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00:00This aircraft is the most advanced of its breed.
00:26Built around a first-look, first-shot, first-kill ethos, it is all set to become the air-dominant
00:33stealth fighter of the 21st century.
00:37The Raptor is a killing machine, just like the name implies.
00:40As deadly as it looks, it's even more deadly when it gets out there and does its job.
00:46Deadly and undetectable at long range, this breathtaking fifth-generation fighter blends
00:52unmatched dogfighting with precision strike ground attack capabilities.
00:59You literally are able to swim through the sharks and the sharks never see you and never
01:04know you're there.
01:05And at any point in time, you can reach out and touch them with deadly force.
01:10Capable of super crews and packing a deadly array of state-of-the-art missile systems,
01:16this stealth jet of the new millennium can intercept and strike any target with near impunity.
01:21they die.
01:22They die.
01:23They die without knowing where the Raptors are.
01:25They die without knowing that they were targeted.
01:28They die wholesale.
01:30Now, using unique footage, we'll take you on an all-access tour of America's newest superweapon,
01:39the F.A. 22 Raptor.
01:451981.
01:49In his first press conference as chief executive of the United States, Ronald Wilson Reagan offered
01:55a deal to the Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev.
01:57If Soviet SS-20 missiles aimed at Western Europe were removed, America would not deploy its Pershing
02:05II cruise missiles to counter the threat.
02:12Throughout the 1960s and 70s, the Soviets developed different missiles to attack in different
02:17altitude bands.
02:18You couldn't fly under the missile threat.
02:21You couldn't fly over the missile threat.
02:23You had to deal with the missile threat.
02:26One way to do that is to make suppression of enemy air defense, that is destroying the
02:32missile sites and the radars, the most important mission for the Air Force.
02:38By the 1970s, air superiority had reemerged as a top priority and the U.S. Air Force committed
02:47to building its first pure air superiority fighter, an aircraft that would eventually become the
02:52F-15 Eagle.
02:57But just as F-15s became operational in 1978, alarming new evidence suggested that the new
03:05fighters' superiority might only be temporary.
03:09U.S.
03:10U.S.
03:11U.S.
03:12reconnaissance satellites passing over a Soviet flight test center north of Moscow discover
03:17new Soviet fighters being tested.
03:19One was the agile fighter, the Mikoyan MiG-29, but the other came as a huge shock to Western
03:27analysts.
03:28U.S.
03:29U.S.
03:30U.S.
03:31U.S.
03:32U.S.
03:33U.S.
03:34a great fighter, the Sukhoi T-10 prototype.
03:36At that time, the Soviet Union initiated some very aggressive programs to come up with
03:42counters, and both Mikoyan and Sukhoi, both those design bureaus initiated new aircraft
03:47development efforts, and it appeared that they were on a track that would field some very
03:54advanced fighters.
03:56If the MiG-29 had concerned the American military establishment, the existence of the Sukhoi T-10
04:02The existence of the Sukhoi T-10 set alarm bells ringing.
04:08These are very good aircraft.
04:11They're aircraft that play in the same league as some of the top NATO aircraft,
04:16like Phantom, and ultimately like F-15.
04:21The goal is world peace.
04:25Just weeks into his first term,
04:28America's 40th president increased U.S. defense spending by $32.5 billion
04:34and began the rearmament of the United States on a colossal scale.
04:40In 1981, the Cold War was getting very warm.
04:47As Reagan and Brezhnev squared up,
04:50the U.S. Air Force concluded that it urgently needed a replacement for its F-15,
04:55an Advanced Tactical Fighter, or ATF, that would have no equal.
05:02As American planners start to develop the concept of air-land battle to fight World War III,
05:09the U.S. Air Force starts to think about the kind of equipment it wants to have
05:14when it comes time to fight the war.
05:17At that time, in the secretive black world of advanced aviation development,
05:21one technology had emerged at the forefront of all military aircraft development,
05:27stealth.
05:28During that period, the late 1970s, of course,
05:31in what we call the black world in the world of secret programs,
05:35there was a great effort going on to come up with counters
05:38to these new Soviet weapons systems
05:41that could enable us to knock out their SAM system.
05:45And that, of course, led to the development of the F-117.
05:50Analysis of air-to-air combat in Vietnam,
05:53called the Red Baron Study,
05:55had kick-started the race for stealth.
05:58An operational analysis study showed in Vietnam
06:00that most aircraft were killed by other aircraft that they hadn't seen.
06:05So from this, you get the idea that if the aircraft isn't seen,
06:10it has a tremendous advantage.
06:12Air combat data from World War II and Korea
06:16had reinforced this need for invisibility.
06:20So from this, in a process of operational analysis,
06:26the U.S. Air Force learns
06:28that what you really need to do is be invisible to the enemy.
06:31And that means that an aircraft is designed to be
06:36as near as possible invisible to an enemy fighter aircraft.
06:41Its geometry is designed to give it a very low profile,
06:46that is to make it very invisible,
06:49to an oncoming fighter aircraft
06:52using high-frequency fighter aircraft radar.
06:55The principle of stealth technology
06:57is to literally make an airplane invisible to the enemy.
