A number of other countries are developing 5th gen stealth fighters; China, the Sheyang J-XX, Russia, the PAK FA, India, the Medium Combat Aircraft, and to a lesser extent, since they're close allies, South Korea, the KFX.

Do you think any of these jets will be as good or as stealthy as the Raptor. When all these are complete, will the Raptor still be the definitive fighter jet in the world? Do you think 183 Raptors is enough, due to these fighters?

Originally Posted by benaakatz

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When all these are complete, will the Raptor still be the definitive fighter jet in the world? Do you think 183 Raptors is enough, due to these fighters?
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On #1, yes; on #2, no.

(educated) layman´s guess, so take with a grain of salt...

Rattler

If we need more, we can make more. The design isn't going away. But for a peacetime Air Force...180 plus the JSF should be more than enough.

USAF is going for a hi-lo miz, with the the F-22 taking the place of the F-15 and the JSF taking place fo the F-16. Not that the JSF qualifie as "low cost" or "low tech", but its all in comparison.

Are the noumbers sufficient...Who knows. We havent even had Mig-29 in good hands against western aircraft, let alone any of the newer SUs...

I think the Raptor would be outmatched in Visual range by the Sukhoi PAk-FA. As we all know, the Russian designs tend to be superior when it comes to uhh, agility is the word I think.

So, probably their stealth will be so advanced that they only know the enemy is there when they see them out the cockpit window.

Originally Posted by Zastava-Arms

I think the Raptor would be outmatched in Visual range by the Sukhoi PAk-FA. As we all know, the Russian designs tend to be superior when it comes to uhh, agility is the word I think.

So, probably their stealth will be so advanced that they only know the enemy is there when they see them out the cockpit window.

I heard stories like this about the MiG-29 as compared to the F-15, and when we got it we found it was horribly out of date and shoddy. I'm not *too* worried.

Originally Posted by Zastava-Arms

I think the Raptor would be outmatched in Visual range by the Sukhoi PAk-FA. As we all know, the Russian designs tend to be superior when it comes to uhh, agility is the word I think.

So, probably their stealth will be so advanced that they only know the enemy is there when they see them out the cockpit window.

Could be right. They are so stealthy no one has even seen one. They are having trouble in assembly trying to find where the parts go.

Originally Posted by Chukpike

Could be right. They are so stealthy no one has even seen one. They are having trouble in assembly trying to find where the parts go.

Lol, the biggest problem is that the airforce cant find where they stored it

Anyways, just found this on some site about some things that the F-22 Raptor cant do [Link is http://www.flightglobal.com/blogs/th...t-do-what.html]

As far as agility of the CURRENT fighters go, the Raptor is actually unmatched for its weight/size class. Add the stealth, supercruise, range, firepower, advanced EW/electonics and the world's best fighter radar on top of that, and you've got yourself a clear winner for a looonng time to come.

Heres to everyone that thinks the Raptor is tip-top:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...070903020.html