In message , Alan Minyard
writes
On Tue, 4 Nov 2003 07:47:14 -0000, "killfile" wrote:
The clearest thing is that nothing is superior to the *price* of the F-22
... I'll certainly bet the six Rafales or Eurofighters you could get the
price of one F-22 against that lone F-22 in combat.

The F-22 would kill all of them before they knew it was there.

The Germans said that about the Me.262... unfortunately, being badly
outnumbered tends to end up with heavy casualties because the enemy
aircraft aren't just met in ideal engagements. Sometimes you meet enemy
aircraft when they drop penetrating bombs through hardened shelters and
runway intersections, or in the same raid when your 'stealthy' aircraft
is dirtied up with flaps and undercarriage down on approach or
departure.

Trouble is, you need to generate enough sorties to protect your own base
and _then_ generate offensive capability... which means you need
numbers, and the rising cost and falling procurement of the Raptor means
it'll be seriously stretched.

Odds are that none of its enemies will have the means or ability to
seriously challenge it, but then you could say the same about an
upgraded F-15 (which threat nation can seriously challenge the Eagle now
or in the credible future?) for a _lot_ less money.


--
When you have to kill a man, it costs nothing to be polite.
W S Churchill

Paul J. Adam MainBoxatjrwlynch[dot]demon{dot}co(.)uk