F22 RAPTOR vs F35 LIGHTNING: PRICE, DOGFIGHT, STEALTH, PERFORMANCE AND DIFFERENCES
| How to tell the difference between F22 and F35 |
F22 vs F35 Difference & Side by Side Comparison
Latest news coming from American pilots who flew both F22 Raptor and F35 suggested that F35s performance and situational awareness in many aspects is better than F22. Regarding F22 vs F35, which is better in dogfight and BVR combat, then F22 might be the winner in dogfight and BVR combat (detailed analysis is given below). In few years, F22 and F35 will form 70% of the US Air Force.
F22 Raptor is way ahead of F35 Lightening II in air superiority, dogfight, maneuverability and F35 is more of a joint strike fighter that is air to ground attack fighter. F22 and F35 initially were created as complementary fighters F22 as air superiority and F35 as ground attack fighter but because of unexpected huge cost overrun on both fighters F22 production has to be scaled down. Pentagon has recently said no Air Defense system in the world can beat F22, F35 and B2 bomber.
F22 RAPTOR vs F35 LIGHTENING II WHICH IS BETTER
The Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor is a single-seat, twin-engine, all-weather stealth tactical fighter aircraft developed for the United States Air Force (USAF). The result of the USAF's Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) program, the aircraft was designed primarily as an air superiority fighter, but also has ground attack, electronic warfare, and signal intelligence capabilities. The prime contractor, Lockheed Martin, built most of the F-22's airframe and weapons systems and conducted final assembly, while Boeing provided the wings, aft fuselage, avionics integration, and training systems.
The aircraft was variously designated F-22 and F/A-22 before it formally entered service in December 2005 as the F-22A. Despite its protracted development and various operational issues, USAF officials consider the F-22 a critical component of the service's tactical air power. Its combination of stealth, aerodynamic performance, and avionics systems enable unprecedented air combat capabilities.
Service officials had originally planned to buy a total of 750 ATFs. In 2009, the program was cut to 187 operational production aircraft due to high costs, a lack of clear air-to-air missions due to delays in Russian and Chinese fighter programs, a ban on exports, and development of the more versatile F-35. The last F-22 was delivered in 2012. THE F-22 RAPTOR IS A FIFTH-GENERATION FIGHTER THAT IS CONSIDERED FOURTH GENERATION IN STEALTH AIRCRAFT TECHNOLOGY BY THE USAF.
The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is an American family of single-seat, single-engine, all-weather stealth multirole combat aircraft that is intended to perform both air superiority and strike missions. It is also able to provide electronic warfare and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities. Lockheed Martin is the prime F-35 contractor, with principal partners Northrop Grumman and BAE Systems. The aircraft has three main variants: the conventional takeoff and landing F-35A (CTOL), the short take-off and vertical-landing F-35B (STOVL), and the carrier-based F-35C (CV/CATOBAR).
The aircraft descends from the Lockheed Martin X-35, which in 2001 beat the Boeing X-32 to win the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program. Its development is principally funded by the United States, with additional funding from program partner countries from NATO and close U.S. allies, including the United Kingdom, Italy, Australia, Canada, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, and formerly Turkey. Several other countries have ordered, or are considering ordering, the aircraft. The program has drawn much scrutiny and criticism for its unprecedented size, complexity, ballooning costs, and much-delayed deliveries. The acquisition strategy of concurrent production of the aircraft while it was still in development and testing led to expensive design changes and retrofits.
The F-35B entered service with the U.S. Marine Corps in July 2015, followed by the U.S. Air Force F-35A in August 2016 and the U.S. Navy F-35C in February 2019. The F-35 was first used in combat in 2018 by the Israeli Air Force. The U.S. plans to buy 2,456 F-35s through 2044, which will represent the bulk of the crewed tactical airpower of the U.S. Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps for several decades. The aircraft is projected to operate until 2070.
