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Alex, that's not at all what that indictment says. Ronnie from Funker 530 has an excellent break down of the indictment, and what it says is that RT coordinated with Tenet to build a platform off the backs of those creators so they could publish Russian narratives on Tenet. At no point were the creators involved in the indictment told what to publish or how to run their shows. The indictment plainly states that the creators were deceived and are victims in the case. You really need to take this video down and delete this part. It's tantamount to doing the same thing you've accused them of only for leftists. Very disappointed in you.
Fake news dude........... Tenet did not direct any video content, they just distributed independent content. The 10million dollars is fake news too.....likely chen kept the bulk of those funds and paid 1k-2k per video.
The problem is that they can’t make more f22s and there aren’t enough of them. Whereas China is printing out the j20 and likely working on a new fighter. I think canceling NGAD would be a terrible idea. You have to be thinking at least 10 years in advance if not 15 to 20. If we have to start over on fighter procurement in 10 years it will be another 10 before we see a plane and it will be too late.
Yep. J20 is obviously worse ( it's the Russian Mig 144), but they allegedly get them 120 airframes per year ( which is the same as F35A ~120 per year), which means that they would have thousands of them, and if they can't beat China in numbers, their only choice is to try and beat it in quality... Though for Russia. As far as I know, the Su57M is now officially a better plane. So to me, when I looked at that, I've realized that they ought to try and improve the F22, because it used to be the best one out of the bunch and it's now the worst...
It's nuts to think there was a game about the F-22 released in 1991 for the Sega Genesis. The plane's technology is decades old, but it is still so futuristic. The US is always decades ahead of the competition.
Look at what we're doing with the F-15EX. A little of that same magic dust sprinkled on the Raptor and she'll be around for many years to come. She's already sneaky, fast, and deadly.
F-22 pilots have talked about how hard is it to upgrade raptors in various podcasts as recently in mover and gonky show, it's not as easy as F15EX, F16 block 70, F-35 TR3 and block 4 in the future.
Unfortunately, the great thing about the F-15EX is that they're building new airframes. They can build all the nice stuff in. Raptors have to have any new stuff shoved into a hull that was already designed to barely fit the existing stuff, or go on the outside where it'll hurt the stealth.
If you've ever seen an F22 hauling ass, and then simply coming to a stop in midair and standing still on its tail, you realize that damn plane has way more talent than they ever gave it credit for. Absolutely stunning.
Just a party trick. Once the F22 is so close that it needs to dogfight , all Kinematic advantage is lost.Russian radar & missiles have the BVR advantage. Irbis E radar detects the F22 at 93 nautical miles.
they're absurdly expensive and the f35 is already more advanced and capable in air-to-air than anything China or Russia have while also having great air-to-ground capabilities, so why bother? might as well just rely on f35's until next gen fighters (which are hopefully more cost effective) are rolled out
Not really true. When stealth aircraft engage other stealth fighter the encounters get much closer so that maneuverability becomes important again. China is rolling out the j20 in numbers and the f35 won’t cut it.
@@riskinhos agreed. f22's downsides would have been greatly reduced if they had the benefit of mass production. the upkeep of their stealth coating may not have though, which i believe was a large factor in their production halt
@@louis_the_hedgehog Gates made the short sighted decision to cut production based on the world view of Terrorism at the time (that it was THE issue of the 21st century) and didn't consider that major Nation States would be a bigger factor than Terrorism after 2018. Hind sight is near 20- 20, but it was a short sighted decision.
We're rife with "big mistakes" by ending military programs. It invariably costs more to end the programs than to complete them. Why? Production and maintenance costs go sky high because the support infrastructure no longer exists. So why would they even do it? Petty bickering between the political parties, just to spite one another. A good example is the huge mistake of ending the Seawolf program. It was cut to 3 boats from 29. Made during the end of the cold war, those boats can still fight circles around even the new Virginia class subs. One party sponsored the creation, the other party demanded cuts in the Seawolf before they would approve a missile defense system. Party1 made the cuts, then when party2 took the White House, they cancelled the Missile Defense System and left the Seawolf at 3 boats. This is one example amongst many. It's a disgusting fact of American Defense. Back in my day during the Cold War / ODS, we knew that funding was 'feast or famine', feast while party1 was in office and famine when party2 was in. My son is active duty today and nothing has changed on that front.
@@StrongHarm Has there ever been a case where the US military looks back and decides they would have been better off canceling a procurement program they chose to keep going? Genuinely asking, there may be examples I'm unaware of. It seems like this mistake only happens in one direction, by canceling stuff too early.
The F-22 doesn't need to be replaced. But the loyal wingman drones need to be developed. The 22 can decrease patrols, and B-21 "guiding" a drone for engagements should be our norm. (And frankly, extend the guiding system to P-8 Options). Air to Air needs a new mindset.
@@korana6308 disagree. If the upgrades are baked into budgets now, then upgrading 120 platforms is what it is. At that point it will (hopefully) be a 40 year old platform with zero kills because it was not needed. And it is not like the US hasn't put ordinance on adversaries in those years. The 22 doesn't have a mission. (Or at minimium it doesn't have a mission that the rest of the Air Force can't fulfill.) The replacement has even less of one. If air to air drones can accompany B-21, and that platform is on time and on budget, we are much better off expanding that platform with loyal wingmen. Budget certainty would be a good thing for a change.
@@jasontritabaugh6342 It's mission was "air dominance" it was created for that role and that is it's mission. So it's role is to take on J20A and Su57M . So it mission will depend on whether it will get to engage those adversaries or not. Guiding drones in is not really it's mission. It's just another role for the F35.
The F-22 is already being replaced. It's replacement will be in active service before you or I ever hear about it or see it. If the Pentagon is really anticipating near-peer threats (and they are), then they're going have black programs all over place. It will be 2035 before we ever know what our 2025 capabilities are.
@@jasontritabaugh6342 The mission is air dominance and it's been so stupidly successful at that no one has even tried to take it on ~25 years after it entered service.
I'm from Anchorage AK, and loved seeing those birds fly above the city when I lived there. And I'm always happy to see footage from Alaska in the Raptor videos. :D
I feel the same exact way even if they only have 150 chassis available by the time the 6th Generations are fully implemented there will always be a niche role for them as they are are dominance Fighters that can dog fight. The 6th jeans are meant to infiltrate without being seen fire their weapons and return home. But there's also a chance that they may run into contact with an enemy and even a fourth gen will be able to take out the 6th gen if they get into a dog fight cuz that's not what they're designed to do.
@@jonlamontagne Dogfights are not a mission. You don't go out and plan the sortie and say 'and here you get into a turning fight at gun range'. Dogfights happen when things have otherwise gone wrong & you cannot predict when that will happen. So either you task them as escorts to superior aircraft, or they are not present for the one thing they are supposedly being kept for. Also: I'd be shocked if the NGAD wasn't at least as good in a dogfight as the F22 anyway.
@@VeteranExpat Or give it some weapons upgrade options, give it back its tail gun, if we ever invent anti-gravity tech, levitating and all that, put it on the B-52, and have it become an aerial artillery platform.
Cutting F22 production short, and/or not supporting both the F22 and the YF23, continues to be the most shortsighted decision fiscal decision ever made. 🙄
Or the best decision because right now all those billions will go into bringing F-22 on par with F-35 in terms of technology. Shutting down F-22 in favour of F-35 allowed US to get a large fleet of very capable and upgradable fighters. F-22 by default was doomed to have problems with upgradability. They put all engine output into thrust and left not enough to have excessive cooling and power supply to sustain modern electronics. So now F-22 has no IRST, no HMD, obsolete MAW. The problem of F-22 is that it was created to be the first 5th gen fighter. So it was tested against 4th gen aircraft. But those times have passed. In modern world when stealth is a common technology the overreliance of F-22 on its own radar makes it a handicap in the BVR cuz it simply can't see the enemy (F-35s have link 16 so they can fly with radar off and get targeting from the E-7). And in medium and short range F-22 doesn't have any advantages except it's flight performance. No HMD (its cockpit is too small and won't fit the HMD-enabled helmet) no IRST, primitive MAWS that doesn't give any additional information except the general direction where the missile comes from. F-35 has everything better just for the small price of having less impressive flight performance which actually doesn't matter that much since nowadays you don't need to get your nose on the enemy to fire at him if you have a good enough fire control system.
Nah, the two biggest shortsighted fiscal decisions in your lifetime were going into Iraq and weaponizing the dollar banking system. This is peanuts by comparison.
We need to make up our dag on mind, are we building the NGAD or keeping the F-22 and if it's the latter we need to produce more. I love the F-22 and canceling production was one of the dumbest things anyone has ever done.
@@GeorgeWashingtonLaserMusket personally I think we should put the NGAD program on hold or scale it down and just research only. We need to be able to make use of our fifth generation aircraft and test all the new technology before we decide to jump on the first country to make a 6th generation aircraft. Why box herself into a whole new generation of aircraft when our 5th generation aircraft are going to be equal to any country's potential 6th generation?
we cannot restart the F22 production. The NGAD exists because building a modern jet that's optimized for todays manufacturing and tech is not just better, but literally cheaper than recreating all the outdated machines and tech for F22 production. If we build anything it's either a current gen F15ex or F35, or a new NGAD.
@@texasranger24 F-22 production line can be restarted, it will just take a lot of money for it. In 2016 Lockheed said it will take 200 million to restart F-22 production line. It will make Air Force take money away from NGAD, ICBM upgrades, bomber purchase and upgrades, and procurement of F-35s.
