"Jay Honeck" wrote:
8 versus 1! And this against arguably the best fighter (and pilots)
in the world.

Looks like Lockheed's got another winner. (I just hope it isn't the
last manned fighter aircraft...)

Impressive, but...

One must remember that it is politically important for military brass to
ensure that their latest toys get good press. Not saying the dogfight
was faked, but I would not be surprised to learn that the exercise was
designed to show the F-22 to maximum advantage.

Congress has been upset about the astounding cost of the Raptor, which
has gone from around $90 million to nearly $200 million per plane. At
one point in 1999, conservative Republicans Jerry Lewis of California
and Bill Young of Florida, and conservative Democrat John Murtha of
Pennsylvania, all key figures on the House Appropriations Committee,
attempted to zero production funding because of skyrocketing costs and
procurement "irregularities." To keep that from happening again, the
Air Force will make every effort to make sure the F-22 is perceived as
the uber-fighter it was touted to be.

--
Dan
C172RG at BFM