According to Lockheed Martin
"The F-35 brings a decisive advantage to the battlespace, providing an asymmetric advantage across the multi-domain spectrum. The F-35’s transformational capabilities enable pilots to operate in any environment, against any threat. Simply put it is the most advanced multi-role fighter in the world – delivering unmatched lethality, survivability and connectivity"
F22 vs F35 Performance: Why American Pilots prefer F35 II Lightning
American fighter pilots (air force, navy, and marine) are largely in agreement that, while the F-22 is a superior air-to-air fighter, the new F-35 is a better, if still flawed, all-round combat aircraft. A lot of this has to do with technology. The F-35 is a more recent aircraft, entering service a dozen years later than the F-22. Fighter pilots, who tend to be keen connoisseurs of aviation technology (many being university trained in aviation tech) note that the F-35 is actually using a new generation of tech, as much of the F-22 stuff dates back to the 1980s and 1990s. This accounts for some of the tech updates the F-22 has received since it entered service in 2005. But the basic design and composition of the F-35 is a generation ahead of the F-22. As a result, the F-35 is cheaper, more effective (in terms of tech), easier to maintain, and designed as a fighter-bomber.This last item is important for combat pilots, because they note there has been little air-to-air combat in the last few decades but smart bombs (especially the GPS variety) have become cheaper, more effective, and reliable and that has meant more calls for air support from ground troops. The F-22 is strictly air-to-air, and despite heavily publicized efforts to give F-22s ground attack capability, the F-22 has not yet experienced combat. The smart bomb revolution also means that far fewer aircraft are needed and the air force can’t justify sending in the F-22 when there are so many available aircraft that can do the job a lot cheaper. So fighter pilots looking forward to a hot new ride tend to favor the F-35 rather than the F-22.
American fighter pilots do see downsides with the F-35. They believe the manufacturer and proponents promised too much and that the F-35 will never be able to deliver. There is a lot of doubt that stealth will work as promised and the shape restrictions on the F-35 (to make stealth possible) limit what the F-35 can do.
There are some attractive aspects of the F-35, especially because it comes in three distinct flavors. The vertical take-off F-35B is a 27 ton aircraft that can carry six tons of weapons In vertical takeoff mode the F-35B has a range of 800 kilometers. The U.S. Air Force's F-35A is the cheapest version, costing about $154 million each. The U.S. Navy version (the F-35C) costs about $200 million each (same as the F-35B). This version has stronger landing gear to handle carrier landings and components that are more resistant to corrosion from constant exposure to salt water.
The F-35 has been delayed many times in the last decade. It’s still being debated how many F-35s will actually be produced. The U.S. Air Force assumes 3,162, but the Department of Defense is not so sure that many will eventually be built. Worst case, there will be more than ten times as many F-35s as F-22s. Most (about 60 percent) of the F-35s built will be used by foreign nations. American law prohibits sale of F22 planes even to friendly countries. Three nations (Australia, Japan, and Israel) sought to buy some. Efforts to change the law have failed. At one time there was a similar prohibition to the export of the F-16 and that law was changed. One reason for the law was the fear that F-22 technical and operational secrets would fall into the hands of a hostile power that would then build more than 200 of them.
The F-22 has a performance that is far superior to that of any other aircraft in service, which is why several foreign air forces would like some. The combination of speed, advanced electronics, and stealth technology has created such a decisive advantage that F-22s are often matched up against as many as six F-15s to ensure their pilots face a challenge during training. So why is the F-35, with somewhat lower performance, getting all the export orders? The first reason is price.