Restarting the F22 line will cost almost as much as moving forward with the NGAD program. There isn't a factory just sitting around, waiting for someone to flip a switch to make more F22s. The line will need to be rebuilt. Personnel will need to be trained and hired. All of which is exactly the same if you were to build a brand new design. Last I heard, it'd be about $200M a pop for 200 new F22s. That was years ago, and before the proposed upgrades. I'll be kind and say that it'd be about $250M now. The NGAD is projected to have a unit price of about $300 million. So the same money could either buy 6 new F22B Raptors, or 5 NGADs. I know which is the better buy.
Regarding putting NGAD on hold that probably isn't possible without incurring massive startup costs, keep in mind the thousands of people working on it are going to get new jobs in the meantime and there goes all institutional knowledge. It's the same reason restarting f22 production now would be so damn expensive. Also remember that fielding a new fighter is like a 20-30 year commitment before delivering in bulk.
The F-22 is just a reminder of how far ahead of the competition we once were. Thanks to trillions of dollars “spent” in the Middle East, our enemies have closed the gap significantly. 750 Raptors would have been an amazing thing. Too bad the DOD lacked the vision to see the need for them.
@@deansmits006Some of it is hindsight, but Iraq should have been avoided without hindsight. But even if we pretended, that too was only in hindsight, they should have realized nearly 15 years ago it was time to bail.
Even if they didn't go all the way to 750 trickle production to keep expertise and having new air frames available would have been better. Hell not blocking the sale to allies a lot of NATO members and japan would have kept the raptor production line going with an export version
When soaking the news, of F35, landing in Finland and those upgrades of Raptor, I must quote: "Fingerlicking Good". Thank You, Alex, keep these coming. form a Finn in Diaspora
I'm reminded of RNZAF project Kahu - they managed to shoehorn F16 electronics into scooters (A4 Skyhawks) but then had to retire them shortly afterwards because the airframes were so well used that they risked disintegrating in-flight With no new F22s coming down the line and all the tooling long-since destroyed, this has to be a consideration for the long term. You can only baby your hardware so much
Thought I knew everything about this jet...Never knew the F-22's thrust had more power than the SR-71 or the F-15. Thanks for this detailed vid, I've loved this aircraft ever since the 90's test flights!
Iike my other comments the CIA and MI6 just made a plea to the consumer markets not the major contractors to make cheaper nearly as efficient things. This is just cause we still do need planes once the drones do the initial work.
I would think the Raptors will be for specific use cases like eliminating AWACS. It doesn't matter if an adversary has a numerical advantage if they can't coordinate beyond their coastline. There will be so much electronic chum in the air from 4th-gen platforms doing EW. Raptors and Raiders will just snipe high-value targets amidst all the noise.
Both General Bogdan, former F-35 program director, and General Hostage, former ACC commander, have said the F-35 is more stealthy than the F-22. General Bogdan did so in Senate testimony. "Hostage caused a stir in late spring when, in press interviews, he said the F-35 would be stealthier than the F-22, its larger USAF stablemate. Conventional wisdom had pegged the F-22, with its angled, vectored-thrust engines, as a stealthier machine than the F-35. Hostage also said the F-35 would be unbeatable when employed in numbers, which is why the full buy of aircraft is “so critical.” “I would say that General Hostage … is accurate in his statement about the simple stealthiness of the F-35 [with regard] to other airplanes,” Bogdan said in the interview. The statement was accurate for radar cross section, as measured in decibels, and range of detectability, he said, and he scoffed at the notion that anyone can tell how stealthy an aircraft is just by looking at it." ~Air Force Magazine, The F-35 on Final Approach
Drones that’s the one word answer to can you look at something and guess it’s radar signature. About a bird and they haven’t even tried to make gov stealthy
I greatly appreciate your efforts. There are so many posers and idiots on social media either intentionally lying or just ignorant of the fact. The knowledge you impart makes me feel confident in parrying the comments of those who haven’t spent their entire lives amassing knowledge and trivia about aviation.
@@BaBaYaga1999-p7uthis dude blows so much Military Industrial Complex propaganda that I highly doubt an internet news site is where he gets his money lmao
So what were we were saying about the "Light Fighter" program, how we would totally be able to have new fighter programs every few years, getting rid of the older fighters because they would be out of date? As I said then, no government will ever get rid of the thing that's working now, to invest in the next thing before absolutely necessary. Honestly, once NGAD comes on line, I would be somewhat surprised if the F-22 gets retired. The F-35 was supposed to replace the F-16, and yet Lockheed just released the F-16 V, and the F-16 is still going strong. Preparing to sunset the F-22 before NGAD was fully on line always felt like folly. Keep the F-22 relevant for as long as needed (and probably then some) and let's see what NGAD has to bring.
You mean Mike "Shaffer", call sign Dozier, was also an F 22 test pilot, then the Squadron Commander of a squadron of 24 F 22s at Eldmendorf AFB. He shot down a MIG 29 with an F 15 over Yogoslavia in the mid 1990s.
I was the project manager at Intel for the main processing chip used for the F-22. 10 years ago the DOD convinced Intel to resurrect an old process technology and masks to make a "last" run of these processors for replacement parts. They didn't keep up with technology and are now very dated. Avionics and control will be massively changed so they can't simply "continue" anything. But, I agree that they failed badly in bailing on the F-22 for the promise of the F-35 which has different strengths.
That's actually a standard practice in the military to tie yourself up to the previous gen tech, has been a problem not just in the US, but any other military in the world.
No one's even proven to be able to deal with our fleet of F-15s and F-16s. Even without the Raptors and Lightnings backing and supplementing their abilities, while being a tough fight, I'd put my money on the proven track record of the US airforce.
GOOD. The F-22 is still the best damn fighter jet in the world. No reason to dump it, even if the next one coming down the pike is going to be even better in certain respects. Troops in Afghanistan called it "The Angel of Death" for a reason.
It's fantastic to see the value you are creating for both your audience AAND your advertisers. I mean, those two have been totally at odds with each other for decades. Amazing what a commitment to transparent public discourse and creativity levels capable of rearranging the incentive structure of an entire industry, can achieve. Information technology has no ethics, or morals, so these must be entirely the responsibility of the user/creator. The human. Impressive work mate, very.
@@elijah_9392 Yes, but the US likes to target command & control on day 1. An airforce that doesn't know where to go or what to do isn't particularly threatening.
@@dgthe3 It remains an open question whether the US is willing to strike any target on the Chinese mainland in the event of a conflict over Taiwan. There may be an unspoken agreement between the US and China to keep the fighting off of their main territories. If the US strikes the main land, that may then allow the Chinese to strike a more valuable target. Unfortunately, the US does not have the strategic omnipotence and impunity it did with Iraq in a war with China. Lastly, refueling tankers are massive and can be easily seen by any Chinese AWACS. It wouldn't be hard to find them and either push them back (reducing their effectiveness) or down them.
Given the stealth profile of those Chicom fighters, the raptor will give new definition to the term turkey shoot. Particularly if partnered with AIM 260. So instead of referencing the Marianas turkey shoot it will be the great Taiwanese turkey shoot.
Most countries are still scared shitless of the Eagle. The Raptor absolutely smokes the Eagle in air to air combat. Can't imagine the carnage the Raptor would inflict on literally any other aircraft
When I watched your recent vid about the Growler, my first thought was “I wonder if they have an F-22 version that’s kept locked up for special situations.”
excellent work alex!! i'm a HUGE fan of the f22, and a10!!! i'm a 7 year usaf veteran, and i've seen a lot of stuff - that i will take to my grave, because i promised to do that. i'm a little surprised that you could put some of that in a public video.
Ground News should pay you extra. You always find a new and interesting example for their Ad spot that makes me want to watch it to see what I can learn about the news item you are using as the examole. 👍👍👍👍
I think that when it comes to the F-22, the upgrades have been long overdue do to our peacetime stance in the world and complacency born from the fight in Iraq and Afghanistan when it comes to air superiority. Since the birth of the F-15 we haven’t had many peers to compete with in the air. However, we continued to develop aircraft to prove supremacy which culminated in the F-22 and then the F-35 which have different roles however act not as aircraft built to compete with a peer but instead to instill the certainty that no one would have air superiority in a conflict with the US. The NGAD program and the B-21 continue that philosophical mission. The AI Wingmen drones are still untested in a combat environment and while they do provide additional support even if not as capable as some piloted aircraft, until they are truly tested I wouldn’t put all the eggs into that basket. The B-21 with drone Wingmen could be amazing as some of you have said however, until we truly understand the functionality of the drones and their ranges from which they can be operated it is more hit or miss in my opinion. I think the F-22 still has a place especially as a deterrent to our near peers. Now F-35’s and B-21’s with drones could reduce the amount of F-22’s needed in the air at one time and may eventually be enough to cover a period where the F-22 and NGAD are inoperable. Only time can truly tell how this will effect the future of the airspace.
_"...the Air Force awarded another Billion Dollar contract to RTX..."_ In the September news cycle: _"RTX Admits To Unlawful Exchange Of Intel"_ _"Company will pay a $200 million fine for inadvertently releasing sensitive data."_ You can't make this up...