07:01An aircraft's shape must reflect incoming radio waves
07:06away from the enemy radar, rather than towards it.
07:10To further increase low observable characteristics,
07:14an airplane is then covered in materials
07:16that absorb radar signals,
07:18further reducing its visibility on a radar screen.
07:21Stealth doesn't mean invisible.
07:26It just means less visible.
07:29Operational analysis shows
07:31that if you apply certain computer models
07:34to air-to-air combat,
07:37the more stealthy aircraft,
07:39the one that's harder to see,
07:41is likelier to win.
07:42Leading the way in stealth technology
07:50was Lockheed Skunk Works.
07:52In the late 1970s,
07:54stealth wasn't widely known
07:56outside of a few companies.
07:58The ability to integrate stealth technology,
08:01shaping for stealth and the materials,
08:04was really only well known in two companies.
08:07it was Lockheed and Northrop.
08:10In 1977,
08:12amid unprecedented security,
08:14Lockheed had flown a prototype
08:15of the world's first stealth fighter.
08:18And by the 1980s,
08:20during Operation Just Cause,
08:22its F-117
08:23had helped to destroy
08:24General Noriega's regime in Panama.
08:27Now the U.S. Air Force decided
08:34that any new fighter
08:35must incorporate stealth technology
08:37and identified two other areas
08:40in which a future air superiority fighter
08:42should excel.
08:49Well, at that stage of the game,
08:51it was clear that the Air Force
08:53wanted a stealthy fighter.
08:55It was also clear
08:58that they wanted an airplane
09:00that would supercruise,
09:01in other words,
09:02run supersonically
09:04without lighting off the afterburners.
09:07And they didn't want to sacrifice
09:10any of the classic
09:11fighter maneuverability.
09:13So they wanted a fighter
09:14that, besides all the new technology,
09:17would maneuver
09:18as well or better
09:20than the F-15.
09:21In October 1982,
09:25representatives from fighter manufacturers
09:27met with the U.S. Air Force
09:28and began to identify
09:30the specific must-haves
09:31for the new fighter.
09:34At the time,
09:35there were eight contractors
09:36that built combat aircraft
09:38in the States.
09:38Seven of those responded
09:40to our request for proposals.
09:42From that period of 1983
09:44to 85 or 86
09:45was a process of refinement,
09:48you know,
09:49narrowing down
09:50the specific parameters.
09:52It must be
09:53a supersonic cruise aircraft
09:55with a combat radius
09:56of 7 to 900 miles
09:58with reduced observables
09:59if possible.
10:01The aircraft would have
10:02to be able to operate
10:02on a 2,000-foot runway
10:04and must be easier
10:05to maintain
10:06than an F-15.
10:09The challenge
10:10had been issued.
10:11Now it was up
10:12to the finest aviation manufacturers
10:14in the world
10:14to respond.
10:17I'm a village optimist
10:18and I have to say
10:20that the requirements
10:21were very demanding,
10:23but I didn't have any...
10:25I didn't have any strong feeling
10:28that we couldn't do this.
10:31The Advanced Tactical Fighter Program
10:33was about to begin
10:34and the Raptor,
10:36America's fifth-generation fighter,
10:39was about to be hatched.
10:49By 1983,
10:51U.S.-Soviet relations
10:52had reached a new low.
10:56Following Leonid Brezhnev's death,
10:58the Politburo,
10:59now controlled by
11:00ex-KGB boss Yuri Andropov,
11:02had been labelled
11:03by Reagan
11:04as the focus of evil
11:06in the modern world.
11:09Continuing his policy
11:10of rearmament,
11:11Reagan announced plans
11:12for the Strategic Defense Initiative,
11:14better known
11:15as Star Wars,
11:17and Moscow reacted furiously.
11:19That August,
11:34when Korean Airlines Flight 007
11:36on its way to Seoul
11:37from New York
11:38strayed several hundred miles
11:40off course into Soviet airspace,
11:42Russia acted.
11:43a fighter was sent up
11:47and the civilian airliner
11:48with 269 people on board
11:51was shot down.
11:58The shooting down
11:59of KAL 007
12:01sent shockwaves
12:02around the world,
12:03straining international relations
12:04almost to breaking point.
12:06What can we think
12:10of a regime
12:11that so broadly
12:11trumpets its vision
12:13of peace
12:14and global disarmament
12:15and yet so callously
12:17and quickly
12:18commits a terrorist act
12:19to sacrifice
12:20the lives
12:20of innocent human beings?
12:27Reagan's reaction
12:28to the crisis
12:29strengthened U.S. conviction
12:30that stealth
12:31would now be
12:32the prime requirement
12:33for America's new fighter.
12:36Some senior people
12:37in the Pentagon
12:38looked at the stealth requirements
12:39and decided
12:40they were inadequate
12:41and they radically changed them.
12:43So stealth became
12:44a really major
12:46dominant requirement
12:47in the program.
12:50In this politically
12:51charged climate,
12:53the U.S. Air Force
12:54created its
12:54Advanced Tactical Fighter
12:56or ATF
12:57System Program Office.
