After being criticized for not using the F-22 Raptor previously, the US Air Force has now taken a drubbing for using F-22s over Syria, in the coalition fight against the Islamic State. Critics are judging long-term strategic investments based on short-term tactical results, while misapplying the distinction between efficiency and effectiveness.

The sound bites may play well, but critiquing excess capabilities in the air over ISIS targets in Syria is short-sighted armchair quarterbacking.

Efficiency and Effectiveness

A common clever pair of definitions for efficiency and effectiveness claims the former is “doing things right,” while the latter is “doing right things.”

A more helpful contrast juxtaposes the former’s focus on resources and the latter’s focus on results. In that sense, efficiency is about minimizing the resources we use while completing tasks, while effectiveness is about maximizing how those tasks contribute to achieving our objectives.

As a crude example, I am very efficient when taking a nap. Napping requires very few resources. But napping also accomplishes nothing, except making me feel rested afterward and perhaps better prepared for some more useful subsequent task.

On the other hand, I could be very effective getting to the movies across town in my Lamborghini Veneno Roadster (if I had one), but it would not be very efficient to a) spend $5.6 million to be able to top out at 220 mph after accelerating from 0-60 in 2.9 seconds, and then b) use that kind of capability only to drive five miles to the movies on roads with speed limits of less than I can reach in three seconds.

The seeming lack of efficiency in using the $150 million F-22 in air operations over Syria has generated criticism for the Air Force like what I would get from my wife for talking about buying a Lamborghini. But we should not be so fast assuming the criticisms are equally appropriate.

As an extreme example of military efficiency, we could almost entirely eliminate the cost of sustaining our national defense by disbanding the standing US military altogether and replacing it with a strictly on-call militia equipped to fight only with whatever weapons and skills each patriot could independently bring from home when needed.

Unfortunately, the first time it was seriously tested, that kind of efficient military would also prove completely ineffective, because it would lose. We might as well have no military at all.

National security mathematics in the world in which we actually live means a “no-cost” military would come at the extremely high cost of diminished American prosperity and even lost American independence.

We should certainly want our military to be as efficient as practical, but, assuming America’s survival is important, efficiency is trumped by the fact that we literally cannot afford for our military to be ineffective.

The irony sets in when we acknowledge that our enemies around the world actually get deciding votes with regard to determining the effectiveness we should buy.

Unworthy Adversaries

So what about F-22s over Syria?

In Michael Peck’s criticism of F-22 use over Syria, he says, “A true test of a worthy aircraft is a worthy adversary, a label that does not quite apply to Syria.” He goes on to suggest that F-22s are like battleships after their unchallenged heyday: Too expensive to risk with capabilities that therefore could not be used.

But the US Air Force did risk F-22s over Syria — albeit without any losses, not surprisingly. The Raptor’s full capabilities are ready to be employed at a moment’s notice in a way that renders unworthy even our most capable current adversaries anywhere in the world — which is, by the way, exactly how we should want it.

Almost none of the aircraft the Air Force has employed in combat during the last decade were designed at the high end of their capabilities for the kind of counter-insurgencies we have fought in Iraq and Afghanistan. This includes the storied A-10, whose titanium armor, Gatling gun, and 30-mm depleted uranium bullets were packaged together in the 1970s to counter the hordes of Soviet tanks which then threatened our allies in Europe.

The Afghan Taliban had no highly-defended tank columns, but coalition forces wisely fought the Taliban with A-10s anyway.

ISIS and their unwilling Syrian hosts don’t have the technologically-advanced air defenses F-22s were designed to penetrate and destroy, but coalition forces are wisely fighting ISIS in Syria with F-22s anyway.

In both cases, we have used our superior systems to deliver capabilities we wanted in the fight — including the F-22’s unique networking capabilities — even though we did not buy the full extent of those capabilities for those fights in particular.

In other words, we already owned the Lamborghini to win at LeMans, so we used it for the annual Big Bend Open Road Race too.

In my mind, that approach is both effective and efficient, especially since the F-22s in question were already forward-deployed to the Central Command theater for other reasons. Employing them over Syria against ISIS would have been inefficient only if it meant not having F-22s available for operations that were more critical elsewhere — an important consideration, given that the Air Force was allowed to buy only 123 combat-coded copies.

Current Effectiveness Means Longterm Efficiency

When we conceive, design, build, procure, deploy, and employ weapons systems, we should be calculating the odds against our most dangerous potential adversaries, now and in the future, in order to make even those adversaries actually unworthy in every way.

This was the Air Force’s logic when it produced and fielded the F-22, and it is the Joint Force’s logic now, as it produces and fields the F-35 for the Air Force, the Navy, and the Marine Corps.

Any other approach to doing the business of national security is not doing that business at all. If we are not effective, we cannot be helpfully efficient.