@@AdamBrusselback Yea a company they acquired which they ended up paying a fine while the old company management walked away clean 😂. Which we give right back to them by buying a billion dollar upgrade. It’s not the first time won’t be the last. Honeywell did the same thing with the abrams, our submarines and I want to say even the B2 (I’m not sure) then we fined them then gave them a new contract for upgrades for the abrams😂
It's the best strike fighter in the world and it's not even close. Speed isn't just important for intercepting and fighting targets in the air, that same speed the aircraft is flying at gets transferred to any air-to-ground munitions as well. That greatly extends the range of any bombs or anti-ground missiles launched from the aircraft, placing the F-22 farther away from any target (and its air defenses) when it drops stuff out of its bay. The F-35 may have the fancy electronics, but the F-22 is better at everything else the F-35 was supposed to do. Yes, the F-35 is a good plane, I'm not trying to trash it here. And yes, the F-35C can fly off a carrier which the F-22 cannot do. But the F-22 is just better even in the boring missions dropping bombs in the desert on people with no air force that the F-35 was meant to handle. They should have just kept building more F-22s, and upgraded the electronics. And doing so would have dramatically lowered the costs of the F-22s in the process. The F-35 could still have been built, for the Navy, and to sell to foreign countries. It's still a worthwhile thing having a bunch of allies flying around a highly networkable plane. But the USAF should have insisted on more F-22s, and expanded their use as a strike fighter instead of going with the clearly inferior F-35.
"The F-35 may have the fancy electronics, but the F-22 is better at everything else the F-35 was supposed to do" 1. The f-22 is designed as an all-weather, low- observability air superiority platform. It can drop bombs, but only GPS guided munitions. The f-35 in contrast, is designed as a multi-role all-weather, low-observability platform. That means it can drop multiple types of munitions both GPS/and Laser guided and even take on SEAD/DEAD roles. If its the one area that the Raptor is better on than fat amy, its air-superiority. it simply has the better air-frame for that. 2., Just curious if you watched the video. The F-22 lacks in certain criteria's. It lacks an IRST integrated system. They have to carry specialized pods in order for them to have that capability. The F-35 from day one, has this capability and is really sophisticated (EOTS). It was able to track the falcon 9 launch at ease. The F-22 also lacks having a Helmet cue targeting system, which again the f-35 has such a system from day one. Most importantly, there are more F-35's than F-22s. Although that sounds like it sucks from a distance, I'd argue the opposite. The f-35 can fill in the role of air superiority where the F-22 can't fill in and do it just as good. Those fancy electronics aren't just fancy, they're ground breaking. The f-35's DAS system is able to give the F-35 very good situational awareness, It can data link and network with other aircraft and even control their weapon systems, the EOTS i just mentioned, and much more. It can be it's own awacs, its own command center. Communication and intelligence is very important on the modern battle space, the F-35 is built around having this capability as well as controlling the em-spectrum. . Even the recent red-flag exercises are still really impressive. The point is, both are different, but one is technically more advanced avionics wise whereas one has the better air frame. Both are good.
Here is what I think the real issue is. Boeing made the better airframe and beat Lockheed, but because of all their other major issues (KC-46, STARLINER, and the new Trainer aircraft) the Air Force just doesn't trust Boeing. The "PAUSE" is a way for the to reset. Maybe it gives Nothrup to jump back in?
One "disadvantage" not mentioned, that I heard about somewhere, is that the stealth coating tends to not last well and peel off (unlike an improved version used for the F-35).
F-22 is dated with a certain limited network centric capability, it has no 360 degree Distributed Aperture System and definitely not in the class of the newer DAS system in the F-35 Block 4, thus its situational awareness is less so than the F-35 Block 4. Better off spending some money on long range stealthy fuel drop tanks for the superior and plentiful F-35 Block 4. Remember not every day is a perfect Mr blue sky day with clear weather, thus cloudy, rainy even polluted smoggy days negates FLIR trackers especially weather wise in Europe and pollution days in South East Asia and China during the rice burning season which can last for months! A superior networked kill web as in the F-35 Block 4 along with all of it's other electronic advancements is a huge advantage over an upgraded F-22.
At this rate they just need to cut it out with all the save money bs when we just keep printing more just go ahead upgrade it to the max and restart production until NGAD can be full fleshed out
The OSA upgrade is just bringing modern computing power performance and easier software upgrades to the F-22. The F-35 is also undergoing a 3rd computer power refresh (TR3), these enhancement efforts are a continuous upgrade effort by DOD on all jets.
I highly doubt Lockheed Martin went backwards with their stealth technology and designs and made the F35 less stealthy than the F22 that was designed 20 odd years ago ( although the IR heat from the duel F22 engines mite be less due to them been tucked away inside + duel engines = less concentrated heat when moving at stealthy speeds )
F-4Bs originally had IR too, well, they were still F4H-1s at the time. They discovered the Sidewinder seeker was just as capable so they deleted it. The space for the IR display on the RIO's radar scope was still there when I worked on F-4Ns in the '80s.
my idea of the perfect fighter plane shifted from the P-51 mustang to the F-22 raptor. a huge leap and the P-51 is the only one to defeat the raptor with the growling sidewinder at the controls.
This time last year the Raptor’s days were numbered, now it might be supplanting the program meant to replace it. We’re going to buy more F-35s - no, actually yes. Now we want a new lightweight 4th gen. No, actually a 5th gen. The USAF needs to make up its mind.
LM procured a $12 billion contract with the DoD in 2021 for major modernization upgrades. The USAF has no desire to retire the F22, nor does congress. There are about 30 older F22s that could be retired in the next decade due to the additional costs to upgrade those
The realities of "Military Doctrine Designed By Committee"... Plus, I think USAF may be a little wary of making the same mistake USN made in banking massively on the success of unproven technological innovation with the LCS and Zumwalt destroyers. Yes, they could mothball the F-22, but that means relying on the NGAD coming through on time, at full projected capability. If NGAD has/were to have the same kind of developmental complications the F-35 did, the US would be entirely reliant on 4th Gen air superiority fighters for years, at a time when tensions are slowly-but-steadily escalating. Five years ago, the realistic likelihood that we might need air superiority anywhere in the world was much lower. The only other stealth fighter on the horizon was the Su-57, and it was mired in Development Hell. The arrival of the J-20 changed the landscape considerably. The US has a history of making the same couple of mistakes in military development--we're either planning to fight the next war the way we did the last one, or else we dismiss the need for certain developments or weapons systems because we don't see a need at the moment. The latter is why we ended Raptor production so ridiculously early, and now that we see a need we're scrambling to compensate.
@@CptJistuce Ah yes. Never has the Air Force changed its mind over and over. It is always Congress. Pray tell, who do you think the defense industry hires to act as lobbyists to congress or as project managers, etc...? Freshmen college students, correct, that's why most of the largest individual share holders in the big defense companies are all college dropouts. What? Oh, no, apparently I'm wrong. I meant, "retired" service members. College freshmen, what was I thinking? Pro-tip: if your money is with Blackrock, State Street or Vanguard, it doesn't matter which of the big companies win the contracts, I'll let you try and figure out why.
The funny part is that that is precisely their logic. And that's exactly what they did, replacing the B2 with B21 by making a smaller and cheaper bomber, quick. But you can't scale down an NGAD like you can scale down a bomber... lol
Thanks brother that was so informative it's good to know that our Air force is always looking for the advantages for our troops who serve our country 🇺🇲🫡💪
I think it will be better to re-start the F22 line again. Just to maintaining the ones flying now. With the upgrade mention. Wow a very powerful aircraft.
Great video. I’ve seen this thing demonstrated live twice. Scary and mind blowing. It’s truly spooky watching what this thing can do. Extremely intimidating aircraft. I know, I was there. Airplanes just aren’t supposed to do what it does, it’s a super cool nightmare that can literally look into your bedroom window while just hovering there like a helicopter not far off the ground. I SAW it do that LIVE!
IF the J-20 is even close to combat readiness China would have taken Taiwan or Phil, China'a J-20 if u notice all videos are stiched up to make it look like its battle ready came from China because the Jet is plagued with issue such making sharp turn and in a bigger picture the jet is hard to fly.
The entire F-22 project costs the US government $70 billion, and each plane has a price tag of $335 million. Doesn’t make sense to retire it now considering it has never really been put to the test.
Thing is the F35 has production lines that are scaled up, thus over 1000 air frames that are used by several countries thus each F35 air frame is now down to 78 or so million per air frame (new air frames not the add on obviously) Lockheed certainly could start making new F22s as well should the need arise or new parts at the least as well as subsystems given they already can literally make stealth fighters at scale
They just need more airframes, particularly more modern ones. Restarting f22 production would cost just as much money as a new plane. Hence ngad being delayed and f22s getting upgrades with the scraps as the fighter component of ngad is getting looked at again. Its a stopgap. Wanting to drop platforms like a10s and f22s has always been a moneysaver - divest to invest. Its much easier for someone cash-strapped to afford a new car if you get rid of the old one first, rather than the other way around. Budget cycles are a thing that must always be reckoned with.
@@brian_phipps agreed and that's the rub, having to shift some production. Also to justify that production given that even F35s operated by our allies can all data link with ours, full interoperability. Not sure US DOD will necessarily allow non US assets to link with raptors or keep some proprietary nature to it so to speak.
The SU-57 is about as close to being a stealth aircraft as my chain saw. The augmentor assemblies are outside the fuselage. No need to paint them red, as friendly infrared sensors will need sunglasses.
