F-22 vs. F-35: What Would Happen if America's Stealth Planes Went to War?

[rangerrebew]

June 27, 2020

F-22 vs. F-35: What Would Happen if America's Stealth Planes Went to War?

A NATO air exercise gives details.
by TNI Staff

Here's What You Need To Remember: A more maneuverable aircraft with more thrust and with better missiles might often win those engagements, but even the most capable fighter in the hands of a highly capable pilot can lose if they are having a bad day. The bottom line, however, is not about thumping ones’ chest, it is about learning and doing better next time.
 

A pair of stealthy fifth-generation U.S. Air Force Lockheed Martin F-22A Raptor air superiority fighters squared off against a pair of Royal Norwegian Air Force Lockheed Martin F-35A Joint Strike Fighters during a one-day training exercise over Norway on August 15.

https://nationalinterest.org/blog/reboot/f-22-vs-f-35-what-would-happen-if-americas-stealth-planes-went-war-163577
 

[EdinVA]

So, we are evaluating an aircraft's capability based on a one day war?
There was a story a few days ago that was lamenting the lowest availability rating of the F-22/F-35 due to shortage of parts so there is more to the question than a 45 minute interaction.
How many hours can you put a fully armed aircraft in the air with fresh pilots?
What about supply chains?  How fast can we repair damaged/broken aircraft and get them back in the air?
How fast can the ground crews turn the aircraft around (rearm, refuel, repair) the aircraft?
We used to have fighter wings with a hundred or more aircraft so when we took some hits or broke stuff we could still launch a formidable attack/defense but today's fighter wings have less than half the aircraft, crews and ground support.
I am aware of the new weapons etc but I think we are not looking at the big picture, just the glitter...

[PeteS in CA]

I'm a life-long civilian, so maybe I'm wrong, but being the first to see/detect the enemy seems a rather important factor. So a difficult to detect fighter like an F-22 or F-35 seems likely to have a significant advantage over any Gen 4 or earlier opponent.

X vs. Y one-on-one hypothetical evaluations that assume both identify each other simultaneously are usually not very realistic.

[EdinVA]

I'm a life-long civilian, so maybe I'm wrong, but being the first to see/detect the enemy seems a rather important factor. So a difficult to detect fighter like an F-22 or F-35 seems likely to have a significant advantage over any Gen 4 or earlier opponent.

X vs. Y one-on-one hypothetical evaluations that assume both identify each other simultaneously are usually not very realistic.

Think volume.... our 24 aircraft against 40 of theirs, not just one on one...
You race into battle, take your shots and RTB to rearm, reload and relauch... You may take damage from ground fire or SAMS, or the plane just breaks under the stresses, so now you only have 23 aircraft.
Can you repair the plane and get it ready for war again in a short amount of time?
We would have to  pull tree branches out of the wheel wells on the F-4's they were flying so low but they still flew.

The F-4 would come back with many bullet holes and would still fly.... can the new glitter birds do that?
Too much reliance on technology blinds to many to reality.