Leaders show off Raptor, Joint Strike Fighter at air show

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  • By Master Sgt. Scott Elliott
  • Air Force Print News
ANDREWS AIR FORCE BASE, Md. --  Air Force senior leaders took advantage of an open house here to tell reporters and visitors about the service’s newest fighters, the F/A-22 Raptor and F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

Secretary of the Air Force Dr. James G. Roche held a press conference before a static display of both aircraft May 14 following opening ceremonies of the three-day Joint Service Open House.

“We’re way ahead of where people expected us to be,” Secretary Roche said of the Raptor’s initial operational test evaluation trials.

The secretary used the results of a recent combat simulation to describe the Raptor’s capabilities.

“We had five F-15 Eagles against one Raptor,” he said. “The engagement was over in three minutes. None of the F-15s even saw the Raptor. The Raptor simply went down the line and, in simulation, took out all five of the F-15s.”

One reporter asked if the simulations were fair, since the F/A-22 pilots had previously flown the F-15.

“They never get into dogfights, so it makes no difference,” Secretary Roche said. “The fact that (the Raptor) flies very high, very stealthy and at (Mach 1.6) without afterburner makes it very tough for anybody else to have a fire control solution. The F-15s, with very good radars, were not able to pick up and understand where the F/A-22s were, and the F/A-22 was looking at the F-15s all the time.”

Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Gen. T. Michael Moseley explained the situation further.

“Real combat is an interactive event,” he said. “You’re not looking for a fair fight; you’re looking for the game to be called in the second inning, not having to play out all nine innings.”

Secretary Roche also addressed recent reports that some members of Congress are considering cutting funding for research and development programs.

“The cost (for the F/A-22) is coming down,” he said. “In fact, a year ago Dr. Marvin R. Sambur (assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition) was able to negotiate 21 planes for the price of 20.”

Secretary Roche said that Raptors now cost less than $150 million per copy. The price tag should come down even further as the program continues to stabilize, he said.

The secretary urged Congress to be patient with the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

“There’s no reason to give up on the JSF; it’s only two-and-a-half years into an 11-year development program,” he said.

Secretary Roche said the Air Force is dedicated to its mission of supporting land forces.

The Air Force joined with the Marine Corps to develop a short takeoff and vertical landing variant of the joint-service, multinational fighter.

“We take this very seriously, this interface with the land component, be it with the Army, Marines or special operations,” General Moseley said. “The air dominance piece provides freedom to attack your enemy, but also the freedom from attack. This partnership will benefit all the combatant operations in a theater.”

Secretary Roche said the service has not yet determined the number of STOVL F-35s it will purchase, but expects to have that firmed up in time for the fiscal 2006 budget request.

“Our focus now is to be able to demonstrate to Congress that there is a STOVL version (of the JSF) that can work,” Secretary Roche said. “We also (believe) the F/A-22 and F-35 should be compliments, not substitutes.”