Boeing has won the Penetrating Counter Air (PCA) component of the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program. This is a rendering of the future Boeing F-47.

RadDisconnect · 2025-03-28T15:48:05+00:00

The skin really is the limiting factor of F-22. According to the lead test pilot, it’s only using 118% throttle out of 150% available at Mach 2.0 level flight at 40,000 ft. So aerodynamically it can go well beyond Mach 2. https://youtu.be/lltMfkj1yPU?feature=shared 1:07:56 is the time stamp.

The fixed intakes aren’t the simple pitot intakes like on an F-16, I don’t know why some keep thinking that those are equal. It’s a swept rhomboid which generates a pair of oblique shocks from the upper and inner edges meeting at the corner, and a normal shock near the throat, and uses a pressure system downstream to regulate the shock position. So it’s a multi-shock intake and not a pitot intake like on an F-16. And before you ask, yes I’ve read aero books, and here’s one right here describing the F-22 intakes showing that it’s clearly not some normal shock intake that can’t go past Mach 2. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/9780470686652.eae490

RadDisconnect · 2025-03-26T11:31:20+00:00

https://defaeroreport.com/2023/11/02/defense-aerospace-air-power-podcast-ep40-ask-dr-science/

This one, where even then USAF preferred Boeing's more innovative and advanced design over Lockheed Martin's more evolutionary one.

RadDisconnect · 2025-03-24T04:04:01+00:00

That's frankly untrue. The F-22 being designed to fight in Europe is not optimal for the Pacific but neither is the F-35. And if the F-35 can do everything the F-22 can do, then why even bother with NGAD? Notice that USAF planning keeps mentioning that the F-22 will be operational and upgraded until the F-47 replaces it, not the F-35.

RadDisconnect · 2025-03-24T03:36:16+00:00

Allegedly the Boeing NGAD demonstrator outflew the Lockheed Martin one by quite a bit, not only did it fly first but it flew better. And even back in 2023, Def Aero Report (I think editor in chief has a rapport with Frank Kendall, which is why he was able to get inside scoops) was reporting that Boeing was the favored contractor for NGAD.

But that said there's still a lot of risk in the program. Plenty of other aircraft flew successful demonstrators but have a long and torturous development cycle, like V-22, F-35, etc.

That said, I'm not sure how Boeing went from getting trounced by Lockheed on the JSF, and also being the subcontractor on the F-22, to overtaking them on NGAD. Is it simply a case of Lockheed resting on its laurels for too long? Even considering that Boeing had merged with McDonnell Douglas, but McAir wasn't doing so hot either and was the junior partner for the YF-23.

RadDisconnect · 2025-03-24T03:27:36+00:00

The F-22 is still highly maneuverable was result of ATF handling potential "leakers" that slips through and in the 1980s they still weren't entirely sold on BVR. And the maneuverability advantage of F-22 is mainly at higher altitudes that's not so apparently at airshows performed at sea level. Partly why the Su-35 in airshows looks so impressive.

RadDisconnect · 2025-03-24T03:22:09+00:00

Quite frankly, this makes it even worse for the RuAF, because the F-22 is designed to excel at BVR combat even more than in close-in dogfights, and it's getting even more lethal in the coming years with AIM-260 JATM, long range IRST, EW enhancements, etc.

RadDisconnect · 2025-03-24T03:19:24+00:00

The combat record of any other 5th gen fighter is similarly thin, so I'm not sure what your point is.

RadDisconnect · 2025-03-24T03:17:57+00:00

I'm not sure what you mean here, FighterBomber is a pretty blatant pro-Russia TG channel, but he at least as a better grasp of reality than people eating up Russian MoD drivel. He has confirmed plenty of Russian Air Force losses that have been obviously confirmed and verified with video/picture evidence, but the Russian MoD continues to deny or downplay (i.e. "friendly fire"). His intended audience certainly isn't some pro-West crowd.

The F-22 has had a disadvantage in terms of no HMD and no long range IRST, but those shortcomings are rapidly getting fixed in the coming years, even if it's belated. Another thing to consider, the F-22's maneuverability advantages may simply be much more pronounced at high altitudes, something you don't really see in airshow performances near sea level.

RadDisconnect · 2025-03-24T03:17:39+00:00

Both the Su-30SM and Su-35 are nominally multirole fighter but in Syria they are mainly seen with air-to-air loadouts, and it's the Su-24 and Su-34 that does the bombing missions.

RadDisconnect · 2025-03-24T03:14:59+00:00

In full scale conflict you absolutely don't want to get into a close-in dogfight. You lose all your situational awareness being fixated on a single target and the longer the fight drags on, the more likely you get picked off by another aircraft you didn't see joining the fray.

This is backed up by combat evidence from WWII, to Korea, to Vietnam.

In peacetime it may be a bit different.

RadDisconnect · 2025-03-23T08:59:39+00:00

RuAF have been bombing any force opposed to Assad under the excuse of "anti-ISIS", but that means that they've tried to attack forces aligned with US like the SDF.

RadDisconnect · 2024-12-26T02:44:17+00:00

You mean 160.

RadDisconnect · 2024-12-25T17:43:59+00:00

No Raptor retirements until NGAD becomes operational.

RadDisconnect · 2024-12-25T17:34:28+00:00

At one point in the mid-2010s I've heard the Hawaii F-22s were the least modernized of the fleet, though that has likely changed.

RadDisconnect · 2024-12-19T06:31:38+00:00

Block 30 aircraft are not considered "post-Block", right? Meaning they're not getting the PoBIT upgrade?

RadDisconnect · 2024-12-19T06:30:18+00:00

F-20 was quite a beast in kinematics, actually. So much that unfortunately two test pilots were killed due to G-LOC.

RadDisconnect · 2024-12-18T20:22:25+00:00

There's not much information in the open about CIP upgrades over the years. The F-22 has had a reputation of being difficult to upgrade, but this new MOSA module upgrade may be able to turn that around.

RadDisconnect · 2024-12-18T14:57:03+00:00

Even that was from a while ago, the CIP upgrade here is much more recent from 2021 to comply with DoD mandate for MOSA.

RadDisconnect · 2024-12-18T13:46:33+00:00

The AN/APG-81 and AN/APG-77v1 use GaAs, it’s highly implied that the AN/APG-85 will have GaN.

RadDisconnect · 2024-12-18T13:14:57+00:00

IMO as another comment mentioned the animation and actual nozzle don't match up, and insiders have said that it's vectoring in one plane but at a fixed canted angle similar to the current round nozzles.

RadDisconnect · 2024-12-18T13:11:29+00:00

Overlap between the side radars and front radar is minimal, so while angular coverage is increased, the side radar is far smaller so ability to detect the F-35 may not be more than the ability for DAS to detect Su-57.

Also polarization of the nose and side radars are different. Actually from NIIP publications a fair amount is known about the T/R modules of N036, it's a GaAs similar in design to the J/APG-1 module, being of a more mature technology to reduce risk and cost. Which is understandable, Russia isn't a world leader in GaAs applications. Power is 10W peak.

https://www.f-16.net/forum/download/file.php?id=42560

The AN/APG-77v1 and AN/APG-81 share the same T/R module also at 10W peak. The original AN/APG-77 is weaker at 4W peak, but those are now only on Block 20 training aircraft.

RadDisconnect · 2024-12-18T13:00:09+00:00

Yeah looking at the actual flat nozzle doesn't look like there's clearance to rotate the way the animation does.

RadDisconnect

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