F35 Lightening II and F22 Raptor Price
The F-22 Raptor price is $200 million each (without even counting the huge R&D costs). The F-35 costs up to half as much (although that edge is eroding). This is one reason the U.S. is pushing exports of the F-35. This is why many more F-16s were exported, compared to the F-15. In any event, the F-35 will outclass a F-15E, or Eurofighter, but not the F-22. The U.S. Air Force intended the F-22 to be part of a high-end/low-end mix with the F-35, much like the F-15 and F-16 were the combination in the 1990s, only the F-22/F-35 combination will be much harder to detect and defend against.The U.S. Air Force saw export sales as a way to keep the F-22 production line active, giving it more time to persuade Congress to allow more to be built for the U.S. That did not work. Despite the high cost of the F-22, Russia is developing the similar T-50, and China the similar J-20. But neither of these aircraft is as capable, or as expensive, as the F-22. The F-22 began development in the late 1980s, first flew in 1997, and entered service in 2005. The F-22 is expected to remain in service for at least 30 years. And for much of that time the F-22 will be the best, if also the least numerous, jet fighter on the planet. During that time many American fighter pilots believe the stealth advantage will be lost due to new technology. China, Russia, and the Europeans will continue developing new combat aircraft designs and the appearance of unmanned fighters would change the situation most dramatically of all.
F22 vs F35 Dogfight Video
F22 vs F35 Dogfight and BVR: Can F35 win a dogfight or BVR combat
What would win in a dogfight or BVR combat (f-22 vs f-35). The answer to that is F22 will easily defeat F35 in dogfight and in BVR combat because F22 is highly maneuverable jet and it has a low SSKP (single shot kill probability) against long range BVR. In recent Norway exercise, the F22 had easily beaten F35 in both dogfight and BVR combat. The F22 is not allowed to use its full functions for security reasons despite that it had beaten F35 easily in both areas. Many people said the results were secret but the results were not secret because if a air to ground attack fighter F35 has beaten F22 air superiority fighter then it would have set off alarm bells in Pentagon but this is not the case.
F22 vs F35 stealth or Radar cross section (RCS)
The U.S. Air Force has released some performance data on the F-22. The
stealthiness factor of the F-22 has turned out to be better than
predicted. For radar purposes, the F-22 radar cross section (RCS) is about the size of a steel
marble. The F-35 radar cross section (RCS) comes out as a steel golf ball. The AESA radar turned
out to have a longer effective range of about 210 kilometers, versus a
200 on the official spec sheet. The AESA radar is also able to detect
enemy radars at a considerable distance, meaning that, if an approaching
enemy aircraft is using its radar, an F-22 can detect it about 300
kilometers distant. That gives the F-22 more time to get into position
for a decisive first shot at the enemy aircraft.F22 vs F35 Size
In every area of size – height, weight, wingspan, wing area, weight – the F-22 Raptor is bigger than the F-35 Lightning.
F22 vs F35 top speed
When it comes to pure speed, the F-35 simply cannot compete. However, it was not designed to do so. The F-35's air-to-ground combat design does not allow for super speed. It has a top speed of approximately 1.70 Mach and less manoeuvrability in dogfight scenarios than the F-22. The F-22 can reach a top speed of approximately 2.0 Mach. It can climb at a rate of 62,000 feet/minute, whereas the F-35 can only climb at a rate of 45,000 feet/minute.
B2 vs F35 vs F22 vs S400
Though F22 and F35 are both 5th generation planes and does have good stealth capabilities but are not all band stealth like B2 bomber and are visible in VHF SPECTRUM unlike B2 bombers. B2 Bombers are invisible even in VHF spectrum but all band stealth is very very costly and that is why B2 bombers cost around 1 billion dollars. Recently, United States has send three B2 bombers to the Indian ocean island of Diego Garcia to help Taiwan to counter China because China has good VHF high power radars. So B2 BOMBER IS STILL THE KING OF STEALTH.
S400 Triumf with its VHF high power radars can easily track F22 and F35 at 600 km and this tracking can further be increased with NEBO AESA VHF high power radars, which Russia claims can detect stealth planes like F22 and F35 at 500-1000 km distance but F22 and F35 have advanced capabilities not only from its stealth but also from ADVANCED AVIONICS AND SENSORS, which increases its situational awareness. As S400 uses various bands to track and shoot the target because of this it can create gaps in radar coverage and F35 and F22 with its advanced sensors can pick out the weakness in S400 coverage and can evade it. So the chances of evading S400 Triumf by F35 is more compared to F22 because of its better sensor and avionics than F22.
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