Thread: Best Fighter

Actually, I think- given equal pilots and a perfectly functioning aircraft- that the F-22 would be practically unbeatable in aerial combat. In theory the aircraft should be incredibly manueverable, but I'm dismayed at the way we're counting on uplinks to "help" the pilot, and in limited ways, even control the aircraft. ECM technology has gotten incredibly complex, so anytime a pilot is so dependent on a datalink it bothers me- and jamming technology has increased exponentially over the last decade. In general aviation, there is a concern that pilots are losing their skills because of high-tech gadgetry in their aircraft, and I believe this is a relevant concern with military hardware and pilots as well. After Korea, american pilots began losing their flying skills- many aircraft were built without machine guns or cannons, and dogfighting was barely touched in flight training- all because this super new technology called the air-to-air missile was supposed to make head-to-head confrontation a thing of the past. Turned out to be entirely wrong- thus the formation of advanced training facilities and programs like the Navy's Top Gun and the Air Force's Red Flag. I think the current trend towards technological solutions is the same mistake with different wording. Only time will tell, though, I suppose.
As for the AWACS, sure they are a serious advantage over the battlefield- but they can be taken out, and if the pilots and planes are totally dependent on them, the loss of one would be a major blow to effectiveness, not to mention morale and confidence. Pilots are just people- if they are trained that the AWACS (or similar) are their lifeline, a major component of their survivability- if they lose it they lose confidence in their ability to win. The focus needs to be on the man (or woman), not the machine.