It would have been ludicrous to buy F-22s to fight only ISIS, but it makes total sense to have bought them for other fights and then to employ them against ISIS. This is true even as we must acknowledge that it will take much more than just F-22s to defeat ISIS.

As Chris Miller recently pointed out, over the last decade, “the ‘light footprint,’ ‘economy of force,’ and ‘no boots’ mentality” has meant not smaller, cheaper, more manageable wars, but exactly the opposite.

The threats from ISIS and from any other adversary to the US and our allies will be countered both most effectively and most economically only with a carefully choreographed combination of F-22s and all kinds of other things — a combination that delivers needed capabilities needed sooner rather than later.

That national security choreography should always consider options that include a) boots in the air in the cockpits of all our manned combat aircraft, including F-22s; b) boots on the ground in Special Forces and all our other ground combat units; c) boots at sea in all our ships and submarines; d) boots in the States and around the globe on operators remotely employing airborne and spaceborne systems with no boots in them at all; and e) boots and other kinds of shoes on the ground in civilian capacities of all kinds.

That being said, the threat from ISIS should never be bad enough to push our twelve-cylinder, 400 cubic-inch engine anywhere close to its redline. That is unless we leave the car and its fast-shifting seven-speed, five-mode transmission parked in the garage until we can’t avoid racing it out into the open.

After retiring as an Air Force colonel in 2013, Eric Jorgensen served the National Commission on the Structure of the Air Force as a Senior Research Analyst. In his final military assignment, Eric was Chief of the Total Force Enterprise Management division in the Air Force Directorate of Strategic Planning in the Pentagon. He is a pilot with more than 4,000 military flying hours in aircraft including the F-111F, the F-15E, and the KC-135R.

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This is what Air Force generals have envisioned for decades. Two sets of fifth generation fighters flew side-by-side earlier this month to practice offensive counter air, defensive counter air and interdiction missions together over Florida out of Eglin Air Force Base.

It as the first time the F-35 and F-22 flew operational training missions together, Air Force officials said.

Both fighters have had a turbulent development and the F-35 is far from complete, but this was the vision. The F-35 and F-22 teaming up to combat a first world air force like China or Russia.

Air Force officials didn’t release many details from the training missions, but the photos sort of speak for themselves. Even the largest cynics of the program have to pause and consider the history of the two controversial stealth fighters flying training missions together.

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Four F-22 Raptors belonging to the the 94th Fighter Squadron conducted joint training with the locally based F-35A Lightning IIs from the 58th Fighter Squadron.

The joint training was aimed at improving integration between the two most advanced radar-evading planes in service with the U.S. Air Force. Flying mixed formations, the F-22s and the F-35s flew offensive counter air (OCA), defensive counter air (DCA), and interdiction missions. This maximized the capabilities provided by operating two fifth-generation platforms together.

“The missions started with basic air-to-air and surface attacks,” said Maj. Steven Frodsham, an F-22 pilot in the 149th Fighter Squadron, Virginia Air National Guard in an Air Force press release. “As the training progressed, the missions developed into more advanced escort and defensive counter air fifth-generation integration missions.”

Fifth-generation capabilities had their combat debut with the F-22 in the air-to-ground role during the early stages of Operation Inherent Resolve, against ISIS targets in Iraq and Syria. The successful baptism of fire reaffirmed the pivotal role played by stealth technologies and sensor fusion capabilities, brought together by 5th generation warplanes in current scenarios.

Earlier this year Chief of US Air Force Air Combat Command Gen. Michael Hostage said the F-35 is what the Air Force needs to keep up with the adversaries. However, the F-22 Raptor will have to support the Joint Strike Fighter even though its service life extension and modernization plan will cost a lot.

As he explained: “If I do not keep that F-22 fleet viable, the F-35 fleet frankly will be irrelevant. The F-35 is not built as an air superiority platform. It needs the F-22.”

That’s why the U.S. Air Force has already started to team Joint Strike Fighters with Raptors.

Image credit: U.S. Air Force

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The venerable T-38 Talon which first flew in 1959 (production ceased in 1972) has found new life as an adversary aircraft used to hone the skills of Raptor pilots. The aircraft, pulled from storage at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base and refurbished with current systems (including jamming pods such as the AN/ALQ-188) have been deployed in support squadrons at Holloman AFB, Tyndall AFB and Langley AFB (Joint Base Langley–Eustis).

The T-38s provide an excellent simulation of a number of non-stealthy adversaries that Raptors could come into contact with from countries around the globe. Beyond their value as adversaries, the Talon’s cost per flight hour is reported as $18,000 less than the Raptor and they preserve precious flight hours on the F-22s.

Small, relatively fast, and painted black the Talons are difficult to put eyes on, though primary training would imply detection and “shoot down” BVR (Beyond Visual Range).