The loyal wingman concept, basically any helper drone flying with the F-22 would mitigate some of the issues with regards to range. The f22 would be able to carry all the fuel it needs, and have the helper drone do the fighting or at least the shooting. And only if the F-22 absolutely needs to engage would it then do the dirty work itself. This would be an excellent bridge to the NGAD, which despite recent reporting I very much doubt has been canceled or is slated to be canceled. It might be delayed, and that would make sense, if you have a good enough solution in the F-22 and f-35 with the b21 and the helper drone in place on all of these platforms. Now we need a large tanker design with stealth in mind... Similar to that drone the Navy has been testing or developing, only bigger. Remember volume increases three times whereas surface area, in other words rate of reflecting area, increases two times, a larger tanker that is stealth would be more efficient than a smaller one otherwise similar designed tanker
If we only had 350 of them, We would be in such a better position. If for no other reason everyone should hate Obama for ending the production of the most beautiful aircraft ever. If It had been allowed to continue in production up into the 300-airframe range, A F-22D variant probably would have been drawn up to address the China threat. New engines - Next Gen Variable Cycle Engine, New Radar AN/APG-85 - one could hope, all glass cockpit and Helmet mounted display, New IRST and Distributed aperture system Ripped out of the F-35, New EW sweet from the F-35, and larger wings to increase internal fuel. All from the Factory on new airframes - not ducktaped together - THANKS Obama!
Yep. We went with the F 35 because it was cheaper. It’s still not a front line fighter after almost 2 Trillion $$$. We could have had a thousand of the F22 s for that with all the upgrades. Like maybe a Navy version to replace the tomcat. The dims did this and now my grand children will be paying for this never ending boondoggle of a plane.
@@4fuzzybear The F35 plane is a statement - we'd won the cold war, and we can now do whatever we want. As the F22 program was born out of the cold war where they needed the best. The F35 came just after the cold war when the US realized that it doesn't need to excel in anything... That's the unfortunate reality of when you don't have a competition. Now there all of a sudden a China threat, and the US got caught with it's p. down. Trying to now both speed up the NGAD development and upgrade the F22... How they'd not predicted the post cold war period is honestly beyond my level of understanding, considering the policies and politics that they were pulling out...
@@4fuzzybear don't throw too much shade at the f35. It is still a more than capable aircraft. It gets a lot of crap that is 50/50 warranted. Yes Lockheed has screwed the program pretty well, but the technical problems they solved in the F35 program are INSANE. The budget over runs for something like it are pretty par for the course and adjusted for inflation is about the same as previous gen aircraft - except for stealth coating maintenance cost but that would be the same for the F22. My biggest gripe is they didn't keep the F22 line going so they could easily wrap all the technology and lessons learned from the F35 into the F22. Financially it makes SSOOOOO MUCH SENSE.
You’re all bugging. Ultimately their cancelling of the F22 was perfect considering it’s practically never been used. The F35 is the most advanced jet on the planet. You guys are still kicking around 5 year old disinformation. Listen to the pilots who fly it and say it is alien tech. Get with the program.
Seen an f22 and a p51 mustang fly in close formation at Peterson AFB in CO. Was a jaw dropping event. Couldn't believe how it could fly so slow and maneuver without falling out of the sky.
The NGAD is really needed as this aircraft will have the required range to hit targets in the South China seas along with its drone wingman. Please don’t cancel the program of the NGAD.
I thought retirement was proposed because the F22 do not have sustainable stealth? Is it really a stealth fighter if you gotta refresh the stealth coating after every mission?
@@Zetler The new ceramic stealth coating can be re-used for many missions since its not vulnerable to heat and friction like the old stealth coating formula was.
It was slated for retirement because they are very expensive to fly and maintain when there wasn’t really a need for them. Geopolitics were relatively stable with no other country having anything that came close to it.
All very good and well, BUT the F-22 is still packing firepower that is demonstrably behind that of other Air Forces, fortunately though, mainly those of US allies. I refer of course to the fact that the US jets do NOT have access to the NATO Meteor missile, which despite it's age, comfortably outperforms anything the US can put on its fighter jets at the moment. I have seen videos here telling us about a whole slew of new missiles that appear very impressive, BUT not much news about ACTUAL progress towards finalisation, let alone becoming operational at Squadron level. An update video perhaps Alex?
Go to ground.news/Sandboxx to stay fully informed on military developments around the world. Subscribe through my link right now for 40% off their Vantage Plan, which is what I use everyday.
@Alex Hollings. Is StarLink capable of being used as a synthetic aperture radar? Imagine the possibilities!
ALEX🇺🇸
Alex, that's not at all what that indictment says. Ronnie from Funker 530 has an excellent break down of the indictment, and what it says is that RT coordinated with Tenet to build a platform off the backs of those creators so they could publish Russian narratives on Tenet. At no point were the creators involved in the indictment told what to publish or how to run their shows. The indictment plainly states that the creators were deceived and are victims in the case. You really need to take this video down and delete this part. It's tantamount to doing the same thing you've accused them of only for leftists. Very disappointed in you.
Fake news dude........... Tenet did not direct any video content, they just distributed independent content. The 10million dollars is fake news too.....likely chen kept the bulk of those funds and paid 1k-2k per video.
The "CNN california" domain seized by the DOJ( one of 34) had 7 subscribers. woohoo
The Air Force looked at the SU57 and the J20 and said "screw it, NGAD would be overkill, lets just polish the Raptor a bit and save the trouble"
The problem is that they can’t make more f22s and there aren’t enough of them. Whereas China is printing out the j20 and likely working on a new fighter. I think canceling NGAD would be a terrible idea. You have to be thinking at least 10 years in advance if not 15 to 20. If we have to start over on fighter procurement in 10 years it will be another 10 before we see a plane and it will be too late.
@@NickSteffenthe thing about it is that the j20 is barely a stealth fighter the same applies to the su57 for different reasons
@@NickSteffen j 20 trash
@joshuaguzman7725 actual air force pilots disagree with you. At the bare minimum, they are vocal about not underestimating it
Yep. J20 is obviously worse ( it's the Russian Mig 144), but they allegedly get them 120 airframes per year ( which is the same as F35A ~120 per year), which means that they would have thousands of them, and if they can't beat China in numbers, their only choice is to try and beat it in quality... Though for Russia. As far as I know, the Su57M is now officially a better plane. So to me, when I looked at that, I've realized that they ought to try and improve the F22, because it used to be the best one out of the bunch and it's now the worst...
Raptor was God tier 20 years ago and it still is. Legendary.
The b52 is still kicking. Maybe the 22 is so good they need people to forget about it.
It's nuts to think there was a game about the F-22 released in 1991 for the Sega Genesis. The plane's technology is decades old, but it is still so futuristic. The US is always decades ahead of the competition.
Legendary ramp Queen downed one Chinese weather balloon over its entire career.
Look at what we're doing with the F-15EX. A little of that same magic dust sprinkled on the Raptor and she'll be around for many years to come. She's already sneaky, fast, and deadly.
F-22 pilots have talked about how hard is it to upgrade raptors in various podcasts as recently in mover and gonky show, it's not as easy as F15EX, F16 block 70, F-35 TR3 and block 4 in the future.
Unfortunately, the great thing about the F-15EX is that they're building new airframes. They can build all the nice stuff in. Raptors have to have any new stuff shoved into a hull that was already designed to barely fit the existing stuff, or go on the outside where it'll hurt the stealth.
The F-22 only needs to keep pace with weapon systems updates.
It is an aerodynamic, stability, control, propulsion, and low observable masterpiece.
AND… any design can always be improved upon!
If you've ever seen an F22 hauling ass, and then simply coming to a stop in midair and standing still on its tail, you realize that damn plane has way more talent than they ever gave it credit for.
Absolutely stunning.
It's milkshake brings all the boys to the yard
What are you talking about? Who is fucking underrating an F-22?
Just a party trick. Once the F22 is so close that it needs to dogfight , all Kinematic advantage is lost.Russian radar & missiles have the BVR advantage. Irbis E radar detects the F22 at 93 nautical miles.
@tazjet100 source: trust me bro.
@@Tazjet100 😆
Always thought retirement was dumber than ending production.
Gates was a Dodo-head.Will that be ok to say according to screw-tubes?
they're absurdly expensive and the f35 is already more advanced and capable in air-to-air than anything China or Russia have while also having great air-to-ground capabilities, so why bother? might as well just rely on f35's until next gen fighters (which are hopefully more cost effective) are rolled out
Not really true. When stealth aircraft engage other stealth fighter the encounters get much closer so that maneuverability becomes important again. China is rolling out the j20 in numbers and the f35 won’t cut it.
both are dumb but dumber was to end production. retirement isn't such a problem tbh
@@riskinhos agreed. f22's downsides would have been greatly reduced if they had the benefit of mass production. the upkeep of their stealth coating may not have though, which i believe was a large factor in their production halt
It was a BIG mistake to stop production at less than 200.America needs at least 400 F22.
At one point the number was cut to 442.
@@louis_the_hedgehog Gates made the short sighted decision to cut production based on the world view of Terrorism at the time (that it was THE issue of the 21st century) and didn't consider that major Nation States would be a bigger factor than Terrorism after 2018. Hind sight is near 20- 20, but it was a short sighted decision.
