Anyone know why are our newest fighters-5th generation-are slower than our older fighters

[pxmcc]

so i was curious about the top speeds of our best fighters from the U.S. Air Force and Navy/Marines. i was shocked to find out our older fighter jets were faster than our newer fighters. doesn't that create a disadvantage in an aerial dogfight? anyone know the backstory?

here's a sample link.

https://247wallst.com/special-report...astest-planes/

Here are the rankings and their top speeds:

1. F15 Eagle: 1875mph
2. F104 Starfighter: 1688mph
3. F15E Strike Eagle: 1653mph
4. F111 Aardvark: 1650mph
5. F22 Raptor: 1599mph (fastest 5th gen fighter.)
6. F14 Tomcat: 1544mph
7. F16 Fighting Falcon: 1317mph
8. F35 Lightning II: 1199mph (5th
gen.)
9. F18 Super Hornet: 1190mph
10.EA18G Growler: 1181mph

and fastest mission ready bird ever? SR71 Blackbird: 2200 mph, a high-altitude reconnaisance plane (faster than most bullets, and it could literally outrun missiles.)

(the X15 rocket plane was more experimental than combat ready, but flew at a whopping 4520mph)

interesting footnote: an SR71 pilot recounted when traveling west, they arrived almost a day earlier from when they left. he did back-to-back friday night happy hours. they outran the sun by a country mile and frickin time-traveled lol..

https://www.google.com/amp/s/theavia...rom-kadena-ab/

[Bowser98]

doesn't that create a disadvantage in an aerial dogfight?

How many dogfights happen at top speed? None. And, acceleration and agility/maneuverability are more important than top speed, in a dogfight.

[pxmcc]

Originally Posted by Bowser98

How many dogfights happen at top speed? None. And, acceleration and agility/maneuverability are more important than top speed, in a dogfight.

one f-22 took on five F-15s. the result? all f-15's were shot down (simulation of course.) f-15 pilots said, "i never saw him until he was at my back or above me." so maybe it's all about stealth then?

https://www.eurasiantimes.com/watch-...l-of-them/?amp

so question: is the f-22 the best dogfighter (air to air) on the planet?

[Michael8219]

Bowser is correct. Zero dogfighting occurs above Mach 1.5.

It’s about stealth. Communication. Strategy. Calling up the missiles or drones from pre-positioned assets.

[DoubleEagle]

Dogs fights occur on the ground and they are the four legged kind.

[Unique_Carpenter]

Getting back to the thread....

Don't call the newest aircraft "fighters". They are multi functional weapons launch platforms. It's the multi-functional thing that causes the OP's question. I remember the day when an aircraft carrier had small platoons of different types of aircraft of which each had a specific function.

Why?
Advances is various topics related to missiles, including guidance systems, have enhanced the weapons platform concept.

But, some of the speed demons are still being built. Mostly for export.

[DEAR_JOHN]

One configuration of the F-35 is VTOL, which means far extra weight and possible different jet configurations.

[Unique_Carpenter]

The F35 comes in three versions. All built on the same airframe.
Different engine packages, different weapons load configurations etc.
The key is same basic airframe is supposed to save a fortune on maintenance and repair costs as well as allowing some degree of interchangeability of pilots without massive retraining.
VTOL is for vertical (or short runway) takeoff, version B I believe.
This is all after my time though.

[winn dixie]

Originally Posted by Unique_Carpenter

The F35 comes in three versions. All built on the same airframe.
Different engine packages, different weapons load configurations etc.
The key is same basic airframe is supposed to save a fortune on maintenance and repair costs as well as allowing some degree of interchangeability of pilots without massive retraining.
VTOL is for vertical (or short runway) takeoff, version B I believe.
This is all after my time though.

Yes it comes in 3 different base models. The navy version is the most expensive. The Marine version is the one that allegedly crashed a week ago.
All 3 are said to be very different

[winn dixie]

Speed has been replaced with stealth and flexibility.

[Anonymous01]

The real metric is, how many MPH per $1,000,000.00?

[DEAR_JOHN]

Originally Posted by Anonymous01

The real metric is, how many MPH per $1,000,000.00?

During WWII speed mattered, just find articles about P-51 fighters vs. ME 262 German jet fighter, I learned a lot form the movie Red Tails. However with our stealth capabilities, is MPH really that important? My father was a WWII vet and he said the best dogfights between equally matched planes were between the Spitfire and ME 109.

I mean, given a choice of a plane to pilot, I would choose the bad ass F-15 or the SR 71 Blackbird, but in a dogfight I would probably choose a stealth fighter. But this is just based on what I've read.

[winn dixie]

A plane is like a tool. Use the best plane for the needed task. Each tool and plane have their own applications.

[pxmcc]

it seems to me that everything else being equal, a faster bird is gonna get the kill on the slower bird. but comparing 4th and 5th gen, everything else isn't equal. both the F15 and the F22 can pull 9gs, and their pilots swear by whatever they fly. an F15 has never been shot down; they're air to air record is something like 91-0. they both handle like a dream. but the F22 is basically invisible to the older fighters. how can you shoot something down if you can't see it? basically, you can't.

but having said all that, no more F22s are being built. just too costly for the Air Force's budget. so hopefully the F35's that are being built are a match for the F22s in stealth, as that is what appears to give it the edge in dogfighting, even though it's way slower than the F15. if the F15 was as stealthy, i think it might have a slight edge, although the avionics and instrumentation-battle space awareness-of the F22 is also appararently pretty amazing. bummer it's so pricey, cause it appears to be a pretty badass fighter jet, even if it's slower than many of the 4th gen fighters..

[pxmcc]

so i thought these birds would give each other a pretty good dogfight, but nope. flight sim demo: 3 rounds, 3 kills for the f22. not even close.

https://www.google.com/search?q=whic..._fIRTmfZU,st:0

apparently we won't even sell f-22s to allies because it has so much classified technology. i wonder if China has any air-to-air birds that could give it a run for its money. i'm sure the Chinese say yes, but i sorta doubt it.