12:59Based at Wright-Patterson
13:00Air Force Base
13:01in Ohio,
13:02Colonel Albert
13:03C. Piccarillo
13:04is placed in charge
13:05of the division.
13:06One of the things
13:07we really wanted
13:08was the ability
13:10to leverage stealth
13:11in a high-performance fighter
13:13and we also wanted
13:15this high-performance fighter
13:16to still be capable
13:17of good close-in
13:18within visual range
13:19maneuvering capability.
13:22In fact,
13:22we wanted more
13:23than just existing capability
13:24in some areas.
13:27The manufacturers
13:28are invited
13:28to submit concepts
13:30for an aircraft
13:30aircraft with an operational
13:31radius of 800 miles,
13:34enough to allow it
13:34to operate
13:35over the entire
13:36central region of Europe
13:37from bases
13:38in central England.
13:40It should have low
13:41observable characteristics
13:42and be able to cruise
13:43at Mach 1.5
13:45for an astonishing
13:46600 miles.
13:50We weren't building
13:51an airplane
13:52for the 1990s,
13:53although that was
13:53what we were trying to do.
13:54We were really building
13:55a fighter for the 21st century
13:57that could take on
13:58all of the advanced threats
14:00that the Soviet Union
14:01was likely to throw at us.
14:04All of the teams
14:05would have their work
14:06cut out for them,
14:07but importantly,
14:08the military added
14:09another complicating factor.
14:13At the end
14:14of the concept
14:15demonstration phase,
14:16the decision was made
14:17by the Air Force
14:18to launch
14:19a demonstration validation
14:21phase of the program
14:22that would involve
14:23building two flight demonstrators,
14:26YF-type airplanes
14:28that would then
14:29be evaluated.
14:31They didn't have
14:32to have full armament,
14:33they didn't have
14:33to have avionics,
14:34they didn't have
14:35to have stealth coatings,
14:36but essentially
14:37they were going to go out
14:39and show us
14:39what you can do.
14:42But building
14:42prototype aircraft
14:44is expensive
14:44and no one manufacturer
14:46could afford it
14:47on their own.
14:50They all know
14:51that they must invest
14:52so much money
14:54and developing
14:55that if they don't
14:57get the contract,
15:00they're going to be
15:01so out of pocket
15:03it's going to hurt
15:04the company badly.
15:07We and Lockheed
15:08made a policy decision
15:09at the CEO level
15:11that we would seek teaming.
15:13So the bottom line is
15:15we ended up deciding
15:16that we would team
15:17with Boeing
15:19and General Dynamics
15:20Fort Worth.
15:22Each manufacturer
15:23would submit a design
15:24for the demonstration
15:25valuation
15:26or DemVal competition
15:28but had agreed
15:29that the winning company
15:30would be the prime
15:31contractor
15:32and its partners
15:33subcontracted
15:34to produce
15:35major components.
15:37Everybody's investment
15:39will be at least
15:39partly repaid
15:40because everybody
15:42gets a piece of the action.
15:43Seven designs
15:46for the Air Force
15:47competition
15:48were submitted
15:48for final evaluation.
15:51All of the seven
15:53contractors
15:54came in with designs
15:55that were very feasible
15:56and that could have been built.
15:58The question was
15:59which were the best
16:00and then how did we
16:01determine that they
16:02really were good enough?
16:06Two manufacturers
16:07with strong experience
16:08in stealth technology,
16:10Northrop with its B-2.
16:13and Lockheed
16:15with its F-117
16:16lead the way.
16:21Northrop's
16:21Advanced Tactical Fighter
16:22or ATF design
16:24was for an alien-looking aircraft
16:26with diamond planform wings
16:28and huge V-tails.
16:31It was a design
16:31that stressed speed
16:33and stealth.
16:35Northrop came in
16:36with an airplane
16:37that really
16:38from the very beginning
16:39looked just like
16:40the YF-23
16:41that eventually
16:42was built and flown.
16:43Lockheed's entry
16:45echoed that of the F-117.
16:48Its vectored thrust,
16:49arrowhead shape,
16:51trapezoidal wings
16:52and four tails
16:53ensured that the aircraft
16:55would be maneuverable.
16:57The fact was
16:59that Lockheed
17:00and Northrop
17:00had significant advantages
17:02in the fact
17:03that they had built
17:04stealth aircraft
17:06and flown them.
17:07It was a big
17:07credibility factor there.
17:10On October 31st, 1986,
17:13both Lockheed
17:14and Northrop's
17:15ATF designs
17:16were declared
17:17the winners
17:17of the competition.
17:19Under the terms
17:19of the Dem-Val competition,
17:21each team
17:22would build
17:23two aircraft.
17:26At the end
17:27of the process,
17:28one of two designs
17:30would become
17:30America's new
17:31advanced tactical fighter.
17:34Costing billions of dollars,
17:36the new fighter
17:37would make a technological leap
17:38into the 21st century.
17:44Just nine months
17:46after being selected
17:47to build two demonstration
17:48valuation fighters
17:49for the U.S. Air Force,
17:51Lockheed shocked everyone
17:52and scrapped
17:53its original design.