We're rife with "big mistakes" by ending military programs. It invariably costs more to end the programs than to complete them. Why? Production and maintenance costs go sky high because the support infrastructure no longer exists. So why would they even do it? Petty bickering between the political parties, just to spite one another. A good example is the huge mistake of ending the Seawolf program. It was cut to 3 boats from 29. Made during the end of the cold war, those boats can still fight circles around even the new Virginia class subs. One party sponsored the creation, the other party demanded cuts in the Seawolf before they would approve a missile defense system. Party1 made the cuts, then when party2 took the White House, they cancelled the Missile Defense System and left the Seawolf at 3 boats. This is one example amongst many. It's a disgusting fact of American Defense. Back in my day during the Cold War / ODS, we knew that funding was 'feast or famine', feast while party1 was in office and famine when party2 was in. My son is active duty today and nothing has changed on that front.
@@StrongHarm this was a good read
@@StrongHarm Has there ever been a case where the US military looks back and decides they would have been better off canceling a procurement program they chose to keep going? Genuinely asking, there may be examples I'm unaware of. It seems like this mistake only happens in one direction, by canceling stuff too early.
The F-22 doesn't need to be replaced. But the loyal wingman drones need to be developed. The 22 can decrease patrols, and B-21 "guiding" a drone for engagements should be our norm. (And frankly, extend the guiding system to P-8 Options). Air to Air needs a new mindset.
By the 2031 there will only be 120 F22's left. it's not enough to guide anything sensibly.
@@korana6308 disagree. If the upgrades are baked into budgets now, then upgrading 120 platforms is what it is. At that point it will (hopefully) be a 40 year old platform with zero kills because it was not needed. And it is not like the US hasn't put ordinance on adversaries in those years. The 22 doesn't have a mission. (Or at minimium it doesn't have a mission that the rest of the Air Force can't fulfill.) The replacement has even less of one. If air to air drones can accompany B-21, and that platform is on time and on budget, we are much better off expanding that platform with loyal wingmen. Budget certainty would be a good thing for a change.
@@jasontritabaugh6342 It's mission was "air dominance" it was created for that role and that is it's mission. So it's role is to take on J20A and Su57M . So it mission will depend on whether it will get to engage those adversaries or not. Guiding drones in is not really it's mission. It's just another role for the F35.
The F-22 is already being replaced. It's replacement will be in active service before you or I ever hear about it or see it. If the Pentagon is really anticipating near-peer threats (and they are), then they're going have black programs all over place. It will be 2035 before we ever know what our 2025 capabilities are.
@@jasontritabaugh6342 The mission is air dominance and it's been so stupidly successful at that no one has even tried to take it on ~25 years after it entered service.
Would you intercept me? I'd intercept me. The Kid.
Raise Hail Praise Dale
We are gonna get HLC on here shortly
I live in TEXAS just down the highway from SAN A IN WACO I SUB ALL OF THE UNSUB CREW, AND I VOTED FOR BRANDON!
Buff / Franklin ‘24
Let the kid eat!
I'm from Anchorage AK, and loved seeing those birds fly above the city when I lived there. And I'm always happy to see footage from Alaska in the Raptor videos. :D
Ooh, where does one get to see that? Love me my snowy terrain AND raptors ^_^
@@Ilyak1986Joint base Elmendorf-Richardson is located right on top of North Anchorage. F22s are stationed there.
135 F-22 were upgraded to 16,000 flying hours, and the job was complete by 2020
More upgrades through 2029
by revising accounting practices.
@williamthornton5856 I still think it needs leather. If any fighter jet should have fine leather sport seats it's the F-22
Good to know!
F-22 will be upgraded decades to come.
I feel the same exact way even if they only have 150 chassis available by the time the 6th Generations are fully implemented there will always be a niche role for them as they are are dominance Fighters that can dog fight. The 6th jeans are meant to infiltrate without being seen fire their weapons and return home. But there's also a chance that they may run into contact with an enemy and even a fourth gen will be able to take out the 6th gen if they get into a dog fight cuz that's not what they're designed to do.
@@jonlamontagnethe F-35 fills that roll, NGAD is for air superiority
@@jonlamontagne Dogfights are not a mission. You don't go out and plan the sortie and say 'and here you get into a turning fight at gun range'. Dogfights happen when things have otherwise gone wrong & you cannot predict when that will happen. So either you task them as escorts to superior aircraft, or they are not present for the one thing they are supposedly being kept for.
Also: I'd be shocked if the NGAD wasn't at least as good in a dogfight as the F22 anyway.
Those new adaptive engines hopefully fit in there. I hope, if not NGAD
I don't think the combat coded aircraft will Las decades unfortunately
B-52: Looks like I won’t be the only one outlasting humanity.
F-22 (in HLC voice): Would you intercept me? I’d intercept me.
B-52: Kill me now
That’s the problem with being immortal
Listen to the Buff talk, then go listen to Ron Paul. JS, it’s weird.
@jloiben12 I would prefer a new age upgrade to the B52 than the F22. Maybe the B52 could be a moving airbase that resupplies NGAD or something
Or a drone delivery truck which can contain thousands of drones well outside of the actual combat arena.
@@VeteranExpat Or give it some weapons upgrade options, give it back its tail gun, if we ever invent anti-gravity tech, levitating and all that, put it on the B-52, and have it become an aerial artillery platform.
Cutting F22 production short, and/or not supporting both the F22 and the YF23, continues to be the most shortsighted decision fiscal decision ever made. 🙄
Or the best decision because right now all those billions will go into bringing F-22 on par with F-35 in terms of technology. Shutting down F-22 in favour of F-35 allowed US to get a large fleet of very capable and upgradable fighters. F-22 by default was doomed to have problems with upgradability. They put all engine output into thrust and left not enough to have excessive cooling and power supply to sustain modern electronics. So now F-22 has no IRST, no HMD, obsolete MAW. The problem of F-22 is that it was created to be the first 5th gen fighter. So it was tested against 4th gen aircraft. But those times have passed. In modern world when stealth is a common technology the overreliance of F-22 on its own radar makes it a handicap in the BVR cuz it simply can't see the enemy (F-35s have link 16 so they can fly with radar off and get targeting from the E-7). And in medium and short range F-22 doesn't have any advantages except it's flight performance. No HMD (its cockpit is too small and won't fit the HMD-enabled helmet) no IRST, primitive MAWS that doesn't give any additional information except the general direction where the missile comes from. F-35 has everything better just for the small price of having less impressive flight performance which actually doesn't matter that much since nowadays you don't need to get your nose on the enemy to fire at him if you have a good enough fire control system.
Treason
Thanks Obama
Nah, the two biggest shortsighted fiscal decisions in your lifetime were going into Iraq and weaponizing the dollar banking system. This is peanuts by comparison.
@@otterconnor942don’t forget to thank Biden for the retreat from Afghanistan and giveaway of all the goodies to the Taliban.
Oh my, the f22 vs goldeneye really told me how far I was behind airpower vs the anticipated!
We need to make up our dag on mind, are we building the NGAD or keeping the F-22 and if it's the latter we need to produce more. I love the F-22 and canceling production was one of the dumbest things anyone has ever done.
@@GeorgeWashingtonLaserMusket personally I think we should put the NGAD program on hold or scale it down and just research only. We need to be able to make use of our fifth generation aircraft and test all the new technology before we decide to jump on the first country to make a 6th generation aircraft. Why box herself into a whole new generation of aircraft when our 5th generation aircraft are going to be equal to any country's potential 6th generation?
we cannot restart the F22 production. The NGAD exists because building a modern jet that's optimized for todays manufacturing and tech is not just better, but literally cheaper than recreating all the outdated machines and tech for F22 production. If we build anything it's either a current gen F15ex or F35, or a new NGAD.
@@texasranger24 F-22 production line can be restarted, it will just take a lot of money for it. In 2016 Lockheed said it will take 200 million to restart F-22 production line. It will make Air Force take money away from NGAD, ICBM upgrades, bomber purchase and upgrades, and procurement of F-35s.
Restarting the F22 line will cost almost as much as moving forward with the NGAD program. There isn't a factory just sitting around, waiting for someone to flip a switch to make more F22s. The line will need to be rebuilt. Personnel will need to be trained and hired. All of which is exactly the same if you were to build a brand new design.
Last I heard, it'd be about $200M a pop for 200 new F22s. That was years ago, and before the proposed upgrades. I'll be kind and say that it'd be about $250M now. The NGAD is projected to have a unit price of about $300 million. So the same money could either buy 6 new F22B Raptors, or 5 NGADs. I know which is the better buy.
Regarding putting NGAD on hold that probably isn't possible without incurring massive startup costs, keep in mind the thousands of people working on it are going to get new jobs in the meantime and there goes all institutional knowledge. It's the same reason restarting f22 production now would be so damn expensive.
Also remember that fielding a new fighter is like a 20-30 year commitment before delivering in bulk.
I was on the crew that built Lockheed Martins GPSIII facility in Waterton Cannon. Coolest project 😎 I have ever been on.
The F-22 is just a reminder of how far ahead of the competition we once were. Thanks to trillions of dollars “spent” in the Middle East, our enemies have closed the gap significantly. 750 Raptors would have been an amazing thing. Too bad the DOD lacked the vision to see the need for them.
Yeah, hindsight is 20/20
@@deansmits006Some of it is hindsight, but Iraq should have been avoided without hindsight. But even if we pretended, that too was only in hindsight, they should have realized nearly 15 years ago it was time to bail.
