Re: Way OT :o) Stealth and Countermeasures...

>Wrong.  The USAF would love to have a longer range AMRAAM for the F-22.

Ah ha! I see the disconnect we're having here. NO the Air Force does NOT
want 
a longer ranger version of the AMRAAM :)
What your thinking of is the ALRAAM project. Still in the design and
test 
phase. Rumor's (from the usual unquotable sources :o) say they are
leaning 
towards intigrated rams, or hypervelocity motors to power it. As I
mentioned 
about the Phoenix, long range is tought to do in a small platform.

The AMRAAM does well at what it is designed to do. No the AF doesn't
want a 
120nm missile. (We don't need to worry about Bears with nuke cruise
missiles, 
we figure our bases went up in smoke right after we took off anyway :o)
The 
ALRAAM is quoted at looking at the 60-90 some odd nm range and is, like
you 
said, looking to take out both attacking aircraft at longer range but at
a 
possible role as a TAD asset.

As for the F-22 in a furball, it is a super manueverable fighter. The 
prototypes compare well to the Flanker. The only current prototype to
out do 
it is the Su-27 Vector thrust/canard demonstator. As for current IR
short 
range missiles, all current IR trackers are able to lock onto a target
within 
@120 degree of the nose, and all can be locked on to front aspect shots
due 
to air friction over the wings. We and the Russians have had them for
almost 
20 years now. The problem is at 9-12 miles range unless you can preform
some 
radical manuvers, SRAAM's are scarily accurate. The problem is, that if
you 
CAN do some radicals, the likely hood of a miss goes way up as at the
speeds 
and ranges involved the missile can lose the target in an instant.

The RCS shapes such as the F-22 does have some advantages in a furball.
The 
F-22 blended shape makes the camo more effective. It makes less shadows
and 
light patches which in close combat makes it harder to distingush at
what 
angle the F-22 is at to you. Also the blended body has much less vortex 
generation, which causes those neat but telling contrails to bleed off
the 
aircraft in a turn.
IR missile seekers are only good to about 9 miles or so for a shot based
on 
the air flow over the wings. You can use modern IR sensors, (spotting
not 
targeting) to spot a target at 20 or so miles, but unless he's a major
heat 
source it's not enough to lock onto. Which is why the majority of IR
shot's 
are still tailing hits.
(I seem to recall the F-14D's sensor can lock the camera onto an IR
target at 
about 30 some odd miles to track it. Or maybe that was just something I
read 
in a Tom Clancy book :o)

The B-2's and F-117's are NOT used for interdiction. They are used as 
strikers only. Neither is an air combat asset. As for IDing their CAPs,
don't 
count on it. Unless the AC are going in on surgical stikes, (such as
Bahgdad) 
the sky will be filled with strike packages and CAPs. Figuring out which

one's are escorts and where the AC they are escorting are is going to a 
reallly fun job.

Then of course you have to get your fighter THROUGH the mess and have
time to 
hunt down the target. The CAPs would have a field day.

Randy