F-22's first combat mission is a success. What is its airpower impact over the next 10 years?

What is your thoughts on the Chinese "Obtaining" stealth technology which is not their intellectual property. I have read reports that their Air capability has jump magnitudes in the last 5 years. Do you believe they will pose a threat in the near future?

Having cool toys means nothing if you aren't very good at using them.

Nothing beats the the abilities of the American fighting machine or our egotistical pilots!

I guess they fixed that air-to-ground glitch.....

I love me some Kiowa's. 

The F-22 will find its place in our airpower arsenal and will fill a needed role.

$120 Million a copy is the price tag you will count if one crashes for the safety investigation. A helicopter is great but every country and there mother has that capability. You cant put a price tag on the technology, capabilities, and 50 years of stealth brain trust that the bird of pray brings to the fight.

Capt Brandon Charters One thing I have heard pop up is the pilot is one of the most limiting factors in fighters today. They can't handle the G's modern aircraft can put out. Remove that factor and unleash the beast. I don't see however, how you can get a remote piloted aircraft with the same vision and feel of being in the seat.

If four F22s fight 16 other fighters (pick it, F16, F15, Su 35, Eurofighter) the result in 16-0 in favor of the F22's. The other airplanes won't even know what hit them. The plane is very capable.

But it's an overall ecosystem at work here - maintenance, logisitcs, intelligence etc all make it happen.

Lt Col Skip Fleshman is this theory or actual mock combat. This is really pleasing to my ears. The 15 and 16 I understand but the 35! How about our allies other fighters typhoon, the French... Damn brain fart.. Rafael or something. Are you a pilot sir?

Well... The F-22 was proven to be shot down in a joint exercise with the Germans against their Mig 29 that they inherited from the DDR after the wall fell. It wasn't fancy flying either. It was the look down shoot down capes of the Mig. These are the same LDSD capes that the SU-27/30/34/35 and J-11 have.

I have seen a demo of a Su 35 and it was impressive. The jet danced in the air like it was fish in the ocean. If these two planes are in a knife fight I think its going to be pilot skill and endurance that will win the day.

Dont get me wrong the F-22 has a lot of capability. If I remember my history the Air Force the do all be all jet with the F-4 and we all know how that went in Vietnam when it was being shot down by post WWII jet fighters like Mig 15's and 17's.

I guess if we get into a conflict with real weapons systems only time will tell. I am just not so convinced that this plane the holly grail of air combat.