Flying Colors for F/A-22
By all accounts, the F/A-22 fighter breezed through four-and-a-half months of exacting tests�its toughest yet. The Raptor demonstrated that it can
handily beat today�s best fighters flown by today�s best crews.
The Air Force has classified the results of the F/A-22�s initial operational test and evaluation (IOT&E), conducted at Nellis AFB, Nev., from late
April through mid-September. However, USAF officials said nothing in the testing suggests the aircraft won�t perform any way other than brilliantly in
real-world combat.
Gen. John P. Jumper, Air Force Chief of Staff, told Inside the Air Force in August that the IOT&E phase was progressing �with fewer lumps and bumps
than I ever thought it would.� He added, �We�re very, very pleased with what we�ve seen so far.�
Air Force officials said the service probably would this fall provide an unclassified synopsis of the test results, after USAF completes all
analysis.
The F/A-22 was required to prevail in five broad, live scenarios, each with a number of variations.
In the first, USAF measured the Raptor�s ability to spot, shoot, and destroy an F-16 in a �first look, first kill� test. In the second, two F/A-22s
had to destroy a �high-value airborne asset� such as an E-3 Airborne Warning and Control System aircraft defended by four F-15s or F-16s. In the
third, two F/A-22s had to protect a B-2 bomber against four F-15s or F-16s. In the fourth, four Raptors had to defend a high-value platform such as an
AWACS against eight attacking F-15s or F-16s. In the last, four F/A-22s had to protect four F-117s against eight attacking F-15s or F-16s. Supporting
aircraft included the Navy�s EA-6B Prowler airborne jamming aircraft.
Besides winning the engagements, the aircraft had to dodge ground-based air defenses. The Air Force said it flew 188 sorties with six F/A-22s during
the evaluation.
The IOT&E tests did not look at the F/A-22�s ground attack capabilities. That mission element will be tested later, as additional munitions are
certified for F/A-22 use. However, the first deployed F/A-22s will have the capability to drop the 1,000-pound version of the Joint Direct Attack
Munition. The main ground attack weapon for the F/A-22 is to be the 250-pound Small Diameter Bomb (SDB). Each Raptor would have the capability to drop
six SDBs.
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