exhelodrvr,
We haven’t seen the F-22 in any actual combat. I am well aware of the hype put out by service advocates and manufacturers.
I never kept track of hours, but I made a considerable number of flights in A3-D’s – touted as the ultimate carrier launched medium bomber. Put in enough fuel to get anywhere and you could drop leaflets. Put in enough enough bombs to do any good and you could take off, orbit and land. That was always a great adventure in “The Whale”. They tried them as tankers with disappointing results. They did, however, serve yeoman duty as intelligence aircraft. In service for 50 years. Not great, but better than some. Incidentally, I was in the Army.
I base a lot of my judgment on past performance starting with Korea. The MIG-15 was a better airplane than the F-86. The F-86 prevailed.
In Vietnam the MIG-19′s ate our lunch except against the F8-U’s. The F-4 was designed as a bomber interceptor and really sucked close in. The Air Force tried technology, mainly with the F-105. Not much to show for it. The Navy put a cannon in the F-4, went “Top Gun” – wasted commie ass.
My knowledge of driving (actually riding in) a truck comes from personal experience. My knowledge of fighters comes mostly from my friend Ed. He flew F-4′s, F-105′s and F-100′s in Nam. He ended his career as a two star in the Air National Guard. Stint with the Blue Angels. He hated the 4, grumbled at The Thud and loved the 100. “Best truck killer ever”.
The thread from Ed and other fighter jocks I’ve known (a couple of very good hockey players) is that it’s the training that counts. U.S. pilots have ten times the stick time of the Russians. Add the simulator time and it’s off the map. At closing speeds of 1,500 mph it’s just like bayonet fighters – the quick and the dead.
The other existential factor is situational awareness. AWACS is an amazing force multiplier.
Obviously this is hypothetical at this point. The only real experience that we have is Desert Storm and OIF. In DS there was a 30-1 kill ratio before they refused to fly. In OIF they buried the MIG’s in the sand. Not too good for the aerodynamics but the ultimate stealth fighter, er miner.
The Russian Air Force is a bit of a joke. Yes, on paper, they have some good aircraft. Unfortunately they have Russian engines. It’s like tires in a NASCAR race. You get 150 miles on a 100,000 mile Michelin. They simply can’t afford the stick time to develop competent pilots. And their simulators really, really suck. Fifty attacks on the pumping station and it’s still pumping away.
The US has diligently learned the lessons of modern warfare. The Russians are still the Cossacks. Cannon fodder to the front while the officers have “Russian tea”.
Regards,
Roy
