Video of F-22 performing the Kulbit and Cobra maneuvers

Here's the link : www.youtube.com...

A testimony to the F-22's amazing maneuverability

... only that the Su-35 used to do it 10-15 years ago

Excellent vid stealth spy!!
I have to say that that was an awsome display, very cool indeed!!

Originally posted by Stealth Spy
... only that the Su-35 used to do it 10-15 years ago

Yes, but are they doing with the controllability of the Raptor not to mention all of the other things engineers had to design around such as stealth, suspersonic aerodynamics and so on.

All the maneuvers displayed 'control' factor (steady return to absolutely level flight with little fall thru) are in fact a result of a lot slower entry speeds and a lot greater heights compared to what the Russians do. Though things like the microloop do show more ability force through the manuever rather than rely on inertial forces as say the Kulbit does.

While I see no point in such stunting at any height/airspeed combination (the Raptor would normally be operating well above 30,000ft where even its massive thrust reserves would be taxed in sustaining such slow pointing maneuvers) in a 133 million dollar airframe; the fact remains that that which is shown here would not sigifnicantly magnify existing HOBS envelopes even if you had JHMCS and AIM-9X integrated to get the initial seeker cue.

The best dogfighter is one which can do these kinds of 'moves' as snap-entry and recovery _deliberate_ accelerative stall work, at 300-400 knots. G factors at those speeds will render the capability solely robot country anyway.

To which it must be added that nothing you do offensively is 'better' than how long you stand still in somebody else' gunsights. In this, without a TADIRCM, any F-22 pilot would be guilt of exceptionally poor tactical planehandling decisions to get into the scenario shown because, as the camera indicates, the platform is 'holding still in the FOV' which means that it is a fixed, flat plate, target signature.

Again _not_ where you want to be in an airframe that has to bring 15-20,000lbs of gas to the fight just to get back out over the fence. Especially when everybody else is driving around in F-18 or smaller sized visual silouhette ships and they all have working IRST and 'dazzle the canopy' collimated laser systems besides.

The F-22 is a heavy, stalking, COE airframe.

Particularly if operating at combat heights at least 20,000ft above the best fighting levels of the other airframes. Equipped with GBU-32 or 39 on an FDOW mission (where enemy air is actually apt to be present before it's basing infrastucture is obliterated). And given that the AAR-56 /probably/ operates in a manner similar to that attributed to the DAS as a 360` SAIRST (missile and aircraft), it is nearly impossible to accredit a _purely elective_ commitment to WVR combat as wise.

That's not what you're there for and you have nothing to prove.


KPl.

[edit on 3-2-2007 by ch1466]

Wholeheartedly agree with the above. Once again, great airshow moves, but a pilot trying this in combat is an A-grade buffoon.

Originally posted by Willard856
Wholeheartedly agree with the above. Once again, great airshow moves, but a pilot trying this in combat is an A-grade buffoon.

Amen. It does look cool at airshows and no doubt makes it easier to sell, but number of fighters downed by the manuver in the last 15 + years? The center of a donut.

One other thing about the video, The cobra was very slow, that is it held the upright attitude far longer than I remember with the Sukhoi I saw at Paris many years ago. No doubt the Thrust vectored Su- variants can, its just one of the few times I have seen it done.