The T-38s are typically flown by Raptor pilots who are the most qualified to challenge the Raptor, and exploit any and all perceived air-to-air vulnerabilities. Imagine a widely dispersed flight of T-38s moving fast at 50 ft off the water attempting to penetrate an area under Raptor CAP (Combat Air Patrol). The final result most certainly makes Raptor pilots extremely familiar and confident in their aircraft and its capabilities as they push both sides of an engagement thoroughly.

A typical day at Langley features the launching of groups of Raptors (1st Fighter Wing) and Talon adversaries (27th Fighter Squadron) morning and afternoon on two hour sorties for Tactical Intercepts and Offensive/Defensive Counter-Air training.

The training realized in these daily encounters ensure mission ready, mission capable pilots are available for deployment to any number of global hotspots. Perhaps most significantly this training provides an unparalleled level of confidence for Raptor pilots, for it is one thing to believe you are invisible, and another to know you are. It is this kind of confidence that leads to engagements like that of the F-22 Raptors sliding up undetected and unexpected on IRIAF (Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force) F-4 Phantom jets that were attempting to intercept a U.S. MQ-1 drone flying in international airspace off Iran.

Leaving no doubt, Raptors with Talons are more dangerous than Raptors alone.

Special thanks to the PAO of Joint Base Langley–Eustis. Todd Miller lives in MD, US where he is an Executive at a Sustainable Cement Technology Company in the USA. When not working, Todd is an avid photographer of military aircraft and content contributor.

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Despite multiple attempts by the US Air Force to retire the A-10 Warthog, the aircraft has carried out 11% of all airstrikes against ISIS in Iraq and Syria since Operation Inherent Resolve began in August. 

Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James acknowledged the A-10's contributions in the fight against ISIS during an address on Jan. 15. However, James was quick to point out that many aircraft aside from the A-10 are in engaged in the fight against the jihadist group as well. 

"There are a number of strike platforms, of course, that are engaged in it," she said. "[The] A-10 is one, but there's also F-16s, F-15s, and so forth. They're each contributing."

Of these aircraft, the F-16 has carried out 41% of sorties, with the F-15E carrying out 37% of operations. 

Defense News has noted an important caveat about these numbers. Whereas the F-16 has been engaged in operations against ISIS since August, the Air Force did not start deploying the A-10 until November.

That the A-10 was used in 11% of all operations in just three months signals the Air Force is frequently using the aging aircraft against the group. 

The A-10 is a heavily armored aircraft that is slower and less maneuverable than a fighter jet but is perfectly suited to carrying out closer-quarter attacks against ground targets — the plane has been likened to a flying tank. The aircraft has a 30mm rotary cannon that fires armor-piercing rounds and is also equipped with surface-to-air missiles and cluster bombs. 

Despite the Warthog's effectiveness, the Pentagon is continuing its push to retire the aircraft by 2019 despite congressional opposition.  

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Last week the Pentagon provided some details about American support for the Jordanian airstrikes in Syria that followed the Islamic State group's killing of Jordanian pilot Moaz al-Kasasbe.

According to the Air Force Times, US Central Command Combined Air Operations Center (CAOC) tasked F-22 Raptors and F-16CJs, along with an unspecified unmanned aircraft that provided intelligence and surveillance, to escort the Jordanian aircraft launched against positions of the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL.

The American stealth jets are now embedded in the "standard strike package," which includes US and coalition aircraft committed to attack ISIS militants in Syria and Iraq, Pentagon spokesman Army Col. Steve Warren said.

The news put the spotlight on the F-22 Raptor and is a sign the US stealth jets are still directly involved in the anti-ISIS campaign in Syria and Iraq. Little was previously known about their contribution to Operation Inherent Resolve besides details that were released following their participation in the opening stages of the war.

More interesting than the US' use of the planes is figuring out the role played by the Raptors in the airstrikes and the value of their escort — the F-22 is the best air-superiority fighter in the world, but it will not find any aerial opponent to engage over Iraq or Syria.

Whereas Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses (SEAD) and Electronic Warfare (EW) platforms, like the F-16CJ/CGs, the EA-6B Prowlers, and the EA-18G Growlers, are most likely taking care of the residual air defenses surrounding the most dangerous targets, the F-22 Raptors are probably used to provide the so-called "forward target identification."

Raptor stealth fighters can use their ability to enter a target area, gather details about enemy systems with their extremely advanced onboard sensors (including an Active Electronically Scanned Array — AESA radar), share the picture and enemy information with other tactical assets and AWACS, then escort other unstealthy planes or drones toward the targets.

They can also attack targets with Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMs) if needed. F-22s can carry two 1,000-pound GBU-32 JDAMs or eight GBU-39 small-diameter bombs, 250-pound multipurpose, insensitive, penetrating, blast-fragmentation warhead for stationary targets, along with AIM-120s AMRAAMs (Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles) radar-guided missiles, and AIM-9 Sidewinder IR-guided missiles.