17:58In July of 87,
18:00we looked at our design
18:02at that time
18:03and we looked at
18:04what we thought
18:04it would weigh
18:05and how it would perform
18:06and with no input
18:09from the Air Force,
18:10we decided
18:11to start over.
18:13So between July 13th
18:15of 87
18:16and mid-October
18:18that year,
18:20basically,
18:20that's where the F-22
18:22came into the world.
18:25In a hectic
18:26three-month process
18:27with help
18:27from its partners,
18:29Lockheed produced
18:29a completely different
18:31configuration
18:31with a clipped
18:33delta wing.
18:34We changed
18:35to clipped diamond wings
18:37which gave us
18:38almost the same
18:40aerodynamic performance
18:41but a lot lower
18:42structural weight.
18:43We did the same thing
18:44with the trapezoidal
18:46horizontal tails
18:47and the same thing
18:48with the verticals.
18:50Over the next four years
18:52at a cost
18:53of just over
18:54two billion dollars,
18:55America's tactical
18:56fighter competition
18:57became the largest
18:58program of its kind.
19:01And in 1990,
19:03just months
19:04after the disintegration
19:05of the Soviet Union,
19:07the shapes
19:07of the two rival designs
19:09were finally unveiled.
19:10And now,
19:13ladies and gentlemen,
19:14I proudly present
19:15to you
19:15the YF-22A
19:17prototype
19:18for U.S. air superiority
19:19in the 21st century.
19:21On behalf of the entire team,
19:33I am honored
19:33to present
19:34the YF-23.
19:35Northrop's version
19:45called the YF-23
19:47closely resembled
19:49its original design.
19:51Well, it was a most
19:52unusual looking aircraft,
19:53very futuristic.
19:54It had twin V-tails
19:57as opposed to
19:58what was called
19:58a cruciform twin verticals
20:00and twin horizontals.
20:01It had a large
20:02trapezoidal wing
20:03and it had a very
20:05slender shape
20:06when looked at
20:06from the edge on view.
20:09In contrast,
20:10Lockheed's design,
20:11called the YF-22,
20:13seemed surprisingly
20:14conventional
20:15with four tail surfaces,
20:17vectored thrust,
20:18a broad, solid body
20:20and a conventional wing.
20:22But unlike Lockheed's
20:23other stealth aircraft,
20:25the F-117,
20:27radar absorbent materials
20:28were not applied
20:29over the whole of the F-22
20:30but used selectively.
20:32on its edges,
20:34cavities
20:34and crucial surface areas.
20:40You walk around
20:41the airplane,
20:42everywhere you look,
20:43what you see
20:44is something
20:45that's designed
20:46to do the job
20:48in the most efficient
20:48and effective way
20:49and no wasted space,
20:52no wasted capability.
20:55It's truly an airplane
20:57that's intended
20:58and has been optimized
20:59for its job.
21:02The F-22 carries
21:06its weapons internally.
21:08Four weapons bays
21:09are hidden
21:09in the central mid-body section.
21:12Six missiles
21:13can be carried
21:14in the ventral bays,
21:15which are covered
21:16with bifold doors.
21:18The side bays
21:19will each hold
21:19one sidewinder missile
21:21carried on
21:21a trapeze launcher.
21:22The mid-body section
21:25also houses
21:26the fighter's landing gear
21:28and complex inlet ducts.
21:30Right from day one
21:32on the F-22,
21:33we decided
21:34to put
21:35S-shaped
21:36inlet ducts on it.
21:39So the airplane
21:39is built
21:40with S-shaped inlet ducts
21:41so that there's no way
21:43a radar
21:44is ever seeing
21:46the forward face
21:47of the jet engine.
21:48Attached to the mid-body
21:51is the forebody
21:52which accommodates
21:53the cockpit
21:53and advanced avionics.
21:56Both the YF-23
21:58and the YF-22
21:59are impressive-looking machines,
22:02but their performance
22:03still needs to be tested.
22:05The most crucial stage
22:07of the competition
22:08is still to come,
22:10the flight testing.
22:11Northrop was first
22:21in the air.
22:22In August 1990,
22:23flown by Paul Metz,
22:25the YF-23
22:26got airborne.
22:27The test
22:50was a huge success.
22:55But Lockheed
22:56was quick to respond
22:57and on September the 29th
22:59at Edwards Air Force Base
23:01in California,
23:02Lockheed Chief Test Pilot
23:03Dave Ferguson
23:04prepared the Raptor
23:06for its maiden flight.
23:12I pulled on the runway
23:13and looked down the runway.
23:14It was just a feeling
23:16of really relief
23:17and we're going to do it.
23:20And I ran the airplane
23:21up to 80% military power.
23:26And the acceleration
23:28was just amazing.
23:30I mean,
23:30it was like an F-15
23:31in full afterburn.
23:39And I thought,
23:40the only thing in this airplane
23:41that's ever flown before
23:42is me.
23:43And I think in the back
23:44of my mind,
23:45I was saying,
23:45please fly,
23:46please fly.
23:47And I pulled the nose up
23:47and it just lifted off.
