Israel Matzav

Bring back the F-22!

Remember how proud the Obama administration was when it managed to kill the F-22. Well, don't look now, but the F-22 may be about to be resurrected.

Only two years after Secretary of Defense Robert Gates’ decision to end production of the F-22 Raptor at 187 aircraft, the program may be poised to rise like a phoenix from the ashes. When Gates made his decision, it was on the assumption that other countries — notably Russia and China — would not develop their own fifth-generation fighters for at least another decade or more. Yet, even as the Secretary met with his counterparts from the Chinese military, that institution announced the first test flight of the J-20, their entrant into the fifth-generation fighter competition. In addition, Russia has announced a cooperative program with India to build a similar aircraft, currently known as the T-50. Today, Secretary Gates’ threat projections look woefully wrong.

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In view of the new appreciation of the threat it is time to bring back the F-22. Recent war games by Western think tanks have concluded that the projected U.S. tactical fighter force would be overwhelmed by the sheer number of less capable third and fourth-generation Chinese fighters. Add in the J-20 and the outlook for the U.S. military becomes decidedly bleak. Even when the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is deployed this will not provide the U.S. with enough offensive capability given the limited number of F-22s that will be combat capable.

The F-22 has capabilities unlike any other fighter in the world. Its stealthiness allows the F-22 to engage hostile aircraft before it is even detected. The F-22’s high operational ceiling and speed creates a kinematic advantage that allows for engagements at the maximum range for its AMRAAM missiles. The combination of supercruise and stealth allows the F-22 to evade ground defenses and to escape air-to-air threats.

Ultimately, war has always been a numbers game. At some point, technologically inferior but numerically superior opponents will simply overwhelm the side with the better weapons. In conflicts between technologically equal adversaries numbers will determine the winner. While the F-22 is likely to be a better airplane than the J-20, 187 are not going to be enough to deal with a Chinese Air Force that is numerically superior and closing the technology gap with the U.S. Air Force. Before it is too late, the Obama Administration needs to resurrect the F-22 program and buy a couple hundred more.

And unlike the F-35, the F-22 is available now. I'd bet that Israel would buy them in a minute.

Labels: Chinese J-20, F-22, F-35, fifth generation fighter, Robert Gates

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 1:44 AM