However, in modern scenarios as well as in Syria and Iraq, the fifth-generation aircraft is more an "electronic warfare enabled sensor-rich aircraft" than a pure interceptor with swing-role capabilities.

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It looks like the military build-up in eastern Europe may soon feature some multi-role stealth planes.

In fact, according to Air Force Secretary Deborah James, the US may deploy a squadron of F-22 Raptors to Europe to counter the Russian threat.

Talking to reporters at Le Bourget airshow in Paris, she said that Russia is “the biggest threat on my mind,” a threat that has materialized through a proxy war in Ukraine and the increased activity of Russian Air Force planes around the Baltic region.

So far, the US has responded to these threats with two Theater Security Packages (TSPs) made up of F-15s and A-10s that will remain in Europe for a period of 6 months, and with a series of drills with NATO allies and partners, attended also by B-52 strategic bombers.

The units taking part in the rotational deployments to Europe will also include F-22 squadrons, even though for the moment, this is just one of the possibilities on the table.

Although they have never been deployed to Europe as part of a TSP, Raptors have often taken part in rotational deployments in the Asia-Pacific region since 2009, to show the presence of Washington’s most advanced fighter plane in service in an area where tensions have risen over maritime disputes in the South China Sea.

While TSPs include 12 aircraft, 200-300 support personnel and require advanced planning, a smaller package of 4 F-22s can be deployed across the world much faster: in 2013 the US Air Force conceived a new rapid deployment concept (dubbed “Rapid Raptor Package“) that allows a deployment F-22s (accompanied by a C-17) and supporting logistics to any forward operating base.

This could have the stealth fighter jet ready for combat operations within 24 hours of deploying with a small logistics footprint.

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The US Air Force's F-22 Raptor has been described as "the most lethal fighter aircraft in the world," but until recently it was used primarily as a bodyguard for other aircraft. The F-22 has seen combat starting only this past year. 

Produced by Grace Raver. Video courtesy of The Associated Press. 

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Although they were not conceived to play this kind of role, F-22 Raptors have emerged as some of the U.S.-led Coalition’s most reliable combat assets in supporting coalition planes during air strikes in Syria and Iraq.

At the beginning of July, U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor jets had flown only 204 sorties out of 44,000 launched by the U.S.-lead coalition against ISIS in Syria and Iraq.

Little more than a month ago, the multirole stealth combat planes deployed toAl Dhafra airbase in the UAE had dropped 270 bombs on targets located in 60 of the 7,900 locations hit by the other aircraft supporting Operation Inherent Resolve.

Even though the largest number of air strikes is carried out by other assets, it looks like the role played by the (once troubled) F-22 is pivotal to ensure the safety of the other aircraft involved in the air campaign: the Raptors act as “electronic warfare enabled sensor-rich multi-role aircraft” escorting strike packages into and out of the target area while gathering details about the enemy systems and spreading intelligence with other assets supporting the mission to improve the overall situational awareness.

“We are operating regularly in Iraq and Syria. The F-22’s advanced sensors and low-observable characteristics enable us to operate much closer to non-coalition surface-to-air missiles and fighter aircraft with little risk of detection,” said Lt. Col. J. (name withheld for security reasons) in a recent 380th Air Expeditionary Wing release.

“We provide increased situational awareness for other coalition aircraft while simultaneously delivering precision air-to-ground weapons. This allows us to reduce the risk to our forces while mitigating the risk to civilian casualties, one of our highest priorities in this conflict. It is a true multirole aircraft.”

In simple words, the F-22 pilot leverage advanced onboard sensors, as the AESA (Active Electronically Scanned Array)radar, to collect valuable details about the enemy Order of Battle, then they share the “picture” with attack planes, command and control assets, as well as Airborne Early Warning aircraft, while escorting other manned or unmanned aircraft towards the targets.

As happened when they facilitated the retaliatory air strikes conducted by the Royal Jordanian Air Force F-16s after the burning alive of the pilot Maaz al-Kassasbeh captured on Dec. 24, 2014.

Needless to say, every now and then they can also attack their own targets using Precision Guided Munitions: two 1,000-lb GBU-32 JDAMs (Joint Direct Attack Munitions) or 8 GBU-39 small diameter bombs,“which have been successfully employed against key ISIL targets. [The SDB] is extremely accurate from very long distances and has the lowest collateral damage potential of any weapon in our inventory.”

Therefore, although this may not be what the F-22 was conceived for, the U.S.’s premier air superiority fighter is excelling in a new role: making other aircraft more survivable in contested airspaces like Syria and Iraq.

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The Air Force is about to deploy the F-22 Raptor 5th generation multi-role stealth fighter to the European theater, as a potential deterrent to Russian aggression, Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James said on Aug. 24.

The Raptor deployment had already been announced in June, when Air Force Secretary, at Le Bourget airshow in Paris, said that Russia was the “biggest threat” her mind, but it now appears to be few days away.

