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The F-22 fighter jet was the absolute winner in a mock aerial battle with the F-15, 16 and 18 in Alaska last summer. The F-22 is an ultramodern stealth fighter jet which was deployed in late 2005. The F-15, 16 and 18 are also among the world¡¯s finest fighter jets, but in the first week of the exercise, the F-22 achieved a 144:0 kill-to-loss ratio against them. Until the end of the training, only two F-22s had been shot down, compared to 241 of the other models.
The credit goes to the F-22¡¯s stealth feature, which makes the fighter jet undetectable by radar. The F-15, 16 and 18 were simply unaware of the approaching F-22 until they came in range of its mid-range air-to-air missiles dozens of kilometers away. Military experts say that it is harder to detect an F-22 even than the F-117 Stealth fighter bomber. On radar, an F-22 fighter jet appears as only a quarter to one-sixth the size of an F-117 Stealth fighter bomber -- almost invisible to the naked eye.
The size of a plane on radar is marked in Radar Cross Section or RCS. The RCS of the F-22 is 0.0001§³. The RCS of the F-117 Stealth fighter bomber stands at 0.0004~0.0006§³. The F-15E, the model of Korea¡¯s brand new fighter F-15K, has an RCS of 6§³. The RCS of the Russian SU-30 MMK, which China is purchasing, is 4§³. The mock aerial dogfight proved that the F-22 can be used as an airborne warning and control system or as an intelligence reconnaissance plane. Therefore, military pundits call the F-22 unrivaled, the strongest fighter jet in the world, saying it is capable by itself of disrupting the balance of aerial defense capabilities.
Twelve F-22 fighter jets will be soon deployed at the U.S. Kadena Air Base in southern Japan's Okinawa prefecture. Though temporary, that is the first time the jet is deployed overseas. Pundits reads this as either a move to counter the nuclear threat from North Korea or a signal from the U.S. that it is willing to sell the fighter jet to Japan. Congress restricts the overseas sale of F-22s, but Japan is hoping for an exception. The Bush administration on Wednesday said it is willing to negotiate with Japan over the sale. Analysts say that the sale will get the green light given close ties between the two countries.
In a separate move, Japan is apparently developing its own stealth fighter jet modeled on the F-22. China is also reportedly copying the F-22 to develop the next-generation fighter J-13 and 14. The Korean Air Force also wants to buy F-22s but doesn¡¯t dare put up a bid due to the daunting price of up to US$300 million per unit. But Korea cannot just sit back and watch what the U.S., Japan and China are doing. It would end up as miserable a loser in an aerial war as the F-15, 16 and 18 were over Alaska.
The column was contributed by Yu Yong-weon, the Chosun Ilbo¡¯s senior reporter for military affairs.
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