23:49I was fully aware
24:12we had a wonderful
24:13flying airplane
24:14and the handling qualities
24:17in the takeoff
24:18and landing
24:18or power approach
24:19as we call it
24:20were just absolutely superb.
24:26When I landed
24:27and Sherm met me
24:27at the airplane,
24:28I said,
24:29hey boss,
24:29we really have a winner here.
24:32The way the F-22
24:33performed
24:34was no surprise
24:35to anybody
24:36who was involved
24:37in the program,
24:38not at all.
24:38I mean,
24:40my money
24:40has been on the F-22
24:42from early 1985
24:45and it'll be there
24:46till I'm gone.
24:49Over the next three months,
24:51the Raptor
24:51underwent
24:52a whole series of tests.
24:54The Air Force
24:55required both teams
24:56to give them
24:57performance projections
24:58and then they were
25:00going to actually
25:01compare that
25:01with what the airplanes
25:02actually did in flight,
25:03subsonic,
25:04supersonic
25:04at different altitudes
25:06and so forth.
25:07The winner
25:08of this stage
25:09would earn a contract
25:10for 650 aircraft.
25:13The decision
25:14would hinge
25:14not just
25:15on what the contractors
25:16promised,
25:17but on the Air Force's
25:18confidence
25:18in their ability
25:19to deliver.
25:22We expected
25:23to get a lot
25:24of flying done
25:25in the 90 days.
25:26We actually got
25:2772 flights
25:28out of two airplanes
25:29in 90 days.
25:33And that is
25:35about as good
25:35as you can do.
25:36During flight testing,
25:39the Raptor
25:39had beaten
25:40Northrop's YF-23
25:42in a number
25:43of crucial
25:43performance areas.
25:48We'd focused
25:49on the supersonic
25:50testing,
25:51including
25:51super cruising,
25:53and we did something
25:54that Northrop
25:55didn't do,
25:55and that is
25:56we did launch
25:56a couple of missiles.
25:57We launched
25:58a sidewinder
26:00out of the
26:01internal side bay
26:02on our prototype
26:02airplanes,
26:03and we launched
26:04an AMRAAM,
26:05long-range
26:06air-to-air missile,
26:07out of the
26:08internal weapon base.
26:10The YF-22
26:12had clearly shown
26:13that in every category
26:14it was far superior
26:16to any existing fighter.
26:17The Air Force
26:21was very impressed
26:22by what Lockheed
26:23had done.
26:24Their flight test
26:24program was
26:25very aggressive.
26:27They flew
26:27hard and fast.
26:29They flew
26:30many more hours
26:31at sorties
26:32than Northrop did,
26:33and all of that
26:34gave the Air Force
26:34confidence that they
26:35knew what they
26:36were doing,
26:36high confidence,
26:37and they could
26:38build a superior
26:39airplane.
26:39But it would be
26:45events in 1991
26:47that would carve out
26:48the Raptors' future.
26:5422 minutes
26:55after midnight
26:56on January 17,
26:571991,
26:59Lockheed Stealth
27:00F-117
27:01spearheaded
27:02US strikes
27:03against Saddam Hussein's
27:05regime.
27:07The performance
27:08of Lockheed Stealth
27:09bombers during
27:10Operation Desert Storm
27:11would give the company
27:13and its aircraft
27:14some priceless publicity.
27:17I think,
27:18clearly,
27:19Lockheed was
27:20benefited in 1991
27:22by the Gulf War,
27:24where the F-117
27:25was a star performer.
27:27And there were
27:28skeptics of stealth
27:30even as late as that.
27:33That had to
27:34be beneficial
27:35to the program.
27:36But another aircraft
27:39also emerged
27:40from the Gulf War
27:41with a glowing
27:42reputation.
27:49The F-15,
27:51the aircraft
27:52destined to be
27:53replaced by the
27:53ATF,
27:54had emphatically
27:55confirmed its status
27:56as the foremost
27:57air superiority
27:58fighter in the world.
27:59now it appeared
28:03that the need
28:03for an advanced
28:04stealthy fighter,
28:05the F-22,
28:06might be totally
28:07unfounded.
28:09See,
28:09it's not like
28:10the F-15
28:10wasn't any good.
28:12It's a good aircraft.
28:13It's still a good aircraft.
28:14It will be
28:15a good aircraft
28:16for years to come.
28:18You could even
28:18just tool up
28:19the factory
28:20and keep building
28:20new F-15s.
28:21Why not?
28:22Hey,
28:22I'm gonna bring him up now.
28:23But not everyone
28:24agrees.
28:25The big weakness
28:26in their argument
28:26is they are making
28:29a statement
28:29about world conditions
28:30today and what
28:31the threats are today.
28:33The real issue is
28:34what capability
28:35you want for 2025
28:36or 2030.
28:39The people who say
28:39you don't need this,
28:41they think the world
28:42is not gonna change
28:43in the next 20 years.
28:45And that is
28:45a hell of an assertion.
28:48By April 1991,
28:51bogged down
28:51by the F-15 debate,
28:53the U.S. Air Force
28:54prepares to announce
28:55the winner
28:55of the Advanced Tactical
28:57Fighter contract.
28:59But would the Raptor
29:00emerge from the controversy
29:01unscathed?