So far the US has responded to the proxy war in Ukraine and to the spike in Russia Air Force activity in the Baltic region with two 6-month TSPs (Theater Security Packages), made up of F-15s and A-10s, and stepping up its presence at regional exercises with NATO allies and partners, attended also by B-52 strategic bombers and A-10 attack planes.

Raptors have often taken part in rotational deployments in the Asia-Pacific region since 2009, but have never been deployed to Europe.

It would be interesting to know which airbases are being considered for such deployment that should include 12 aircraft and 200-300 support personnel even though the aircraft will probably not be stationed at a single base but will perform short rotations to a few airports in eastern Europe as already done by the F-15s and A-10s of the previous TSPs (that have visited Germany, UK, Poland, Estonia, Slovakia, Bulgaria, etc.).

Although it was born US’s premier air superiority fighter the F-22 has become a multirole aircraft that has had its baptism of fire in the air-to-surface role during the air war against ISIS: along with air-to-air missiles, the Raptor can also drop Precision Guided Munitions: two 1,000-lb GBU-32 JDAMs (Joint Direct Attack Munitions) or 8 GBU-39 small diameter bombs.

However, according to the US Air Force, during the air campaign against the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, the once troubled stealth plane has emerged as F-22 is pivotal to ensure the safety of the other aircraft involved in the air campaign: the Raptors act as “electronic warfare enabled sensor-rich multi-role aircraft” that provide key kinetic situational awarenessto other aircraft: they escort strike packages into and out of the target area while gathering details about the enemy systems and spreading intelligence to other “networked” assets supporting the mission to improve the overall situational awareness.

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The US Air Force has released an infographic with a collection of information about the F-22 Raptor at its first training deployment in Europe.

Even though it is quite simple, the image provides some useful information about the Rapid Raptor Package concept used to deploy the 5th Generation jet in any theater across the world in 24 hours. In particular, it states that a standard package is made of four F-22s, one C-17 and 60 supporting airmen. Not too much for the most advanced US fighter plane currently in service.

Two of the four F-22s belonging to 95th FS are currently in Poland, for some training with the Polish Air Force. They are due to return to Spangdahlem airbase in Germany within the next few days.

More base visits across eastern Europe are expected until the aircraft return to Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida, in mid September.

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Razor Talon is a monthly aerial warfare exercise that represents a tremendous “win” for the USAF both in terms of cost efficiencies and proficiency gains. The exercise has been primarily designed for three core Wings, the 4^th FW F-15E Strike Eagles of Seymour Johnson AFB, the 1^st FW F-22A Raptors of Langley AFB and the 20^th FW F-16CM Vipers of Shaw AFB. The September Razor Talon also included the T-38C from Langley AFB, the RC-135, E-3 AWACS, and E-8 JSTARS platforms from their associated bases.

Notable historical contributions of the 4th FW 335th FS “Chiefs” include the role they executed as the primary group tasked to search for and destroy Iraq’s module Scud missiles utilized in the Gulf War. As a result of their ultimate success they were nicknamed “SCUD BUSTERS,” though they also made aerial warfare history by downing an Iraqi helicopter in the air using a laser-guided bomb! (USAF Fact Sheet)

The F-22A Raptors, the most advanced air superiority fighter in service are becoming much more visible internationally as they are being deployed globally in response to events in a number of theaters. The 20th FW F-16CMs have consistently been involved in critical domestic and global US operations in a variety of roles, though they are primarily known for their expertise in the Wild Weasel mission of SEAD (suppression of enemy air defenses).

“Razor Talon represents a natural progression from unit training towards the broader platform integration that takes place in a campaign”

We were fortunate to get a bird’s eye view of the exercise via a supporting KC-135R tanker from the 916^th Air Refueling Wing (ARW) flown by personnel from the 911 Air Refueling Squadron (ARS). During the tanker flight F-22s from the 94^th& 27^th FS and F-15Es from the 335th FS visited for refueling.

Primary missions tasked during Razor Talon include air superiority, interdiction/deep strike, SEAD, close air support, sea control, defensive counter air, and offensive counter air.

Between the nearby Dare County range and other sites there are hundreds of potential targets available for the exercise, including “active” surface to air missile (SAM) sites, and naval targets.

Razor Talon provides the additional benefit of the realism of a coastal environment, representative of likely scenario in a future campaign.

During Razor Talon the F-22A and bulk of F-15Es and F-16CMs typically fly as Blue Air. T-38C Talon adversary aircraft from Langley AFB fly Red Air in conjunction with designated F-16s and F-15s. The Talons reflect a suitable adversary for the beyond visual range (BVR) fight as they have a low radar cross-section and generate low electromagnetic emissions.

