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| US Air Force Shows Off F-22 Stealth Fighter Maneuverability in the Sky |
International Military - Many say that maneuverability in the air, as previously demonstrated by Soviet/Russian fighter jets, is not important. This is because the ability to maneuver in the air is no longer a determinant of a fighter pilot's victory in air-to-air combat. This is in line with the birth of sophisticated missiles that can lock onto enemy aircraft and follow the direction of the target's movement.
This was then strengthened by the birth of sophisticated radars, which also had active electronic scanning or commonly referred to as AESA (Active Electronically Scanned Array) radar. This type of radar allows for faster, unpredictable and tighter scanning directions. Missiles capable of beyond visual range or BVR (Beyond Visual Range) were also born, which further complements this theory.
However, even so, it 'feels odd' when fighter pilots continue to practice close combat (dogfight) in the style of World War II where the pilot's skill in fighting in the air is one of the important factors in his victory against the enemy.
Related to all this, there is an interesting phenomenon where the F-22 Raptor stealth fighter jet is now diligently demonstrating its superior maneuvers in the air. This capability is routinely and continuously demonstrated by the US Air Force F-22 Raptor Demonstration Team.
The F-22 Demonstration Team performed extreme aerial maneuvers in a small radius, even like the movements of the Soviet/Russian fighter jet that rocked the first Paris Air Show in 1989.
No less the portal The Drive made a special note that the appearance of the US Air Force F-35A Demonstration Team was something new. With its thrust vectoring capabilities, enormous thrust, and large control surfaces, F-22 pilots take advantage of these advantages in a variety of air shows.
The F-22's aerial maneuvers received the spotlight when a photographer named Rohan Patel captured the F-22's recent maneuvers at the Pacific Air Show held in Huntington Beach, California. The combination of the F-22's vertical position, coupled with the dramatic lighting illuminating the flare and the subtle details of its smoke trail, made for some beautiful photos, The Drive wrote.
Patel, who is a space mission design engineer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, admitted that the F-22 is one of his favorite fighter aircraft. “The F-22 Raptor has always been one of my favorite military aircraft and this was the first time I had seen it perform at an air show. "Even so, I was very happy to finally see the Raptor in its element, but at the same time, I was focused behind the camera," he said.
The US Air Force seems to want to show that the world's first stealth fighter jet also has its advantages in terms of aircraft aerodynamic performance, something that 'could not' be demonstrated when the extreme maneuvers of Russian aircraft were a global topic of conversation several decades ago.