The term “raptor” is derived from the Latin word rapere, meaning to seize or take by force. It is a common term for fearless birds such as eagles and falcons that dominate the sky. Birds that at all times lurk for their next victim. The term raptor is therefore, a befitting one for the F 22A fighter jet. An amalgamation of a century’s expertise of Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Pratt & Whitney and Northrop Grumman, the Raptor stands as a symbol of dominance in the US Air Force hangars.
As an answer to US AF’s requirement for a 5th generation Advanced Tactical Fighter, design of the F 22/A Raptor began in 1986. Pratt and Whitney, the company on the receiving end of a variety of awards, recognition and accolades for developing the SR 71′s unique engines, was entrusted to come up with something equally spectacular for the Raptor. Not being ones known to disappoint, the Pratt and Whitney engineers delivered 156kN generating powerhouses, two of which would adorn each Raptor. The thrust vectoring nozzles at the end of the engines gave the aircraft unprecedented maneuverability. Be it the Pugachev Cobra or Herbst or J Turn or Kulbit or what have you, the Raptor could peform any move to perfection.
Speed, the essential ingredient in any recipe to demonstrate superiority, was built into the design of each piece of the Raptor. Without afterburners, the aircraft touched Mach 1.7 and a spine chilling rumour had it that with afterburners it could do a Mach 2. I guess a great part of the fearlessness of the Raptor pilots came from their conviction that no missile was fast enough to catch up with their bird. So much for valour!
Of course there was more than one reason for the confidence of the pilots. Blended seamlessly into the fuselage and wings of the aircraft were complex components that made up the Radar Warning Receiver (RWR), the Missile Approach Warning System (MAWS) and the Active Electronically Scanned Array Radar (AESA). After reading a great deal of technical lingo about these systems I can safely tell you that the gist is this – you can’t mess with the Raptor and it can mess with you as much as it likes. Anytime it likes. I am hoping that the Russian PAK-FA will match such arrogance.
I recall Tom Cruise having a pretty tough time locking on to the enemy aircraft as seen through a screen in Top Gun. The designers of the F 22, it seems, were unimpressed with that lousy way of taking on targets. They decided to give the pilots another luxury. “Well boy”, they said, “all you gotta do now is look in the direction of your target and press the launch button.” Finding one’s way to glory got a little simpler. Too good to be true, it meant that the target acquisition gadgetry had found its way from the front panel to the pilot’s helmet! And even when some targets were out of sight but within radar detection radius, the pilots could lock on to them and script their death. This is what is now known as BVR – Beyond Visual Range fire and forget.
Stealth was, is and will be the buzz word in the fighter aircraft fraternity. For stealth is the quality of any plane that gives it power. The power to be the invisible enemy. The Raptor with its Radar Absorbent Material coating, its low radar cross section, its in-bay weapons was designed to be that invisble enemy. The ability of the Raptor to remain undetected allowed it to serve as a “mini-AWAC” providing tactical support to other Raptors and co-operating aircraft in the battle zone.
After spending a staggering $11 billion over a strategically tumultuous 20 years, defence think tanks in US must have a smile on their face to see their vision realized as the most respected multi role fighter aircraft the world – the F-22/A Raptor.