29:11On April 1st, 1991,
29:14the U.S. Air Force
29:15awarded a $9.5 billion
29:17contract
29:18to the Lockheed
29:19Boeing
29:19General Dynamics team
29:21responsible
29:22for the winning
29:22F-22 Raptor design.
29:26Having won the contract,
29:28Lockheed announced
29:29that it intended
29:30to locate the F-22's
29:31headquarters in Georgia,
29:33where the Raptor's
29:34forward fuselage
29:35would be built.
29:37General Dynamics
29:38would build
29:38the F-22's
29:39mid-body section
29:40in Fort Worth, Texas,
29:42and Boeing
29:43would manufacture
29:44the wings and tail
29:45in Seattle, Washington.
29:46But just eight months
29:52after the contract
29:53was awarded,
29:54the program
29:55hit its first
29:56major snag.
29:57We lost one
29:58of the YF-22's.
30:00Fortunately,
30:01the test pilot,
30:02who's a good friend
30:02of mine then
30:03and now,
30:03walked away
30:04unharmed.
30:07During preliminary testing,
30:09the unthinkable happened.
30:11A YF-22 flown
30:12by Tom Morgenfeld
30:14crashed just after take-off.
30:20As this unique footage shows,
30:22the aircraft's thrust vectoring system
30:25forces it to belly land
30:26on the runway.
30:27A key element
30:30of the Raptor's design,
30:32thrust vectoring
30:33uses movable exhaust nozzles
30:35to alter the angle of thrust
30:36from the two
30:37Pratt & Whitney engines.
30:41As the Raptor
30:42makes its low-level flyby,
30:44Tom Morgenfeld
30:45keeps the stick forward
30:46to keep the nose down.
30:48But as the landing gear
30:49is retracted,
30:50the thrust vectoring
30:51engages
30:52and pushes the aircraft
30:53towards the tarmac
30:54as the pilot struggles
30:56to correct this change
30:57in direction,
30:58the Raptor seesawks.
31:04The fundamental error there
31:06had nothing to do
31:07with the airplane.
31:08It had to do
31:09with the fact
31:09that you don't fly
31:10a green airplane
31:12and fly it at low speeds,
31:14at low altitudes.
31:15The cause of that accident
31:17was stupidity
31:18on the part
31:18of the management.
31:19It had nothing to do
31:20with technology.
31:22Despite the loss
31:23of the stealth aircraft,
31:25the program had achieved
31:26its major goals.
31:29Ten million man-hours
31:31of analysis,
31:32four thousand hours
31:33of radar testing
31:34and hundreds of hours
31:36of flight testing
31:37had gone into the development
31:38of the aircraft,
31:39even before construction
31:41was given the go-ahead.
31:45In fact,
31:46the F-22
31:46has accomplished
31:47more flight testing
31:48than any other fighter
31:50prior to full-scale production.
31:52The first F-22
31:56built for the U.S. Air Force
31:58was unveiled
31:59in a ceremony
32:00on April the 9th, 1997
32:02at the company's headquarters
32:03in Marietta, Georgia.
32:10Now, Air Force pilots
32:11would get the opportunity
32:12to check out
32:13the new aircraft
32:14for themselves.
32:18I would call the Raptor
32:19the Miss America
32:19of all aircraft.
32:20It's got the talent.
32:21It's got the bikini contest won.
32:23It's beautiful.
32:24It's got all the capabilities.
32:26It really wins the show
32:27in every aspect.
32:29The airplane
32:30is eye-watering.
32:31It does everything
32:33the pilot asks of it
32:34and it is very good
32:36at what it does.
32:37First flown by the Air Force
32:40in 1997,
32:42pilots at Edwards Air Force Base
32:44have surpassed
32:442,000 flight test hours
32:46in more than 900 missions.
32:54The first time I went out,
32:56one F-8-22, me,
32:57against four F-16s.
33:01And they told me
33:02what they were going to do.
33:03They were going to do
33:03everything possible
33:04to defeat my systems.
33:08And I watched exactly
33:09what they did
33:10the entire time
33:11and shot them all.
33:14It was almost too easy
33:16and I was almost laughing
33:17in the cockpit.
33:21One of the key advances
33:22in the Raptor's design
33:23is its advanced cockpit
33:25and integrated avionic systems.
33:30But I think really
33:31where the Raptor gets
33:32its amazing capability
33:33is the fusion
33:34of all of the different
33:36sensors on the aircraft.
33:36you have a tactical scope
33:38that combines the information
33:40of all the other sensors
33:41on the aircraft
33:42into one display
33:43for the pilot.
33:44So as a pilot,
33:45you don't have to sort
33:46through the radar
33:47or another sensor
33:48to see what's going on
33:49around you.
33:50Information is power
33:51and the way this airplane
33:52displays information to you,
33:54it gives you knowledge
33:54of the battle space.
33:56It's all about
33:56seeing what's out there
33:58in front of you
33:58and being able to make decisions
33:59about what to engage,
34:01when to engage,
34:01and how to engage it.
34:03I'd say integrated avionics
34:05does two things for me.
34:08Number one,
34:08it makes me a lot safer.