The T-38s are regularly flown by Raptor pilots. Tasked to defeat the platform they have tremendous expertise in ultimately strengthens the pilots performance when back in the Raptor. The Raptors are charged with ensuring air dominance as the Blue Air F-15Es (interdiction) and F-16CMs (SEAD) press their missions.

Targeting active SAM emitters featuring advanced capabilities the “Vipers” of the 20th FW are well-known as “Wild Weasels,” and fly armed with the AGM-88 HARM (high-speed anti-radiation) missile.

However, the massive mushroom cloud left in our wake immediately alerted Red Air – ‘strikers low and hot!’

While not specifically a Razor Talon mission, Captain Eichel of the 335 FS shared a training experience that is reflective of what Strike Eagle pilots are tasked with achieving in real world scenarios;

“I was fulfilling a critical requirement of graduation from weapons school (at Nellis AFB & the NTTR) – the live drop.

It was the first time I realized a jet the size of a tennis court could be invisible. Dropping into the NTTR on its eastern edge we ingress west fast and low, and in spite of the high threat environment we made it undetected to our target on the west side of the range.

Per mission planning we released a full complement of live 2000 lb Mk 84 high drag bombs on target from only 200 ft. By design, the bombs exploded just behind us and we were glad escape the blast pattern in one piece. However, the massive mushroom cloud left in our wake immediately alerted Red Air – ‘strikers low and hot!’

Red Air now knew exactly where we were. With contrails converging on us we throttled up and exited the range at 100 ft AGL traveling Mach 1.1. Even though Red Air knew exactly where we were they did not get a missile shot, and we made it home successfully. The mission validated not only the flight techniques, but the avionics and weapons systems effectiveness in a high threat environment.”

While the F-15E is purpose-built for interdiction or deep strike well behind enemy lines, the success of a mission in the real world often has different measure.

Captain Martin of the 335 FS shared the following:

“I was 2-3 months into my first deployment. A Strike Eagle mission success typically means bombs on target, and missile kills if required. With that perspective I am flying a pretty straightforward mission putting in time on station – but have dropped no bombs, launched no missiles.

After some time I receive a call to support ground troops. A relatively small group of our ground troops is on their way back to a forward operating base (FOB) and a hostile crowd is starting to gather around them – to the point that their progress is impeded and they feel an imminent threat. I drop out of the skies in the Strike Eagle, and overfly the threatening crowd at bruising speed and low-level.

The crowd disperses quickly, shrinking back to the shadows from where they came. A few moments later when the troops reach their FOB, I receive a heartfelt radio message, ‘Thanks for being there, for helping get us home safely.’ A simple show of force can make a huge difference to what takes place on the ground.”

No shots fired, no bombs dropped, nonetheless, a very successful, and personally gratifying mission. As Captain Martin continued, “I can think of doing nothing more personally satisfying than serving my country and protecting our guys on the ground.”

While the preferred outcome of such a well prepared force is deterrence, if tasked the USAF will bring the full force of the Strike Eagle, Wild Weasel Vipers, Raptor and much more to the fight. Weapons school, daily training cycles, Razor Talon, and Red Flag, ensure the USAF remains “razor sharp” and ready to act on short notice.

Special thanks to TSgt. Phillip Butterfield USAF ACC 4 FW/PA, MSgt. Wendy Lopedote USAFR Superintendent Public Affairs, the 916 ARW KC135R with crew from the 911 ARS and F-15E crews from the 4th FW, 335 FS “Chiefs.”

Todd Miller is an avid photographer and contributor to a number of Aviation media groups. Utilizing www.flyfastandlow.comas a personal “runway” it is Todd’s goal to reflect the intensity and realism of the military aviation mission, as well as the character and commitment of the military aviation professional.

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Military aircraft are incredible examples of engineering and human ingenuity. And, aside from their advanced technical and scientific magnificence, aircraft are also amazing to behold.

Photographer Blair Bunting has captured the stark elegance of some of the most recognizable US military aircraft — the SR-71, the F-22, and a US Thunderbird F-16. 

Below are some of Bunting's favorite photos from his SR-71, F-22, and F-16 photo shoot. 

The following photos are republished with permission from Blair Bunting.

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The SR-71 "Blackbird" was a high-speed, high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft.

The plane could travel faster than 2,200 mph at altitudes over 85,000 feet.

The aircraft was in service from 1964 to 1998.

Below are the most expense aircraft for the US Air Force to fly sorted by cost per hour of flight.

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10. F-22 Raptor

The “best combat plane in the world” only cost $58,059 an hour to fly. Small price to pay for the best.

9. B-1B Lancer

The B-1 makes up sixty percent of the Air Force’s bomber fleet and runs $61,027 per flying hour.

8. CV-22 Osprey

The USAF’s special operations tiltrotor will run you $63,792 per hour.

The images in this post show two F-22 Raptors assigned to the 95th Fighter Squadron, from Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida, refueling from a KC-135 Stratotanker over the Nevada Test and Training Range (NTTR) on Feb. 4, 2016, during an Exercise Red Flag 16-1 training sortie.

