Key Points – The U.S. Air Force recently demonstrated the F-22 Raptor’s readiness and power with a large-scale “elephant walk” at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, featuring 24 of the stealth fighters.
-This exercise highlights the “Rapid Raptor” concept, which enables the rapid forward deployment of F-22s and support crews anywhere in the world within 24 hours.
-The F-22’s dominance is underscored by its combination of stealth, a top speed of Mach 2.25, and a world-leading thrust-to-weight ratio.
-These attributes allow it to complete the “OODA loop” faster than any adversary, ensuring its “first shot, first kill” air superiority capability.
The F-22 Raptor and that Elephant Walk
“First shot, first kill” is a phrase famously associated with the F-22 Raptor. The Raptor’s speed, maneuverability, and attacking prowess are the pride of the U.S. Air Force.
The Concept of Operations for the Raptor is to use the aircraft’s speed and air-to-air combat capability to quickly establish air superiority and strike and destroy an enemy target before it can respond.
The Raptor’s qualities were on display to all when the Air Force in January staged an F-22 “elephant walk” as large as any in the service’s history.
As many as 24 F-22s moved down a runway at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia, in a large-scale demonstration of pure fifth-generation power.
The image was striking indeed, given the F-22 is regarded as the best air-superiority platform in the world. Even one lone F-22 presents a daunting high-speed attack threat. But Sun Tzu said that “mass matters,” and that is as true today as it was in ancient times.
F-22 Raptor: First Shot – First Kill
Massing an entire formation of F-22s reminds any who observes that the United States is able to establish air supremacy across a wide operational envelope, something of great significance should the country ever find itself in a war with a great-power rival.
The key intent of the exercise is “mobilization,” according to the 1st Fighter Wing, which released a statement about the elephant walk cited in Air & Space Magazine.
“The demonstration highlighted the wing’s ability to mobilize forces rapidly in high-stress scenarios,” the press release stated. The elephant walk further shows that the state of readiness for the Air Force’s F-22s is high, with Air & Space adding that as many as 100 might be combat-ready at any given time.
Rapid Raptor
Pure speed is the essence of the F-22. For many years now, the Air Force has been operating a high-priority program called Rapid Raptor: an effort to forward-position F-22s and maintenance crews such that the Raptor could strike anywhere in the world within 24 hours.
Understanding this context, the elephant walk shows that large numbers of F-22s could in fact mobilize if needed – they are ready to deploy very quickly. Many are forward-positioned in key locations throughout the world, which is important since the F-22 cannot take off from a carrier.
F-22s, and a small contingent of sustainment experts, remain consistently on standby in strategic and tactically vital areas of the world. They are in position to launch a lethal, rapid response to any combat emergency. The Raptor is unlikely to have any peer that could oppose it in the air in such a case.
The available specs on the aircraft make this clear, as the F-22 is credited with a speed of Mach 2.25. Only the F-15 and the Russian Su-35 can arguably compete with this, but the F-22 also boasts an unparalleled thrust-to-weight ratio.
With its round nozzles, the F-22 can achieve a ratio of 1.37, the best in the world according to World Defence. The closest rival is listed as the Su-35, with a ratio of 1.3.
Su-35 Threat to F-22 Raptor
The Su-35 is also listed as capable of traveling at the very high speed of Mach 2.2, which might lead some to think it could rival the F-22 in a dogfight.
However, the Su-35 is not stealthy like the Raptor, and it may also be inferior in aerial agility, weapons applications, and sensing and targeting.
With its thrust-to-weight ratio, the F-22 can likely achieve aerial agility superior to any potential air opponent.
OODA Loop
Superiority across all these categories makes an aircraft very likely to be able to complete retired Col. John Boyd’s “OODA Loop” faster than an enemy.
Known as Observation, Orientation, Decision, Action, the OODA loop is the philosophical metric expert air-war analysts use to measure the ability to prevail in an air-to-air engagement.
A pilot who can complete this loop faster than an adversary is positioned to achieve the first “kill” and, therefore, prevail in a dogfight.
Therefore, an ability to mass F-22s spells out an unmatched air-superiority equation that any potential great power rival would have to solve.
About the Author: Kris Osborn
Kris Osborn is the President of Warrior Maven – Center for Military Modernization. Osborn previously served at the Pentagon as a highly qualified expert in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army—Acquisition, Logistics & Technology. Osborn has also worked as an anchor and on-air military specialist at national TV networks. He has appeared as a guest military expert on Fox News, MSNBC, The Military Channel, and The History Channel. He also has a Masters Degree in Comparative Literature from Columbia University.
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