@@The_ZeroLine at that time 70% of US energy came from Gulf states, Saddam was definitely a threat.
Even if they didn't go all the way to 750 trickle production to keep expertise and having new air frames available would have been better. Hell not blocking the sale to allies a lot of NATO members and japan would have kept the raptor production line going with an export version
The DOD did. Ending raptor production was a decision made by the politicians
Thank you for being such an Iconic, "Scholar and gentleman." Absolutely amazing journalism!
When soaking the news, of F35, landing in Finland and those upgrades of Raptor, I must quote: "Fingerlicking Good".
Thank You, Alex, keep these coming.
form a Finn in Diaspora
Sumomen Tasavalta!
@@MarvelousSeven Thank's for Your comment.
Must"correct a bit:
Suomen Tasavalta= Finnish Equalpower, or near that. 😎🤪
🤠👍👍Ei se mitään, "hutilyöntejä" sattuu!
from a Finn in Diaspora
I'm reminded of RNZAF project Kahu - they managed to shoehorn F16 electronics into scooters (A4 Skyhawks) but then had to retire them shortly afterwards because the airframes were so well used that they risked disintegrating in-flight
With no new F22s coming down the line and all the tooling long-since destroyed, this has to be a consideration for the long term. You can only baby your hardware so much
Raytheon is still Raytheon. RTX is the parent company that also includes Collins Aerospace and Pratt&Whitney.
Thought I knew everything about this jet...Never knew the F-22's thrust had more power than the SR-71 or the F-15. Thanks for this detailed vid, I've loved this aircraft ever since the 90's test flights!
Superbly done. Had seen much of the upgrade concepts before, but this was particularly well researched and explained!
Iike my other comments the CIA and MI6 just made a plea to the consumer markets not the major contractors to make cheaper nearly as efficient things. This is just cause we still do need planes once the drones do the initial work.
I would think the Raptors will be for specific use cases like eliminating AWACS. It doesn't matter if an adversary has a numerical advantage if they can't coordinate beyond their coastline. There will be so much electronic chum in the air from 4th-gen platforms doing EW. Raptors and Raiders will just snipe high-value targets amidst all the noise.
Both General Bogdan, former F-35 program director, and General Hostage, former ACC commander, have said the F-35 is more stealthy than the F-22. General Bogdan did so in Senate testimony.
"Hostage caused a stir in late spring when, in press interviews, he said the F-35 would be stealthier than the F-22, its larger USAF stablemate. Conventional wisdom had pegged the F-22, with its angled, vectored-thrust engines, as a stealthier machine than the F-35. Hostage also said the F-35 would be unbeatable when employed in numbers, which is why the full buy of aircraft is “so critical.”
“I would say that General Hostage … is accurate in his statement about the simple stealthiness of the F-35 [with regard] to other airplanes,” Bogdan said in the interview. The statement was accurate for radar cross section, as measured in decibels, and range of detectability, he said, and he scoffed at the notion that anyone can tell how stealthy an aircraft is just by looking at it." ~Air Force Magazine, The F-35 on Final Approach
Drones that’s the one word answer to can you look at something and guess it’s radar signature. About a bird and they haven’t even tried to make gov stealthy
I greatly appreciate your efforts. There are so many posers and idiots on social media either intentionally lying or just ignorant of the fact. The knowledge you impart makes me feel confident in parrying the comments of those who haven’t spent their entire lives amassing knowledge and trivia about aviation.
My god was that a 3 minute ground news ad jesus christ
They always are it’s crazy
Man’s gotta get paid, dawg
@@BaBaYaga1999-p7uthis dude blows so much Military Industrial Complex propaganda that I highly doubt an internet news site is where he gets his money lmao
@@BaBaYaga1999-p7u facts, I ain’t knocking it. Love his content and am glad he’s got sponsors so he can get pumping these out
@@dillan6134 Okay ivan, now crawl back in your hole.
There is no place in a museum for the Raptor . To me it will always be legendary and at the forefront no matter how old it gets.
That’s one good lookin’ plane
So what were we were saying about the "Light Fighter" program, how we would totally be able to have new fighter programs every few years, getting rid of the older fighters because they would be out of date?
As I said then, no government will ever get rid of the thing that's working now, to invest in the next thing before absolutely necessary. Honestly, once NGAD comes on line, I would be somewhat surprised if the F-22 gets retired.
The F-35 was supposed to replace the F-16, and yet Lockheed just released the F-16 V, and the F-16 is still going strong.
Preparing to sunset the F-22 before NGAD was fully on line always felt like folly. Keep the F-22 relevant for as long as needed (and probably then some) and let's see what NGAD has to bring.
Mike Shower was in the show "Dogfights" back in the early 2000s. Only listed him as an F-15 pilot, so cool to see that he flew the F-22
You mean Mike "Shaffer", call sign Dozier, was also an F 22 test pilot, then the Squadron Commander of a squadron of 24 F 22s at Eldmendorf AFB. He shot down a MIG 29 with an F 15 over Yogoslavia in the mid 1990s.
Another great video brother keep them coming. How about a video on how the Navy F-35’s are coming along.
I was the project manager at Intel for the main processing chip used for the F-22. 10 years ago the DOD convinced Intel to resurrect an old process technology and masks to make a "last" run of these processors for replacement parts. They didn't keep up with technology and are now very dated. Avionics and control will be massively changed so they can't simply "continue" anything. But, I agree that they failed badly in bailing on the F-22 for the promise of the F-35 which has different strengths.
That's actually a standard practice in the military to tie yourself up to the previous gen tech, has been a problem not just in the US, but any other military in the world.
Obama
I don't know what you need to cover next. Hell that's the reason I watch you, it's so I know what I need to learn more about.
Love this channel! 🫡
No one's even proven to be able to deal with our fleet of F-15s and F-16s. Even without the Raptors and Lightnings backing and supplementing their abilities, while being a tough fight, I'd put my money on the proven track record of the US airforce.
GOOD. The F-22 is still the best damn fighter jet in the world. No reason to dump it, even if the next one coming down the pike is going to be even better in certain respects.
Troops in Afghanistan called it "The Angel of Death" for a reason.
It is not the best fighter jet in the world.
I was lucky enough to get a tour of the Raptor production line back in 2003… Makes me feel… old.
The real question is "when will the US let the raptor eat?"
It's fantastic to see the value you are creating for both your audience AAND your advertisers. I mean, those two have been totally at odds with each other for decades. Amazing what a commitment to transparent public discourse and creativity levels capable of rearranging the incentive structure of an entire industry, can achieve. Information technology has no ethics, or morals, so these must be entirely the responsibility of the user/creator. The human. Impressive work mate, very.
I believe if 20 F22’s went against 20 of China’s top 5th generation fighters that the score would be F22 = 20 China = 0.
Yes, but 20 J20s can defeat/interfere with the refueling tankers the F22 would need to operate in the Pacific.
War is complicated.
It would be like that provided that the f22s had enough gas to get home. In the pacific we would have to be careful.
The F35 Would also have a similar score, and we have Lot more of them. As well as the SIAW and Mako missiles to take out radar stations
@@elijah_9392 Yes, but the US likes to target command & control on day 1. An airforce that doesn't know where to go or what to do isn't particularly threatening.
@@dgthe3
It remains an open question whether the US is willing to strike any target on the Chinese mainland in the event of a conflict over Taiwan.
There may be an unspoken agreement between the US and China to keep the fighting off of their main territories. If the US strikes the main land, that may then allow the Chinese to strike a more valuable target.
Unfortunately, the US does not have the strategic omnipotence and impunity it did with Iraq in a war with China.
Lastly, refueling tankers are massive and can be easily seen by any Chinese AWACS. It wouldn't be hard to find them and either push them back (reducing their effectiveness) or down them.
Hey Alex, can you do a video on how US allies are using their F35's?
Given the stealth profile of those Chicom fighters, the raptor will give new definition to the term turkey shoot.
Particularly if partnered with AIM 260.
So instead of referencing the Marianas turkey shoot it will be the great Taiwanese turkey shoot.
Most countries are still scared shitless of the Eagle. The Raptor absolutely smokes the Eagle in air to air combat. Can't imagine the carnage the Raptor would inflict on literally any other aircraft
When I watched your recent vid about the Growler, my first thought was “I wonder if they have an F-22 version that’s kept locked up for special situations.”
No, don’t need it. You could use a Ford F-150 for that role.
excellent work alex!! i'm a HUGE fan of the f22, and a10!!! i'm a 7 year usaf veteran, and i've seen a lot of stuff - that i will take to my grave, because i promised to do that. i'm a little surprised that you could put some of that in a public video.
Ground News should pay you extra. You always find a new and interesting example for their Ad spot that makes me want to watch it to see what I can learn about the news item you are using as the examole. 👍👍👍👍
I think that when it comes to the F-22, the upgrades have been long overdue do to our peacetime stance in the world and complacency born from the fight in Iraq and Afghanistan when it comes to air superiority. Since the birth of the F-15 we haven’t had many peers to compete with in the air. However, we continued to develop aircraft to prove supremacy which culminated in the F-22 and then the F-35 which have different roles however act not as aircraft built to compete with a peer but instead to instill the certainty that no one would have air superiority in a conflict with the US. The NGAD program and the B-21 continue that philosophical mission. The AI Wingmen drones are still untested in a combat environment and while they do provide additional support even if not as capable as some piloted aircraft, until they are truly tested I wouldn’t put all the eggs into that basket. The B-21 with drone Wingmen could be amazing as some of you have said however, until we truly understand the functionality of the drones and their ranges from which they can be operated it is more hit or miss in my opinion. I think the F-22 still has a place especially as a deterrent to our near peers. Now F-35’s and B-21’s with drones could reduce the amount of F-22’s needed in the air at one time and may eventually be enough to cover a period where the F-22 and NGAD are inoperable. Only time can truly tell how this will effect the future of the airspace.
