The return to active flight duty of the US Air Force’s troubled next generation fighter, the F-22 Raptor, has been partially overshadowed by shortcomings in its combat performance revealed during recent flight exercises in Alaska involving aircraft from NATO countries, Japan and Australia.
The US Department of Defence (DoD) had only recently approved the gradual lifting of the flight restrictions on the F-22. The flight restrictions were placed on the $400 million fighter in May after a series of accidents and malfunctions raised serious safety concerns. The concerns were raised following dozens of in-flight black-outs by pilots and a fatal crash in Alaska last November. The problems were traced first to the oxygen supply system (OBOGS) and ultimately to a valve in the pressurized vest worn by pilots.
The DoD is satisfied that the issue has being fixed and that additional medical and safety protocols have improved pilot safety. However, the US Air Force’s own investigation into the 2010 crash found that the oxygen problem was compounded by other design flaws. In particular, the smaller than normal cockpit makes the Emergency Oxygen Supply (EOC) ring difficult to access - it was while trying to access the EOC that the pilot lost control of the aircraft.
During the NATO exercise and the one-on-one match ups between German air force Typhoons, a fourth generation fighter, and the fifth generation F-22, the German pilots discovered that their planes could outperform the heavier F-22 in short range engagements (as reported in Wired and Combat Aircraft magazines). The F-22 is thought to retain a clear advantage in the long range engagements that the US Air Force believes will dominate any future air war. However, given that the F-22s spiralling cost was justified partly on the grounds that it would be able to excel in multiple combat roles, the revelation that it is under-performing in short range engagements is another hammer blow to the troubled system.