"Ed Rasimus" wrote in message
...
Aviation Week & Space Technology
05/23/2004
F/A-22 Secrets Revealed
Raptor Unwrapped
....

The tone of the conversations was sharpened by a still-unreleased
report about the series of air combat training engagements earlier
this year between Indian air force Su-30MKs and F-15Cs from Elmendorf
AFB, Alaska; the latter were equipped with the U.S.' newest
long-range, high-definition radars. Those who have read draft copies
of the report say the Su-30MKs and F-15 pilots were seeing each other
at the same time with their radars, but the Indian pilots were getting
off the simulated first shot with their AA-10 Alamo missiles and often
winning the long-range engagements. The Indian pilots also had more
flight time in the previous year than the U.S. pilots, roughly 300 hr.
compared with 250 hr., the pilot said.

The difference in flight time is alarming. And the Chinese and the Russians
are developing a dual-pulse motor for AA-10 that substantially increases its
range.

Those factors are causing the U.S. to rethink the formula that they
always will be facing less well-trained pilots and inferior weaponry.
They also reinforce the argument that the U.S. needs a fighter with
greater radar range (the F/A-22's is more than 100 naut. mi.), stealth
(the F-15 has a huge radar cross section) and fused sensors so that
pilots can easily grasp what's going on around them.

That's somewhat suprising. I would think the F-22 AESA would have roughly
the same range as the F-15 one since they are roughly the same aperature and
use the same T/R modules. The reduction in own-aircraft RCS is the real key.
Nope, no need to gold plated F-22s.