_"...the Air Force awarded another Billion Dollar contract to RTX..."_
In the September news cycle:
_"RTX Admits To Unlawful Exchange Of Intel"_
_"Company will pay a $200 million fine for inadvertently releasing sensitive data."_
You can't make this up...
That was a company they acquired and were forthcoming with that info when they found out as far as I've seen.
@@AdamBrusselbackWho needs these pesky facts or context?!
@@AdamBrusselbacklisten buddy we’re here to fear monger
@@AdamBrusselback Yea a company they acquired which they ended up paying a fine while the old company management walked away clean 😂. Which we give right back to them by buying a billion dollar upgrade. It’s not the first time won’t be the last. Honeywell did the same thing with the abrams, our submarines and I want to say even the B2 (I’m not sure) then we fined them then gave them a new contract for upgrades for the abrams😂
So the contracts only $800mil then 😅
It's the best strike fighter in the world and it's not even close. Speed isn't just important for intercepting and fighting targets in the air, that same speed the aircraft is flying at gets transferred to any air-to-ground munitions as well. That greatly extends the range of any bombs or anti-ground missiles launched from the aircraft, placing the F-22 farther away from any target (and its air defenses) when it drops stuff out of its bay. The F-35 may have the fancy electronics, but the F-22 is better at everything else the F-35 was supposed to do.
Yes, the F-35 is a good plane, I'm not trying to trash it here. And yes, the F-35C can fly off a carrier which the F-22 cannot do. But the F-22 is just better even in the boring missions dropping bombs in the desert on people with no air force that the F-35 was meant to handle. They should have just kept building more F-22s, and upgraded the electronics. And doing so would have dramatically lowered the costs of the F-22s in the process.
The F-35 could still have been built, for the Navy, and to sell to foreign countries. It's still a worthwhile thing having a bunch of allies flying around a highly networkable plane. But the USAF should have insisted on more F-22s, and expanded their use as a strike fighter instead of going with the clearly inferior F-35.
"The F-35 may have the fancy electronics, but the F-22 is better at everything else the F-35 was supposed to do"
1. The f-22 is designed as an all-weather, low- observability air superiority platform. It can drop bombs, but only GPS guided munitions.
The f-35 in contrast, is designed as a multi-role all-weather, low-observability platform. That means it can drop multiple types of munitions both GPS/and Laser guided and even take on SEAD/DEAD roles. If its the one area that the Raptor is better on than fat amy, its air-superiority. it simply has the better air-frame for that.
2., Just curious if you watched the video. The F-22 lacks in certain criteria's. It lacks an IRST integrated system. They have to carry specialized pods in order for them to have that capability. The F-35 from day one, has this capability and is really sophisticated (EOTS). It was able to track the falcon 9 launch at ease. The F-22 also lacks having a Helmet cue targeting system, which again the f-35 has such a system from day one. Most importantly, there are more F-35's than F-22s. Although that sounds like it sucks from a distance, I'd argue the opposite. The f-35 can fill in the role of air superiority where the F-22 can't fill in and do it just as good. Those fancy electronics aren't just fancy, they're ground breaking. The f-35's DAS system is able to give the F-35 very good situational awareness, It can data link and network with other aircraft and even control their weapon systems, the EOTS i just mentioned, and much more. It can be it's own awacs, its own command center. Communication and intelligence is very important on the modern battle space, the F-35 is built around having this capability as well as controlling the em-spectrum. . Even the recent red-flag exercises are still really impressive.
The point is, both are different, but one is technically more advanced avionics wise whereas one has the better air frame. Both are good.
Here is what I think the real issue is. Boeing made the better airframe and beat Lockheed, but because of all their other major issues (KC-46, STARLINER, and the new Trainer aircraft) the Air Force just doesn't trust Boeing. The "PAUSE" is a way for the to reset. Maybe it gives Nothrup to jump back in?
One "disadvantage" not mentioned, that I heard about somewhere, is that the stealth coating tends to not last well and peel off (unlike an improved version used for the F-35).
That's now neen addressed
All we need are sharks with freaking “lasers”
Yet at the end of the day, all we will get are ill-tempered Sea Bass ☹️
Yet another great video, Hollings.
I actually waited two days to watch this one...a record.
The best upgrade I can think of is making the F-22's IFDL able to fully interact with the F-35's MADL.
U-2 has entered the chat.
@@MarvelousSevenB...B....Bono? What's up fam!?
A very well-researched documentary video. Thanks for putting in the time to keep us up to date.
We really messed up when the F-22 production was stopped. That decision was criminal.
Worse, it was Democrats 😮😅
F-22 is dated with a certain limited network centric capability, it has no 360 degree Distributed Aperture System and definitely not in the class of the newer DAS system in the F-35 Block 4, thus its situational awareness is less so than the F-35 Block 4.
Better off spending some money on long range stealthy fuel drop tanks for the superior and plentiful F-35 Block 4.
Remember not every day is a perfect Mr blue sky day with clear weather, thus cloudy, rainy even polluted smoggy days negates FLIR trackers especially weather wise in Europe and pollution days in South East Asia and China during the rice burning season which can last for months!
A superior networked kill web as in the F-35 Block 4 along with all of it's other electronic advancements is a huge advantage over an upgraded F-22.
brother as per usual awesome. so refreshing to hear unbiased information pro n con and a non AI voiceover to boot
At this rate they just need to cut it out with all the save money bs when we just keep printing more just go ahead upgrade it to the max and restart production until NGAD can be full fleshed out
The energy my Guy is what makes me keep checking updates from u thanks man ..
So, if you are a radar operator, be on the lookout for golf ball size blips doing Mac-2
I like to think that the F22 was was something dreamed by someone thinking how can I make an F15 stealth and even more deadly but then being rained in
Nah, it was developed during the cold war. No reins.
You do a really good job. I very much enjoy listening to your channel. Please keep it up.
4:37 Jeez dude, I know I'm getting old, no reason to rub it in like that!!😅😅
Really well presented, Brian. Awesome conclusion.
Do the upgrades include a bucket seat for Franklin?
No kidding! We need to know if it's Trash Day or Not Trash Day! 😂
The OSA upgrade is just bringing modern computing power performance and easier software upgrades to the F-22. The F-35 is also undergoing a 3rd computer power refresh (TR3), these enhancement efforts are a continuous upgrade effort by DOD on all jets.
While the F-22 is overall the best by the public, I still love the F-35 so much more, partly due to the fact the P-38 is my favorite piston plane.
Excellent analysis. Keep up the outstanding episodes.
AH: ..meant to help ensure the world's first ever stealth fighter remains the best ever.
F-117: What am I, chopped liver?!?
It was never a fighter. 😂
Strike
@YooZherName likely it was given the "Fighter" designation because, pilots at the top of their class tend to choose a fighter pilot slot.
Tbf. Calling the Nighthawk a "fighter" can be a bit of a stretch. Still love that plane tho.
The F-117 is an attack aircraft not a fighter. It was supposed to be a fighter at first though which is why it got the F designation.
I highly doubt Lockheed Martin went backwards with their stealth technology and designs and made the F35 less stealthy than the F22 that was designed 20 odd years ago ( although the IR heat from the duel F22 engines mite be less due to them been tucked away inside + duel engines = less concentrated heat when moving at stealthy speeds )
The first IRST were actually all US/Western Fighters from the late 50's into the late 60's..
Delta Dagger being one...
F-4Bs originally had IR too, well, they were still F4H-1s at the time. They discovered the Sidewinder seeker was just as capable so they deleted it. The space for the IR display on the RIO's radar scope was still there when I worked on F-4Ns in the '80s.
A staggeringly good aircraft! And an excellent report. Thank you Alex!
0:19 what's up Devil Dog?
my idea of the perfect fighter plane shifted from the P-51 mustang to the F-22 raptor. a huge leap and the P-51 is the only one to defeat the raptor with the growling sidewinder at the controls.
This time last year the Raptor’s days were numbered, now it might be supplanting the program meant to replace it. We’re going to buy more F-35s - no, actually yes. Now we want a new lightweight 4th gen. No, actually a 5th gen.
The USAF needs to make up its mind.
They are subject to the whims of Congress.
LM procured a $12 billion contract with the DoD in 2021 for major modernization upgrades.
The USAF has no desire to retire the F22, nor does congress.
There are about 30 older F22s that could be retired in the next decade due to the additional costs to upgrade those
The realities of "Military Doctrine Designed By Committee"...
Plus, I think USAF may be a little wary of making the same mistake USN made in banking massively on the success of unproven technological innovation with the LCS and Zumwalt destroyers. Yes, they could mothball the F-22, but that means relying on the NGAD coming through on time, at full projected capability. If NGAD has/were to have the same kind of developmental complications the F-35 did, the US would be entirely reliant on 4th Gen air superiority fighters for years, at a time when tensions are slowly-but-steadily escalating. Five years ago, the realistic likelihood that we might need air superiority anywhere in the world was much lower. The only other stealth fighter on the horizon was the Su-57, and it was mired in Development Hell. The arrival of the J-20 changed the landscape considerably.
