F22 Raptors wield 'unfair' advantage at Red Flag

[Incident_command]

Raptors wield 'unfair' advantage at Red Flag


February 22, 2007 (by TSgt Russell Wicke) - "Undercover" is an understatement for the F-22A Raptor. A point clearly illustrated by pilots of the 94th <ACRONYM title="Fighter Squadron">FS</ACRONYM>, who delivered an aerial sucker punch to the seasoned Red Force opponents during the F-22A's debut at Red Flag Feb. 3 -16.

"I can't see the [expletive deleted] thing," said RAAF Squadron Leader Stephen Chappell, exchange F-15 pilot in the 65th Aggressor Squadron. "It won't let me put a weapons system on it, even when I can see it visually through the canopy. [Flying against the F-22] annoys the hell out of me."

http://www.f-16.net/news_article2199.html

[BuckeyeMike]

Heyyyy, the "Hat-in-the-Ring" 94th. (1st FW)....my old outfit. We flew F-106's....early 60's.

[BEST45CAL]

Engine changes take forever in this thing when compared to the F-18. Of course, I am somewhat biased.

[dPrasse]

Awesome plane !

Pilots from the 94th Fighter Squadron at Langley Air Force Base, Va., are flying F-22s against Red Flag aggressors, with pilots from the Royal Australian Air Force of Australia, and the Royal Air Force of England.

The 94th FS deployed 14 Raptors and 197 Airmen to participate in the Red Flag exercise. Including the F-22s, more than 200 aircraft are participating. Among the foreign aircraft involved are the RAF's GR-4 Tornados and RAAF's F-111 Aardvark. In addition, the F-22s are flying with the B-2 Spirit, F-117 Nighthawk, F-15 Eagle, F-16 Fighting Falcon and more.

The F-22 pilots are experiencing tremendous success flying against the aircraft representing the enemy -- most of which are F-16s and F-15s, said Lt. Col. Dirk Smith, the 94th FS commander. The aggressor forces represent the most lethal threat friendly forces would ever face.
http://www.defencetalk.com/news/publish/airforce/F-22s_make_mark_at_Red_Flag100010520.php

http://www.acc.af.mil/shared/media/photodb/web/070206-F-6911G-201.JPG

http://www.af.mil/shared/media/photodb/web/050512-F-2295B-280.jpg

[DesertFox]

Wow. Just wow.

[Patriot Heart]

COOL!!!!! Gotta love jet noise!!!!!!!

[dPrasse]

COOL!!!!! Gotta love jet noise!!!!!!!

Everyone but the Okinawan's :lol: ... guess they'd rather hear N.Korean missiles ...

Matsuda Chinen, who watched the F-22’s from his home in Yara, Kadena Town, said “I was surprised that the noise was bigger than from the F-15. Noise damage around us keeps deteriorating.”

It is an absolute outrage!” Another Kadena Town resident in the Mizugama district says “I’m making my living by the base, but my hope is for peace. Now, it seems like the military does everything its own way. It seems just like before reversion.”
http://www.japanupdate.com/?id=7399

oh , boo hoo ... nobody invited you clowns to Pearl Harbor ....

[dPrasse]

I figured out why the Okinawan's object to the Raptor noise !!

They all have hang-overs !!

Okinawans are drinking, driving, injuring and killing themselves at triple the rate of the rest of Japan. For a 12th year straight, Okinawa has put itself at the top of the list, claiming the dubious title of the country's worst drivers. Okinawa Prefectural Police say drunk driving is involved in 22.9% of all traffic fatalities on the island.
http://donoevil.netscape.com/story/2007/03/03/okinawa-drivers-again-win-drunk-driving-title

As Paul Harvey says .... Now we know the rest of the story ... he he he ...

[Nutrider99]

Heyyyy, the "Hat-in-the-Ring" 94th. (1st FW)....my old outfit. We flew F-106's....early 60's.
You flew F-106's? You must be a draft dodger! EVERYONE knows the F-106 was only flown by pampered prep boys who were flying them to avoid having to do something real dangerous, like spend 6 weeks in Vietnam with a bodyguard, or run errands with a swift boat.

EVERYONE knows that flying the F-106 was safer than hiding under a desk in Spokan. How else could Bush be a former F-106 pilot and still be a coward who ducked military service?
:biggrin:

[Lazarus]

..."I can't see the [expletive deleted] thing," said RAAF Squadron Leader Stephen Chappell, exchange F-15 pilot in the 65th Aggressor Squadron. "It won't let me put a weapons system on it, even when I can see it visually through the canopy. [Flying against the F-22] annoys the hell out of me."
Sounds like this is where we need to be putting our Air Defense money... At least where tactical fighters are concerned...

When it comes to war, an unfair advange is the only angle I like to approach from...

