Fatal flaw revealed: F-22 captured by Su-35.

The primary mission of the F-22 Raptor fighter jet manufacturers was to create an aircraft with stealth capabilities, supersonic speed, highly integrated multi-functional electronics, and high maneuverability to replace the F-15 Eagle.

Experts rate this new generation of American aircraft as twice as reliable as the F-15 fighter jet, and it is gradually becoming one of the main fighter aircraft in the US Air Force.

According to the renowned American magazine The National Interest, the F-22 Raptor is one of the most advanced fighter jets in the world.

However, it still has some limitations, most notably the F-22 being "blind" in the infrared range.

Therefore, when facing potential adversaries equipped with standard infrared search and tracking systems (IRST), the F-22's capabilities are severely limited.

One limitation that significantly impacts the F-22's combat effectiveness is that it is not equipped with the latest radar technology for guided missiles, forcing the aircraft to manually adjust to its target.

In fact, the F-22 project initially did not receive special attention from the US Department of Defense, because at that time the F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter jet was already fulfilling all their missions.

However, witnessing the emergence of many new fighter jets from potential adversaries, the US Air Force recognized the need to develop them and placed particular emphasis on the application of stealth technology.

To achieve this goal, during the design phase, Lokheed technology was combined with the motor and wave impedance (characteristics of the wave propagation medium).

This technology was later also used on the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, the vertical takeoff version.

The F-22 was originally designed to carry eight missiles. However, for some reason, this number was reduced, and it was also not equipped with reverse thrust engines.

Ultimately, Pentagon leaders cut the budget for the fighter jet production line and introduced the IRST system. Therefore, despite being a fifth-generation fighter, the F-22's combat capabilities are not highly regarded.

It seems that Russia was aware of this weakness of the F-22, so the Russian Su-35 fighter jet is equipped with new infrared sensors and tracking systems, as well as a new radar system on the aircraft's fuselage.

This allows the Su-35 to easily detect American fighter jets.

NI experts acknowledge that, due to the F-22 Raptor's weakness with IRST, the Su-35 fighter jet could secretly shoot down a US F-22.

Despite being a fourth-generation fighter jet, the Su-35 is equipped with modern technology and is considered to be on par with fifth-generation fighters. The Su-35 is equipped with infrared technology using the OLS-35 optical-locator system.

The OLS-35 system has both infrared and electro-optical cameras. They utilize a common optics unit as well as a laser rangefinder and a target acquisition device.

This system is mounted in the nose of the Su-35, allowing it to detect targets within a combat radius of 80 km.

Chi Huy