F-22 intakes

After seeing some of the ideas of the F-22’s max speed, I think we need to be aware of something. This aircraft has fixed air intakes, not the variable ramps needed for high-Mach speeds. A max speed of Mach 1.7-2.0 would seem more likely. besides, variable ramps are not entirely stealthy, since they’re moving, no matter how thick they are with RAM.

The F-16 has a max speed of right over Mach 2 (I’ve seen Mach 2.05 quoted before), so that should be a good yardstick to go by. Remember, this has to do with intake geometry, not how much thrust is pumped out the back of the airplane. There was no requirement to beat the F-15 in terms of speed anyway.

Comments?