34:10It gives me less chance
34:11to crash my jet.
34:13It also makes every pilot
34:15who flies this aircraft
34:15more deadly.
34:17Instead of having to do
34:18six or eight steps
34:20to achieve a kill,
34:21you really only have
34:22to do one.
34:22The Raptor carries
34:26a formidable array
34:28of ordnance.
34:32All of the Raptor's weapons
34:33are housed inside
34:34the aircraft.
34:36Two bays at the bottom
34:37of the plane
34:38utilize a pneumatic-style
34:40hydraulic launcher
34:41that literally punch
34:42the missiles
34:43or J-Dams
34:44out of the aircraft
34:45with a force of 40 G.
34:49And two side bays
34:51house air-to-air missiles.
34:53Here, a trapeze launcher
34:54moves the missile
34:55outside the airframe
34:56very rapidly,
34:58a fraction of a second
34:59before the missile is fired.
35:02And to complement
35:03the Raptor's armament
35:04of eight missiles,
35:06the fighter also has a gun.
35:08At one point
35:09in the evolution
35:09of the Advanced Tactical
35:11Fighter program,
35:12the U.S. Air Force
35:13had raised the question
35:14of eliminating the gun
35:15to save weight.
35:19I think that the designers
35:21of the F-22
35:22need to realize
35:23mistakes of the past,
35:24like the F-4 initially
35:25being designed
35:25without a gun,
35:27and realize
35:27that you should never
35:28say never
35:29about a threat
35:30that you're going to face
35:31or a situation
35:32you're going to find yourself in.
35:33And so the Raptor
35:34has designed itself a gun.
35:36Will anybody get close enough
35:37for us to use the gun?
35:38Well, hopefully not.
35:39Probably not.
35:41By the late 90s,
35:42pilots in the Raptor program
35:44were convinced
35:45that their aircraft
35:46was made of the right stuff
35:48that would easily
35:49be able to outperform
35:50and destroy
35:51any other fighter
35:52in existence.
35:54It is the sum
35:55of the parts
35:56that makes the F-22
35:57so capable.
35:58Probably most important
36:00in my eyes
36:00is the stealth.
36:02Having an aircraft
36:03that nobody can see
36:05is just a tremendous,
36:07tremendous advantage.
36:08The speed,
36:10the maneuverability,
36:11the precision,
36:13all those factors
36:14are incredible also.
36:16So when you put
36:16everything together,
36:18the Raptor's just incredible.
36:21But this belief
36:22was exclusively based
36:23on controlled flight
36:24and missile firing exercises.
36:27What the Raptor's pilots
36:29really needed
36:30was combat experience.
36:32And they were about to get it.
36:35Before the F-22 Raptor
36:38enters operational service
36:39with the U.S. Air Force
36:41in the autumn of 2005,
36:43it will have completed
36:44thousands of hours
36:45of vigorous combat testing.
36:49But since Desert Storm,
36:51critics of the F-22 program
36:53claim that the F-15 Eagle,
36:55destined to be replaced
36:56by the Raptor,
36:57already has the attributes
36:59necessary to remain
37:00the world's preeminent
37:01air superiority fighter
37:02well into the new millennium.
37:09It is a view dismissed
37:13by the U.S. Air Force.
37:16If you look at the F-15
37:19and the F-18
37:20and compare it
37:21with existing fighters
37:23that are sold
37:25around the world today,
37:27you'll find that today
37:28we're almost at parity.
37:30If we ever run up
37:31against an enemy
37:32that has the ability
37:34in terms of the air crew
37:35to use those enemy fighters,
37:38we will have a tough time
37:40with the current generation.
37:44The F-15 is a great aircraft
37:46and in air-to-air
37:46it is outstanding.
37:47However,
37:48with the production
37:49of new fighters
37:50that are being produced today
37:51and also some service
37:53to air threats,
37:55there are situations
37:56in the F-15
37:56that would make me nervous.
37:57In March 2003,
38:06supporters of the F-15
38:08got the opportunity
38:09to see whether or not
38:10the Eagle
38:10was still the best fighter
38:12in the sky.
38:19Five F-15s
38:20would go head-to-head
38:21with a single Raptor.
38:26Although no missiles
38:27would be used
38:28during the exercise,
38:29the sorties
38:30would closely resemble
38:31actual combat.
38:33No quarter
38:33would be given
38:34by either side.
38:36This was a kill
38:37or be killed exercise.
38:41There were five adversaries
38:42and me
38:43and my biggest concern
38:45was running out of weapons
38:46too soon.
38:49All five F-15s
38:50are flown by experienced
38:51F-22 pilots.
38:53One by one,
38:54the Raptor
38:55brings them down.
38:58I could never see them,
39:00I never knew
39:00that they were there
39:01and I died.
39:03You got someone locked?
39:04I'm fine.
39:06Roll up.
39:07I could hear him
39:07on the radio
39:08calling his simulated
39:09missile shots,
39:10Fox 2,
39:12and knowing that
39:14this was getting
39:15really unnerving
39:16because I could also
39:17tell his range
39:17was closing rapidly
39:19on me.
