September 25, 2008 at 11:00 am
Seems to me that in coming years all the advantages of the F22 will be achievable using UCAVs and long range stand off weapons.
The F22 is never likely to be used to defend the US mainland and i cant see where it fits in really , air superiority can be easily achieved by the US against 90% of countrys using “conventional” fighters such as F/A18 / F16 / F15 + B2s etc.
The Russians PAK-FA is vapourware at the moment and if the US had to attack them it would probably lead to a nuclear war anyway , the F22 wont help here.
When the F35 comes into service it really compounds this imo.
Im not picking on the F22 either, the EF can be justified because UKs Tornados are not fighters they are interceptors.
In fact looking at the other 4+ gen fighters deployment they are all justified.