Reader Bill Walsh sends along this story about the F-22's impressive training record last year. Among the highlights:
During a 6-week stay in Alaska, the 27th FS engaged in its first-ever, full-length exercise with the F-22, Northern Edge. In the first exercise week, while flying in joint teams with F-15 Eagles and F/A-18 Hornets, the Raptor was able to produce a whopping 144-to-0 kill ratio.
In the majority of missions, Raptors consisted of just one-quarter to one-third of the defending force, yet F-22s destroyed more than half of the enemy targets.
The F-22 also performed well in ground attack exercises:
More than 60 Joint Direct Attack Munitions (1,000-pound bombs) were dropped by Raptor pilots this summer; each punished the targets below hitting within six meters or less of the intended bull's-eyes. 26 bombs were dropped during Close Air Support exercises using a forward air controller, another first-attempt and complete success for the F-22.
Not to be outdone, the 94th FS took to the skies over Hill AFB in Utah and accomplished the first supersonic bomb drops for the F-22.
"Until then, no operational F-22 had ever done that," explained Lt. Col. Michael Hoepfner, 94th Fighter Squadron director of operations. "No other aircraft can get up to 1.5 mach at 50,000 feet and deliver a JDAM."
It's kinematics as it's best: Faster plane = faster bomb. Faster bomb = more dead targets.
If any of our readers can do the math, I'd love to know just what happens when a plane traveling at 1,200 mph drops a 1,000-pound bomb from 50,000 feet.