39:20I don't think anybody
39:26ever saw me
39:26the entire time
39:27while we were
39:28out in the airspace.
39:30Bandit, bandit.
39:31Fox.
39:32Fox.
39:33Could not find him
39:34no matter what I did
39:35and the next time
39:36was when he flew
39:37directly over the top
39:38of my airplane
39:38and I saw him visually.
39:40No, in three,
39:41two, one, snap.
39:43I know firsthand
39:44from flying the Raptor
39:45against other aircraft
39:46and flying other aircraft
39:47against the Raptor
39:48that it's like
39:49clubbing baby seals.
39:50It's so easy.
39:53The first indication
39:54you have that an F-A-22
39:55is out in your
39:57area of responsibility
39:58is when you are
40:00in your parachute
40:00heading down towards Earth
40:01and your jet is falling
40:03a little bit faster
40:03than you are.
40:07In combat testing
40:08with F-15s,
40:09the F-A-22 Raptor
40:11has emphatically proven
40:12its doubters wrong.
40:16There have been times
40:17when the Raptor
40:17has gone up
40:18two versus eight
40:19against F-15s
40:21and it ends up
40:22being boring
40:23for the adversaries
40:24because no matter
40:25what they do,
40:26they die.
40:28Having flown the F-15
40:29and now having flown
40:30the Raptor
40:30and seen combat,
40:32I would not want
40:32to be on the receiving end
40:34of what the F-A-22
40:35is capable of.
40:36We will take on
40:37anything,
40:38any combination
40:39of the latest,
40:40the latest aircraft
40:42that we can throw
40:43at ourselves
40:44and we usually win.
40:46To date,
40:4927 F-A-22 Raptors
40:51have been delivered
40:52to the U.S. Air Force
40:53and are in limited
40:54operation at
40:55Edwards, Nellis
40:56and Tyndall Air Force bases.
41:00Many more will follow.
41:03The Air Force
41:04has agreed
41:05to a final production run
41:06of almost 300 aircraft.
41:09I think 300 F-A-22s
41:11will tip the scales
41:13of any conflict
41:14in our favor.
41:15I think that
41:16any country
41:17who sees 300 F-A-22s
41:19flying towards it
41:20has got to get
41:21a little nervous.
41:24Lockheed expects
41:25that a full production rate
41:26of 60 aircraft per year
41:28will have been achieved
41:29by the end of 2004.
41:31And with components
41:32and parts coming
41:33from 46 congressional states,
41:35the F-A-22
41:37is truly a national effort.
41:42Costing a massive
41:44$93 million each,
41:46the Raptor
41:47is certainly
41:47the world's most expensive
41:49fighter aircraft,
41:50but for many
41:51it is money well spent.
41:53Yeah, this is something special.
41:55This is not like
41:56an F-15 on steroids
41:57or an F-16 on steroids.
41:59This is the real thing
42:00with a leap of technology
42:01that's orders of magnitude
42:03better than what we have now.
42:06The interesting thing
42:07about the F-22, though,
42:08is it is a fixed volume
42:10with an infinitely
42:12increasing ability
42:14in terms of
42:15its computer capabilities.
42:16If you think about
42:17the airplane,
42:18it has fixed holes
42:19in the sides
42:19of the fuselage
42:20where computers sit today.
42:22In the future,
42:24there will be
42:24more computer capacity
42:26that requires less power
42:27going in that same
42:28physical hole.
42:29So the F-A-22,
42:31over the course of its life,
42:32will only become
42:32a more and more flexible
42:33and more and more potent
42:34machine
42:35as computer capacity increases.
42:41America's F-A-22 Raptor
42:44was created
42:44out of the Cold War fear
42:46that Russian-made fighters
42:47would sweep aside
42:48the F-15.
42:53But the world has changed
42:55since the frigid days
42:56of the Cold War.
42:57The Soviet Union
43:02no longer exists
43:03and the F-15
43:05has more than earned
43:06the fear and respected commands
43:07as the current
43:08frontline fighter
43:09for the U.S. Air Force.
43:15But the Raptor,
43:16Lockheed's F-A-22,
43:18looks all set
43:19to carry U.S. Air Force
43:21doctrine
43:21well into the 21st century.
43:23I'd be terrified
43:29to go into the arena
43:30with something like that.
43:32I really would.
43:34I've been on the receiving end
43:35of it and testing
43:36and mentally translated myself
43:39to what if this was combat
43:40and it is an unnerving
43:41and a disquieting feeling
43:44to fly in the same airspace
43:46with one of these airplanes.
43:47I would say
43:48that it's not fair
43:49to our enemies
43:50or even our own technology
43:51to fight against the Raptor.
43:53But the goal of war
43:54isn't fair,
43:54that we don't go into combat
43:55because we want
43:57a fair fight.
43:58We want to win
43:58as fast as possible
44:00with as little loss
44:01of life as possible.
44:02And the Raptor
44:03allows that to do that
44:04for generations to come.
44:06In today's changing world,
44:08there are few certainties.
44:10But the rule of the Raptor,
44:12America's air dominance fighter,
44:14over the skies
44:15is one of them.
Recommended
44:46
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