Flying The F/A-22 Raptor  (related articles on the F/A-22)

During the recent Air Armament Summit sponsored by Eglin Air Force Base and held at the Sandestin Hilton I was fortunate enough to get a tour in a mock-up of the F/A-22 by Dick Mather of Lockheed Martin. I must begin by sharing my dated flying experience so you can appreciate the paradigm shift I went through.

I flew in F-4 Phantoms through the mid-80s and afterwards the most state-of-the art aircraft I had the opportunity to fly in was an F-15 during a Cope Thunder mission in the Philippines. The F-4 like many aircraft of its era has the more common radar scope and instrumentation most of us are familiar with (that round dial gauges we inherited from steam engines). Many round dials incorporating primarily analog technology and the radar using relatively low-tech sweep and tilt with targets as mere blips. Notable improvements in radar certainly followed in the F-15.

After the typical fighter pilot bonding ritual we jocks go through - where you been stationed, what did you fly, do you know Joe Blow, yada, yada, yada etc. I stepped into the cockpit. Ok, well not a real one, the seat was more like it was purloined from a car. Remember here….they want my full attention and not to be distracted by cockpit accouterments.

The mock up was not a flying simulator per se. It didn’t have full instrumentation nor did it move. The primary focus was the simulation of the heads-up weapons and communications displays.

 

Most of the orientation was focused on the throttle and side-stick functionality. Each had numerous buttons and switches. Reminded me of the reference the F-15 guys made to their similar set up. They referred to it as “playing the piccolo” due to the dexterous finger actions necessary to target, interrogate and sort. But if working the F-15 target system is akin to playing the piccolo, I felt like I was playing 3rd Oboe and my music had fallen to the floor. The maestro raised his baton and all of a sudden I was screaming along at mach 1.3 in military power! I couldn’t help but wonder what it would have done full out and figured I wouldn’t ask as it might be classified. Dick is an old fighter jock as well and had flown both the F-4 and the F-15. He said, “Do you recall the acceleration power of the F-15 when you had your ride in it?” I recalled that I do remember being able to accelerate going straight up. “Ok, add 40% more to that for the Raptor!” At that point I figured that the only reason my hand was on the throttle was to learn to fight with this powerful beast and that no matter where I was going I was going to go there fast. The adage “speed is life” has found a new level. However if “speed is life” than “stealth insures it.” The stealthy aspects were dramatically illustrated.

We began with a 2 F/A-22 versus 4 SU-27 set up. We allowed sufficient distance so that I could get comfortable with the mechanisms on the throttles on the stick. The multiple flat panel radar displays allow one to call up any display as the primary one with the simple finger touch. The pilot can automatically set up the radars in the manner which the pilot deems best for his situation.

The target symbology display is very powerful in it simplicity. You see the battle airspace from a top-down perspective. Hostile aircraft are red dots, friendly aircraft are green, unknowns are yellow and your wingman is blue. But wait there’s more……I can see if any of my wingman are emanating radar energy (remember, once you transmit either radar or communications you are at risk of being detected and you mitigate the stealth advantage). A small symbol shaped like a dish shows up to indicate RF radiation. However, (this is where it gets very interesting) it is also possible to detect RF radiation from an enemy aircraft and project the approximate distance upon which you might be detected. The red enemy dot symbol will exhibit a fan of radiation that extends out to the approximate range upon which it should be able to detect.

Now before we begin to target and shoot anything Dick shows my graphically what my situation would be if I had exhibited the radar cross section of an F-15 instead of an F/A-22. With a flip of a switch I am all of a sudden inside the radar range of the SU-27s. Now it is matter of who has the first look, and hopefully the first shot. The stealthiness of the F/A-22 allowed me the critical first look and first shot before the SU-27 even saw me.

Controlling the radar is simply achieved without having to take hands from throttle or stick. A crosshair can be moved easily around the scope to interrogate and/or target other symbols. Even targeting and sorting within a flight of 4 hostile aircraft is simplified by a simple lever action with my left index finger. The simplicity of the weapons control has taken into account the need to fight under extreme g-forces. Moving a finger but a quarter inch under 9Gs is better than having to move a hand or other limb.

A key element of the fire control system is the incorporation of a common integrated processor, or CIP, manufactured by Hughes Aircraft. This computer system is a next-generation, integrated suite of signal and data processors that serve as the aircraft's computer brain. It is a key element in providing the F/A-22 with its unique war-fighting abilities. It ties together the entire signal and data processing thus giving pilots a single, integrated understanding of their in-flight situations.

We approach the range for the AIM 120 and I fire on the leader. How do I know when to shoot? Because it tells me so with a “Shoot” symbol. And within a few seconds I can engage the other targets and fire as well.

The next scenario is a 2 F/A-22 versus 8 SU-27s. Not the type of odds that a non-stealthy F-15 flight would want to take on unless they had some superior tactical advantage. But with the stealth mode my wingman and I have a clear picture of the tactical situation and now just where we stand with respect to being detected the whole time. Oh by the way, I don’t need to get a fuel check from #2, I can get it via special communications interface and get his fuel and weapons status on my display.

Our two aircraft are unseen as we approach the enemy and we are able to fire first shots before being detected, a critical advantage for the F/A-22. It is an aerial warfighting axiom that the aircraft with the first look will have the odds stacked overwhelmingly in their favor.

After the engagement we reset the simulator for an air-ground mission. You thought the F/A-22 was purely air-air? The Raptor has multiple weapons configurations that reside inside internal weapons bays. It can carry two Joint Direct Attack Munitions as well as its air-air armament.

In this flying scenario we approached a target area from 40,000 feet. Facing an imposing array of surface to air threats depicted on the display I am also presented with symbology depicting the likely threat radius of the missile. The stealthy qualities of the aircraft shrink the threat radius significantly and allows the aircraft to ingress through the seams. Again, Dick flipped the switch to show me what a non-stealthy aircraft would face and the display clearly put me in harm’s way and diverting my attention to performing evasive maneuvers and countermeasures.

The F/A-22 integrated weapons system, its powerful performance and its stealth qualities make it the dominant force in the skies. I was admittedly smitten with its capabilities and commented that about the only thing it didn’t do was after shooting down an enemy aircraft it didn’t email the pilot’s family to inform them of his unfortunate encounter.