Along with approximately 30 other aircraft, the Raptors are participating in the advanced training program administered by the United States Warfare Center and executed through the 414th Combat Training Squadron, that is considered the world’s most realistic: Red Flags include both day and night missions that give aircrew an opportunity to experience advanced, relevant, and realistic combat-like situations in a controlled environment with the purpose to improve their ability to complete complex missions.

The NTTR is “the largest contiguous air and ground space available for peace time military operations in the free world, offering 5,000 square miles of air space and more than 1,200 targets and threat simulators.”

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Four US F-22 stealth fighters are flying over South Korea amid growing tensions following North Korea's rocket launch.

The high-tech planes capable of sneaking past radar undetected were seen flying near a US air base near Seoul on Wednesday.

Pyongyang will likely view the arrivals of the planes as a threat as they are a clear show of force against the country.

The flight of the radar-evading F-22s, based in Okinawa, Japan, is the latest deployment of key U.S. strategic military assets to the South after the North defied warnings from world powers and conducted a fourth nuclear test last month.

South Korea and the United States said the North's rocket launch on Feb. 7 was a long-range missile test and violated U.N. Security Council resolutions that ban the use of ballistic missile technology by the isolated state.

North Korea said it was a satellite launch.

The U.S. military said at the weekend that it had deployed an additional Patriot high-velocity missile interceptor unit to South Korea in response to recent North Korean provocations.

The allies were also expected to begin discussions on the deployment of the advanced Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defense system.

Last month, the United States flew a B-52 bomber capable of carrying nuclear weapons on a low-level flight over the South following the North's Jan. 6 nuclear test.

The joint military drills scheduled to start in March, which in most years last eight weeks and involve hundreds of thousands of South Korean and U.S. troops, will be the largest ever, according to South Korean officials.

There are 28,500 U.S. troops stationed in the South as part of combined defense with the South's military of more than 600,000. The North has an army of 1.2 million.

North Korea claims the annual drills are war preparations. South Korea and the United States say the exercises, which have been conducted for years without major incident, are defensive.

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On Mar. 1, 2016, the 90th Fighter Squadron (FS) belonging to the 3rd Wing stationed at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska officially became the first combat-operational Raptor unit to equip an F-22 with the AIM-9X Sidewinder.

According to Chief Master Sgt. Chuck Jenkins, 3rd Wing Weapons Manager, the AIM-9X will increase the already outstanding Raptor’s combat capabilities. “This has been in the inventory for the Air Force and Navy for some years; it’s nothing new to the military, but to put it on the Ferrari of aircraft — the F-22, the most advanced aircraft we have — it gives the pilots more maneuverability, larger range, and it’s a much faster missile,” he said.

A claim confirmed by Lt. Col David Skalicky, commander of the 90th FS, who highlighted that, like the F-22 is a generation beyond the fighters that came before it, the AIM-9X is a generation beyond the previous variants of the Sidewinder missile: “Every aspect about this missile, it’s a huge capability increase in all facets, we can employ it in more scenarios, at greater range, and reach edges of the envelope we would have had a more difficult time reaching with the AIM-9M.”

The late arrival of the AIM-9X (already integrated in most of US combat planes since 2003) to the F-22 very well may signal a new era in Air Force airpower, since as told by Skalicky “this missile makes the most lethal combat aircraft the world has ever seen even more capable. It’s a giant enhancement to the already formidable F-22 arsenal.”

Noteworthy, the AIM-9X will not be coupled to a Helmet Mounted Display (HMD) as the F-22 is not equipped with such kind of helmet that provides the essential flight and weapon aiming information through line of sight imagery (the project to implement it was axed following 2013 budget cuts).

With a HMD (like the American Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System — JHMCS), information imagery (including aircraft’s airspeed, altitude, weapons status, aiming etc.) are projected on the visor enabling the pilot to look out in any direction with all the required data always in his field of vision.

The HMD would enable the pilot to exploit the full HOBS (High Off-Boresight) capabilities of the AIM-9X and engage a target by simply looking at it.

However, the F-22 will probably fill the gap and benefit of the AIM-9X Block II, that is expected to feature a Lock-on After Launch capability with a datalink, for Helmetless High Off-Boresight (HHOBS): the air-to-air missile will be launched first and then directed to its target afterwards even though it is behind the launching aircraft.

Initial testing highlighted a problem though: whilst HHOBS in Block II worked pretty well, its performance was below the performance seen in Block I.

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The development of a sixth generation fighter should not be a top priority for the US Air Force given that, according to Rob Weiss, executive vice president and general manager of Lockheed Martin’s legendary Skunk Works division, regular updates to the F-22 and F-35 would keep the edge of the current stealth fighters over China’s and Russia’s future fifth generation warplanes.

