORBIN]

New F-22 AIM-120D & AIM-9x Weapons Enter Next Phase

The Air Force is now conducting operational tests of new software and weapons technology for the F-22 designed to help modernize the stealth fighter and expand the range

The Air Force is now conducting operational tests of new software and weapons technology for the F-22 designed to help modernize the stealth fighter and expand the range of weapons it is able to fire in combat, service and industry officials said.

Air Force officials have told Scout Warrior that, by 2019, the service will begin upgrading F-22 functionality for the AIM-120D and AIM-9X Air-to-Air missiles as well as enhanced Air-to-Surface target location capabilities. The F-22 currently carries the AIM-9X Block 1 and the current upgrade will enable carriage of AIM-9X Block 2.

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

 

[Air Force Brat]

View attachment 42612

The single most gorgeous "wing" on the planet,, the real secret to the "alien birds" success, the "Wings the Thing",, lots and lots of lift going on here, and the trailing edge bears an unmistakable resemblance to natures fastest flying predators!

That fuselage makes nearly as much lift as the wing,, it all flies, all the time,,, and it is a very stable platform thanks to its amazing FCS,,, people really ought the give the Raptor the respect it has earned..

I've really got to chuckle when I hear that Euro-Fighter, Rafale, SU-35, even SU-57 can best the Raptor WVR,,, not in a purely aerodynamic way,,,, but HMS is a real "deal maker",,, makes up for a lot in true agility,, all these birds are very, very good, but this airframe, OVT engine combination has an excess of performance,, far more than most pilots can take.

IMHO the F-22 has no peer, day to day in any fair fight, even when "outnumbered" substantially,,, as I have stated HMS will make a big difference if anyone were in fact able to "get that close"??

 

[FORBIN]

 

[Jura The idiot]

according to FlightGlobal USAF estimates F-22 updates could cost $1.7 billion

The US Air Force estimates it would cost more than $1.7 billion over 11 years to upgrade 34 Lockheed Martin F-22s from a training configuration to a fully modernised, operational status, according to a USAF report sent to Congress.

The August report, recently obtained by FlightGlobal, outlines the estimated cost and schedule to bring 31 Block 20 Raptors supporting pilot training and another three Block 20 aircraft supporting flight test to the combat-coded Block 30/35 configuration.

Block 20 aircraft would need at least four generations of upgrades -- and perhaps more -- to keep up with the combat-coded fleet if installation kits are funded after 2025.

Since the Block 30/35 F-22 fleet entered service in 2005, the USAF has introduced a fourth generation of the Northrop Grumman APG-77 radar in the Common Configuration programme, new air to ground weapons and radar modes under Increment 3.1, new air-to-air weapons during the ongoing Increment 3.2 and planned communications upgrades called TacLink 16 and Tactical Mandates.

The USAF also plans to introduce a helmet-mounted cueing system for weapons and a "billion dollar" sensor upgrade for the Block 30/35 fleet, the report says.

Though still in development, the service plans to field TACLink 16 and TACMAN on Block 30 and 35 aircraft in fiscal year 2021 and 2022 respectively. The USAF recommends including TACMAN and TACLink 16 in the update to avoid creating a split fleet configuration.

The tactical updates cost almost $8 million more per aircraft, bringing the price per aircraft to $50.5 million.

Some of the cost estimates could change because production has stopped for many of the key components, such as the fourth-generation APG-77 that the USAF introduced with the common configuration upgrade.

Another option could leverage parts from the Lockheed F-35's APG-81 radar, which is also supplied by Northrop, the report says. But the USAF’s analysis did not consider integrating F-35 radar components.

“This will require additional analysis and is an area that would be explored further at the beginning of the upgrade programme,” the report states.

source:

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!