F/A-22 IOT&E Update

[highsea]

F/A-22 Sweeps Tests

Flying Colors for F/A-22

By all accounts, the F/A-22 fighter breezed through four-and-a-half months of exacting tests—its toughest yet. The Raptor demonstrated that it can handily beat today’s best fighters flown by today’s best crews.

The Air Force has classified the results of the F/A-22’s initial operational test and evaluation (IOT&E), conducted at Nellis AFB, Nev., from late April through mid-September. However, USAF officials said nothing in the testing suggests the aircraft won’t perform any way other than brilliantly in real-world combat.

Gen. John P. Jumper, Air Force Chief of Staff, told Inside the Air Force in August that the IOT&E phase was progressing “with fewer lumps and bumps than I ever thought it would.†He added, “We’re very, very pleased with what we’ve seen so far.â€

Air Force officials said the service probably would this fall provide an unclassified synopsis of the test results, after USAF completes all analysis.

The F/A-22 was required to prevail in five broad, live scenarios, each with a number of variations.

In the first, USAF measured the Raptor’s ability to spot, shoot, and destroy an F-16 in a “first look, first kill†test. In the second, two F/A-22s had to destroy a “high-value airborne asset†such as an E-3 Airborne Warning and Control System aircraft defended by four F-15s or F-16s. In the third, two F/A-22s had to protect a B-2 bomber against four F-15s or F-16s. In the fourth, four Raptors had to defend a high-value platform such as an AWACS against eight attacking F-15s or F-16s. In the last, four F/A-22s had to protect four F-117s against eight attacking F-15s or F-16s. Supporting aircraft included the Navy’s EA-6B Prowler airborne jamming aircraft.

Besides winning the engagements, the aircraft had to dodge ground-based air defenses. The Air Force said it flew 188 sorties with six F/A-22s during the evaluation.

The IOT&E tests did not look at the F/A-22’s ground attack capabilities. That mission element will be tested later, as additional munitions are certified for F/A-22 use. However, the first deployed F/A-22s will have the capability to drop the 1,000-pound version of the Joint Direct Attack Munition. The main ground attack weapon for the F/A-22 is to be the 250-pound Small Diameter Bomb (SDB). Each Raptor would have the capability to drop six SDBs.

http://www.afa.org/magazine/Oct2004/1004watch.asp

It's good to see the Raptor living up to expectations. I will keep an eye out for the unclassified synopsis and post it to this thread when it's released.

 

[Aussie Digger]

The Raptor will eventually excel at both air to air and air to ground. It's radar possess SAR and GMTI capabilities already and the Raptor will roll out with the capability to drop 500 or 1000lbs JDAM's and the SDB. (unlike the F-14/15 series which only acquired a similar capability, many many years later)...

All it needs to be a true multi-role fighter is an E/O targeting system (for which provision has been made to install such such a system internally) to enable it to drop and target weapons like LGB's, Maverick, WCMD's and standoff weapons like JASSM, JSOW's etc.

Once the Raptor is in production, the cost per airplane WILL drop and the already planned certification program to introduce these additional capabilities will provide a platform with similar but greater (stealth, supercruise, superior range) capabilties to the F-15E Strike Eagle. The F-22 has a big future in the US. Hopefully the RAAF and Australian Government "see's the light" and acquires a Squadron or 2...

 

[gf0012-aust]

Apparently one of the F-22 pilots referred to the multiple AESA engagements with a flight of Elemdorfs AESA equipped F-15's as "like clubbing baby seals"

The other thing is that there is life in the old F-15 yet. In light of the newly released info on the Cope India exercises it's become quite apparent that the planes were leashed for a reason. One of the F-16 pilots I know of has said that it's a nightmare trying to get an advantage on the Eagles that are AESA equipped. he's alwasy alluded to the fact that they have substantially more tricks up their radar sleeves than publicly announced. He's one of the few pilots I know of who acknowledges platform limitations and isn't too proud to admit it.

 

[armage]

"Hopefully the RAAF and Australian Government "see's the light" and acquires a Squadron or 2..."
About what he said I thought RAAF and Australian are getting the JSF?

 

[gf0012-aust]

"Hopefully the RAAF and Australian Government "see's the light" and acquires a Squadron or 2..."
About what he said I thought RAAF and Australian are getting the JSF?

The RAAF is marked for the JSF. The F-22 has been discussed obliquely in some circles, and apparently Aust is one of 4 nations that would be considered to Raptors if they required them. They're just too expensive for what we need though at the moment.

I imagine that if Aust went to war they would be high on the "please provide list" though...

 

[Aussie Digger]

Our current chief of Air Force, Air Marshall Angus Houston has publicly stated that the RAAF would love to acquire the F-22 and rightfully acknowledged that the F-22 will be the premier air defence fighter in the world in coming years and a potent strike fighter as well. However, "it is just too damn expensive". At present.

The decision on Australia's future air combat capability will not be made until at least 2006, if not some considerable time after that. IF the F-22 significantly comes down in price over the next few years (highly likely given that it will shortly enter actual production rather than still being in development as it is now) you can bet the RAAF will sacrifice a number of it's JSF's to get even a small number of F-22's.

F-22's are considered as being worth "4" of any other air defence fighter in terms of overall capability and even a small force of say, 24, when combined with 70 - 80 JSF's (to reach our 100 new generation fighters as promised by the Government which will be in power when this decision has to be made), will provide us with an awesome defence capability, when combined with our new AWACS and air to air refuellers...

I really see this as a strong possibility. Remember Australia acquired 24 F-111's back in the early 70's, when the F-111 was considered along the same lines as the F-22, ie: too expensive...