Weiss recently told to DefenseOne.com, that these aircraft already enable the to have a distinct advantage over the capabilities its adversaries are developing and that a replacement for today’s F-22 and F-35 fighter jets isn’t needed anytime soon.

“We’ve done this analysis for more than a decade now and it’s clear that the fifth-generation F-22s and F-35s are very capable versus a threat and substantially more capable than any fourth-generation airplane. There’s, in our view, little point in developing a new airplane that doesn’t do anything more than what you can do as you modernize F-22s and F-35s.”

Instead the Pentagon should invest in developing “truly game-changing technologies and capabilities” that will be part of the future sixth-generation fighter whose development, added Weiss, should start in a decade or more from now.

On the contrary, the Air Force is already procuring the ultimate future fighter that will eventually replace the Raptor under the so-called Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program.

But, assuming that a new fighter would require no less than twenty years to be developed, restarting the F-22 production line would be for sure a more cost-effective move for the service.

The procurement of additional Raptors would also make the JSF more capable, given that as we have already explained, the Air Force said that without the support of a dedicated air superiority fighter such as the F-22, the F-35 would be irrelevant.

Furthermore reopening the Raptor production would give the chance to fix the few shortcomings the aircraft has.

For instance, thrust vectoring (TV) wasn’t a strictly needed feature since it could bring some stealthy trade-offs to the airframe of an aircraft built to achieve most of his kills silently. Moreover, although during within visual range (WVR) engagements TV can be very useful to put the F-22 in the proper position to score a kill, it requires an appropriate use to prevent the Raptor from losing energy and becoming very vulnerable.

Eventually a helmet-mounted display (HMD), which the aircraft still lacks, coupled with the recently integrated AIM-9X missile, could equally turn the F-22 into a lethal dogfighter, given that the HMD would enable the pilot to exploit the full High Off-Boresight (HOBS) capabilities of the weapon.

Fixing the F-22 shortcomings and then restarting its production line would be the best solution for the Air Force also according to Jamie Hunter, editor of Combat Aircraft Monthly, who wrote on the December 2015 issue of the magazine: “How about a risk-reduced approach for NGAD? Take the almost perfect Raptor and put it back into production, albeit this time with the tweaks that make it truly the best fighter ever it can be. That approach may just help mitigate against the early cost over – runs and delays – and provide capability faster and when it’s needed.”

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Russia's air force recently grabbed the international spotlight with its bombing campaign in support of Syria's Bashar Assad. But how does it stack up against the world's greatest air force?

During Russia's stint in Syria, four of their latest and greatest Su-35 Flanker jets flew sorties just miles from the only operational fifth-generation fighter jet in the world, the US's F-22 Raptor.

Given the fundamental differences between these two top-tier fighter jets, we take a look at the technical specifications and find out which fighter would win in a head-to-head matchup.

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F-22 specs

Max Speed: 1,726 mph
Max Range: 1,840 miles
Dimensions: Wingspan: 44.5 ft; Length: 62 ft; Height: 16.7 ft
Max Takeoff Weight: 83,500 lb
Engines: Two F119-PW-100 turbofan engines with two-dimensional thrust-vectoring nozzles
Armament: One M61A2 20-mm cannon with 480 rounds, internal side weapon bay carriage of two AIM-9 infrared (heat seeking) air-to-air missiles, and internal main weapon bay carriage of six AIM-120 radar-guided air-to-air missiles (air-to-air load out) or two 1,000-pound GBU-32 JDAMs and two AIM-120 radar-guided air-to-air missiles (air-to-ground loadout).

Source: Af.mil

Su-35 specs

Max Speed: 1,490 mph
Max Range: 1,940 miles
Dimensions: Wingspan: 50.2 ft; Length 72.9 ft; Height 19.4 ft
Max takeoff weight: 76,060 lb
Engines: Two Saturn 117S with TVC nozzle turbofan, 31,900 lbf/14,500 kgf each
Armament: One 30mm GSh-30 internal cannon with 150 rounds, 12 wing and fuselage stations for up to 8,000 kg (17,630 lb) of ordnance, including air-to-air missiles, air-to-surface missiles, rockets, and bombs.

Source: CombatAircraft.com

Maneuverability

Russia based the Su-35 on the rock-solid Su-27 platform, so its status as a "supermaneuverable" fighter is a matter of fact.

Russian pilots familiar with previous generations of the Sukhoi jet family's thrust-vectoring capabilities have carried out spectacular feats of acrobatic flight, like the "Pugachev's Cobra."

On the other hand, the F-22 has a great thrust-to-weight ratio and dynamic nozzles on the turbofan engines. These mobile nozzles provide the F-22 with thrust-vectoring of its own, but they had to maintain a low profile when designing them to retain the F-22's stealth edge.

Most likely, the Su-35 could out-maneuver the F-22 in a classic dogfight.