The US has a history of making the same couple of mistakes in military development--we're either planning to fight the next war the way we did the last one, or else we dismiss the need for certain developments or weapons systems because we don't see a need at the moment. The latter is why we ended Raptor production so ridiculously early, and now that we see a need we're scrambling to compensate.
@@CptJistuce Ah yes. Never has the Air Force changed its mind over and over. It is always Congress. Pray tell, who do you think the defense industry hires to act as lobbyists to congress or as project managers, etc...? Freshmen college students, correct, that's why most of the largest individual share holders in the big defense companies are all college dropouts. What? Oh, no, apparently I'm wrong. I meant, "retired" service members. College freshmen, what was I thinking? Pro-tip: if your money is with Blackrock, State Street or Vanguard, it doesn't matter which of the big companies win the contracts, I'll let you try and figure out why.
The funny part is that that is precisely their logic. And that's exactly what they did, replacing the B2 with B21 by making a smaller and cheaper bomber, quick. But you can't scale down an NGAD like you can scale down a bomber... lol
Should still get NGAD just to have a stealth fighter that can carry AIM-174 & JASSM ER internally.
Goldeneye is still the best videogame ever made.
BF2 says hi and sorry...don't be a Bond fanboy.
@@GM-fh5jp BF1943 sits between the two and laughs.
(gameplay wise for me its the heir to goldeney...)
Thanks brother that was so informative it's good to know that our Air force is always looking for the advantages for our troops who serve our country 🇺🇲🫡💪
I was very impressed and excited about the modernization of the F-15, so to see the -22 is getting the same treatment has me itching already
I think it will be better to re-start the F22 line again. Just to maintaining the ones flying now. With the upgrade mention. Wow a very powerful aircraft.
If this is true it's about time. This is the deadliest aircraft in the sky as is. Getting rid of it would be a huge mistake.
Not developing it's eventual replacement would be a bigger mistake.
Great video. I’ve seen this thing demonstrated live twice. Scary and mind blowing. It’s truly spooky watching what this thing can do. Extremely intimidating aircraft. I know, I was there. Airplanes just aren’t supposed to do what it does, it’s a super cool nightmare that can literally look into your bedroom window while just hovering there like a helicopter not far off the ground. I SAW it do that LIVE!
IF the J-20 is even close to combat readiness China would have taken Taiwan or Phil, China'a J-20 if u notice all videos are stiched up to make it look like its battle ready came from China because the Jet is plagued with issue such making sharp turn and in a bigger picture the jet is hard to fly.
Just found you, great reporting
The entire F-22 project costs the US government $70 billion, and each plane has a price tag of $335 million. Doesn’t make sense to retire it now considering it has never really been put to the test.
Thing is the F35 has production lines that are scaled up, thus over 1000 air frames that are used by several countries thus each F35 air frame is now down to 78 or so million per air frame (new air frames not the add on obviously) Lockheed certainly could start making new F22s as well should the need arise or new parts at the least as well as subsystems given they already can literally make stealth fighters at scale
@@cynthiaherbst3909the problem is the cost of starting up the production line again. They use a lot of the 22 equipment for the 35 production
They just need more airframes, particularly more modern ones. Restarting f22 production would cost just as much money as a new plane. Hence ngad being delayed and f22s getting upgrades with the scraps as the fighter component of ngad is getting looked at again. Its a stopgap. Wanting to drop platforms like a10s and f22s has always been a moneysaver - divest to invest. Its much easier for someone cash-strapped to afford a new car if you get rid of the old one first, rather than the other way around. Budget cycles are a thing that must always be reckoned with.
@@brian_phipps agreed and that's the rub, having to shift some production. Also to justify that production given that even F35s operated by our allies can all data link with ours, full interoperability. Not sure US DOD will necessarily allow non US assets to link with raptors or keep some proprietary nature to it so to speak.
Sunk cost is called a fallacy for a reason ...
The SU-57 is about as close to being a stealth aircraft as my chain saw. The augmentor assemblies are outside the fuselage. No need to paint them red, as friendly infrared sensors will need sunglasses.
Didn’t Raytheon just get in trouble for selling our secrets to adversaries? Nuts they got the contract
Remember terminator salvation? Fake weak points will help locate stockpiles
@@nathanielalaburgDelhi I’m not sure what you mean.
It’s was a company that RTX bought - Collins - and they came to the govt with the info as soon as they found it.
@@Lifes-little-moments seems pretty irresponsible. It wasn’t just a little deal
The loyal wingman concept, basically any helper drone flying with the F-22 would mitigate some of the issues with regards to range. The f22 would be able to carry all the fuel it needs, and have the helper drone do the fighting or at least the shooting. And only if the F-22 absolutely needs to engage would it then do the dirty work itself. This would be an excellent bridge to the NGAD, which despite recent reporting I very much doubt has been canceled or is slated to be canceled. It might be delayed, and that would make sense, if you have a good enough solution in the F-22 and f-35 with the b21 and the helper drone in place on all of these platforms. Now we need a large tanker design with stealth in mind... Similar to that drone the Navy has been testing or developing, only bigger. Remember volume increases three times whereas surface area, in other words rate of reflecting area, increases two times, a larger tanker that is stealth would be more efficient than a smaller one otherwise similar designed tanker
We need a new air superiority fighter with much longer range.
That’s what the NGAD is for, but until we have that we need to keep what we currently have on top
F-22 has stealthy external drop tanks now.
LOL@ IDIOT WHY SPEND BILLOINS WHEN THEY CAN REFUEL IN MID -AIR W/TANKER ,& THEY HAVE THE B-21 RAIDER , B2B, F117, B1, B52H, DONT NEED ANOTHER @
Excellent information Great Video
If we only had 350 of them, We would be in such a better position. If for no other reason everyone should hate Obama for ending the production of the most beautiful aircraft ever. If It had been allowed to continue in production up into the 300-airframe range, A F-22D variant probably would have been drawn up to address the China threat. New engines - Next Gen Variable Cycle Engine, New Radar AN/APG-85 - one could hope, all glass cockpit and Helmet mounted display, New IRST and Distributed aperture system Ripped out of the F-35, New EW sweet from the F-35, and larger wings to increase internal fuel. All from the Factory on new airframes - not ducktaped together - THANKS Obama!
Yep. We went with the F 35 because it was cheaper.
It’s still not a front line fighter after almost 2 Trillion $$$. We could have had a thousand of the F22 s for that with all the upgrades. Like maybe a Navy version to replace the tomcat. The dims did this and now my grand children will be paying for this never ending boondoggle of a plane.
@@4fuzzybear The F35 plane is a statement - we'd won the cold war, and we can now do whatever we want. As the F22 program was born out of the cold war where they needed the best. The F35 came just after the cold war when the US realized that it doesn't need to excel in anything... That's the unfortunate reality of when you don't have a competition. Now there all of a sudden a China threat, and the US got caught with it's p. down. Trying to now both speed up the NGAD development and upgrade the F22... How they'd not predicted the post cold war period is honestly beyond my level of understanding, considering the policies and politics that they were pulling out...
@@4fuzzybear don't throw too much shade at the f35. It is still a more than capable aircraft. It gets a lot of crap that is 50/50 warranted. Yes Lockheed has screwed the program pretty well, but the technical problems they solved in the F35 program are INSANE. The budget over runs for something like it are pretty par for the course and adjusted for inflation is about the same as previous gen aircraft - except for stealth coating maintenance cost but that would be the same for the F22. My biggest gripe is they didn't keep the F22 line going so they could easily wrap all the technology and lessons learned from the F35 into the F22. Financially it makes SSOOOOO MUCH SENSE.
Bruh Congress sets the budget not the president, although they can veto budgets
You’re all bugging. Ultimately their cancelling of the F22 was perfect considering it’s practically never been used.
The F35 is the most advanced jet on the planet. You guys are still kicking around 5 year old disinformation. Listen to the pilots who fly it and say it is alien tech. Get with the program.
Seen an f22 and a p51 mustang fly in close formation at Peterson AFB in CO. Was a jaw dropping event. Couldn't believe how it could fly so slow and maneuver without falling out of the sky.
Very informative as always
O Robert Gates, you got this one sooooo wrong.... It could have been 750...
The NGAD is really needed as this aircraft will have the required range to hit targets in the South China seas along with its drone wingman. Please don’t cancel the program of the NGAD.
I thought retirement was proposed because the F22 do not have sustainable stealth? Is it really a stealth fighter if you gotta refresh the stealth coating after every mission?
@@Zetler The new ceramic stealth coating can be re-used for many missions since its not vulnerable to heat and friction like the old stealth coating formula was.
It was slated for retirement because they are very expensive to fly and maintain when there wasn’t really a need for them. Geopolitics were relatively stable with no other country having anything that came close to it.
Short-sighted politics by short-sighted career politicians.
All very good and well, BUT the F-22 is still packing firepower that is demonstrably behind that of other Air Forces, fortunately though, mainly those of US allies. I refer of course to the fact that the US jets do NOT have access to the NATO Meteor missile, which despite it's age, comfortably outperforms anything the US can put on its fighter jets at the moment.
I have seen videos here telling us about a whole slew of new missiles that appear very impressive, BUT not much news about ACTUAL progress towards finalisation, let alone becoming operational at Squadron level.
An update video perhaps Alex?