[Rhino]

What were the ROEs? The big wigs at Red Flag are notorious for instituing rules that stack the deck. They did it a lot for the F-15 back in the 70s and 80s. The Belgian F-16s used to kick butt against the F-15s when they didn't follow the 'rules', which is exactly what would happen in true combat. I'm totally impressed with the F-22, and have no doubt that it would kick butt regardless of the ROEs, but I can't stand pencil pushers who stack the deck, because it could put us at a disadvantage someday when fighting an enemy that doesn't fight by our rules. That's a dangerous practice.

[dPrasse]

Engine changes take forever in this thing when compared to the F-18. Of course, I am somewhat biased.

Interesting ....

Engine swaps may be "easier" on an F18 ... but , apparently the F22 is far better than the AirForces prime Air Supperiority fighter , the F15 ....

"I've been to Red Flag before as an F-15 crew chief," said Senior Airman Ryan Thomas, 94th Aircraft Maintenance Unit F-22 crew chief, "and it's fast-paced and full of long hours - 12 plus hours every day."

Not this time. For maintenance Airmen at Red Flag this year, shifts have eased back to less than nine hours a day. The reason: F-22 airframes are more "friendly."

"This jet was designed to be maintenance friendly," he said. Systems, like hydraulic lines, are more accessible and the airframe is brand new, which makes it less susceptible to problems associated with the 25-year old F-15s. Not only this, but the F-22 enables "the fastest engine change I've ever seen," added Airman Thomas. "We change this engine in less than two hours, compared to six-hour engine change on the F-15." Engine changes, however, were none existent for Airmen in the 94th AMU - the Raptors required none.

"This jet is diagnosing itself before it's breaking," said Sergeant Ferrara. "We're going right to the fix every time." Ironically, some maintainers feel the F-22 robs them of a challenge.

"This thing takes the fun out of being a crew chief," said Staff Sgt. Jason Kraemer, 94th AMU crew chief. "You're not even dirty when you go home."

Less "Down time" is a great Force Multiplier :D

[DesertFox]

My neighbor's remote-controlled helicopter's neat, too.

[Etaoin]

Heyyyy, the "Hat-in-the-Ring" 94th. (1st FW)....my old outfit. We flew F-106's....early 60's.

I'm jealous...I flew the #2 F-80 off the assembly line! It was so new it had a mallet beside the pilot's seat in case you couldn't get the canopy opened! The mallet was later dropped for a .45. That surge of power, WOW, 6-9 sec. from idle to full power thrust!

[The_Sonarman]

Raptors wield 'unfair' advantage at Red Flag

I would hope the Raptor holds an "unfair" advantage against our enemies in wars of the future as well. I want our guys to have every "unfair advantage" possible, whether war gaming or in actual war.

[BuckeyeMike]

You flew F-106's? You must be a draft dodger! EVERYONE knows the F-106 was only flown by pampered prep boys who were flying them to avoid having to do something real dangerous, like spend 6 weeks in Vietnam with a bodyguard, or run errands with a swift boat.

EVERYONE knows that flying the F-106 was safer than hiding under a desk in Spokan. How else could Bush be a former F-106 pilot and still be a coward who ducked military service?
:biggrin:

1 I was a crew chief on the F-106 Delta Dart
2. The FANGS didn't get the F-106 until the 70's .....94th was Reg AF.
Later crewed on F-4's
3. I did later crew on them in the FANG in Michigan.
4. Georgie flew the F-102 Delta Dagger

[Nutrider99]

http://timworstall.typepad.com/timworstall/2004/08/bush_and_the_f1.html

Even in peacetime conditions, F-102 pilots risked their lives on every flight. Only highly-qualified pilot candidates were accepted for Delta Dagger training because it was such a challenging aircraft to fly and left little room for mistakes. According to the Air Force Safety Center, the lifetime Class A accident rate for the F-102 was 13.69 mishaps per 100,000 flight hours, much higher than the average for today's combat aircraft.... Even the Marine Corps' AV-8B, regarded as the most dangerous aircraft in US service today, has a lifetime accident rate of only 11.44 mishaps per 100,000 flight hours. The F-102 claimed the lives of many pilots, including a number stationed at Ellington during Bush's tenure. Of the 875 F-102A production models that entered service, 259 were lost in accidents that killed 70 Air Force and ANG pilots.

Now, doing some very preliminary calculations, total US deaths in Vietnam were of the order of 50,000 out of a total of 2.6 million who served, or roughly 2%....

So, 5,250 pilots and 70 deaths means a death rate of: 1.3%.
Jeez. The lousy damn coward. He went and hid in a unit, one which had active service members actually in Vietnam, one where the death rate in training and peacetime from accident alone was damn nearly the same as active service in Vietnam for all troops....

The fact remains that America owes a debt of gratitude to all who served in defense of our country (except people like John Murtha and John Kerry who subsequently betrayed it). Anyone who belittles the service of any member of the armed services, who themselves have never served, is a low life scumbag undeserving of the freedoms that were purchased for him at an enormous cost.