Deadly Weakness Revealed: F-22 Captured Alive by Su-35

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

This new generation of American aircraft is assessed by experts to be twice as reliable as the F-15 fighter and they are gradually becoming one of the main fighters in the US Air Force.

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

However, it still has some limitations, most notably that the F-22 is “blind” in the infrared range.

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

One limitation that significantly affects the combat effectiveness of the F-22 is that they are not equipped with the latest radar for self-guided missiles, so the aircraft is forced to adjust itself relative to the target.

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

However, witnessing the emergence of many new fighters from potential opponents, the US Air Force realized the need to develop them and paid special attention to the application of stealth technology.

To achieve this goal, during the design phase Lokheed technology is combined with the motor and Wave impedance (a characteristic of the wave propagation medium).

This technology was later used on the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, a vertical take-off version.

According to the original design, the F-22 could be equipped with 8 missiles. But for some reason this number was reduced and later they were not equipped with engines with reverse thrust.

As a result, Pentagon leaders cut the budget for the fighter production line and launched the IRST system. Therefore, although it is a 5th generation fighter, the combat power of the F-22 is not highly appreciated.

It seems that Russia has known this weakness of the F-22, so the Russian Su-35 fighter is equipped with infrared sensors and tracking and a new radar system on the fuselage.

This allows the Su-35 to easily detect American fighters.

NI experts admit that, because of the F-22 Raptor's weakness with IRST, the Su-35 fighter could secretly shoot down the US F-22.

Although it is a 4th generation fighter, the Su-35 fighter is equipped with modern technology and is considered not inferior to 5th generation fighters. The Su-35 is equipped with infrared technology using the OLS-35 optical positioning station system.

The OLS-35 system has an infrared camera and an electro-optical camera. They use a common optical block as well as a laser rangefinder and a target rangefinder.

This system is installed in the nose of the Su-35, allowing detection of targets within a combat radius of 80 km.

Chi Huy