12 Apr 2022, 14:37
charlielima223 wrote:mixelflick wrote:
He's right, of course. The F-35 is the future, and between new weapons, engines, sensors etc. its capabilities are rapidly maturing. It seems its really picking up steam now though, with new info coming to light like it can out-accelerate and F-22 up to mach 1!
That covers virtually all air combat scenarios, save for accelerating to mach 1.2 or above to lob AAM's farther and faster. Not that it can't get there, but from mach 1 to 2 F-35 will lag the F-22 in that regard. Still, vs. virtually all other legacy platforms its going to hold a massive advantage.
I'll take that claim about an F-35A out dashing an F-22 to mach 1 with a few shakes of salt. The F-22 is a much sleeker aircraft with 2 OP engines on it. While the F-22 is a well known aircraft many of its capabilities (stealth sensors and kinematics) are still highly classified topic.
No doubt the F-35 is the future of western air combat power. With so many being produced and so many users it will be the corner stone for western fighter aircraft. The F-15EX however is a good enhancement to numbers and interim capabilities. For those who cant get the F-35 but they want something better than the latest Viper or Rhino, the Eagle 2 would be a very promising option.
Well, that's not just my opinion.
Reportedly, the F-35 outperforms the F-22 in acceleration up to Mach 1, says Eielson Commander Col. David Berkland.
Col. Berkland, Keeper Of F-35s At Eielson AFB, On Russia, Fear, More
Mar 22, 2022 Jim Clash
FORBES
Eielson Air Force Base, just below the Arctic Circle near Fairbanks, Alaska, is one of the more remote U.S. military operations. Conditions are harsh up there, especially in winter, when temperatures can plummet to - 40 F, and where darkness can take up more than 20 of the 24 hours in a day. It is also quite close to Russia, just across the Bering Strait, making it an important and strategic base for U.S. interests.
I visited Alaska last week to fly in the backseat of an F-16D, and to immerse myself in Eielson’s unique Arctic Survival School. As part of my itinerary, I sat down with Col. David Berkland, Commander of the 354th Fighter Wing. Basically, he runs the show at Eielson, responsible for some 3,ooo airmen and airwomen, plus a number of fighter jets including 49 new F-35s and 18 F-16s. Berkland, 47, an F-35 and F-16 pilot himself, is a 22-year Air Force veteran with several combat tours under his belt, including Afghanistan. Following are edited excerpts from a longer conversation.
Jim Clash: You’ve flown the fourth-generation F-16 and the new fifth-generation F-35. What are the main differences between them? Also, how does the fifth-generation F-22 fit in?
Col. David Berkland: In many ways, the F-16 and F-35 are similar. They are both single-engine, single-seat, multi-role Lockheed Martin products, with side-stick controls. The F-16 is hard to beat as you saw today on your own flight. It’s a muscle car, like a Dodge Viper. It’s got the thrust, turns great, is versatile in terms of the missions it can do. The F-35, on the other hand, is more like a very lethal Tesla. It has stealth characteristics as well as sensor fusion. In that F-16 today, your pilot was flipping through different displays to combine information for three-dimensional situational awareness. The F-35 lays all of that information over top of one display, fusing it.
The F-35 also has really good acceleration. The engine is a beast. If you start at say, 200 knots, the F-16 and F-35 side-by-side using full afterburners, the F-35 will reach Mach 1 faster. It will also beat an F-22 to Mach 1.
But at Mach 1, the F-22 pushes faster to Mach 2, and will overtake the F-35. The F-35 was not built to be strictly an air-dominance aircraft. The F-16 will also overtake the F-35 between Mach 1 and Mach 2. The F-35 actually maxes out at about Mach 1.7, fast enough to get the job done. Think of the F-35 as the quarterback in an air combat fight with several other planes because of its stealth and sensor-fusion capabilities.
Clash: Eielson is just across the Bering Strait from Siberia. With the current Ukraine situation, are you on any heightened level of readiness?
Berkland: To be honest, it’s business as usual. We’re always ready to go. And because of our strategic location here in Alaska, we can get into the Pacific or Europe or anywhere in the northern hemisphere in a single-fighter sortie, using air-fueling. Billy Mitchell in the 1930s said, “Whoever holds Alaska holds the world.” That remains true today. That’s why we’ve got the F-35s here. The world map is very deceptive. We are closer to Beijing than Hawaii is to Beijing. Alaska is actually further west than Hawaii. We can also take the polar route. Our base is named after Ben Eielson, who was first to fly from North America to Europe over the North Pole. [Charles] Lindbergh took the easy route across the Atlantic, Eielson took the north route out of Barrow and landed in Spitzbergen, Norway.
Clash: What are some challenges you face up here in the arctic versus USAF bases in more forgiving climes?
Berkland: The challenges run the gamut to keep the installation and infrastructure sound. Our big thunder-dome hangar was started in 1952, seven years before Alaska became a state. You feel the extreme cold up here, and you have to dress carefully for it. Being in charge of all of the airmen and their families is always a challenge of extremes, darkness and cold, and it’s always on my mind. On Dec. 21, we get three hours and 41 minutes of daylight, and that light just skims the Delta range, and not like the sun is really up. It’s physical as well as psychological. Look at how much Vitamin D you don’t get. Look at your circadian rhythms - they’re not happening. I’ll be honest, before my first winter here, I scoffed at how difficult I had heard it would be. But in the middle of December, I’m laying in bed eating carbs, didn’t want to get up. So I got some “happy” lamps and started downing Vitamin D. In the summer, on the other hand, the sun never really goes down. Again, that affects circadian rhythms. You black out your windows, mow the fast-growing grass. The mosquitos come in waves. The initial wave is May and June, and they are really big, slow and dumb. But later in the summer, they evolve into a smaller, faster, more intelligent brand [laughs].
Clash: I know you’ve seen combat in an F-16 over Afghanistan. Any close calls you want to mention?
Berkland: I’ve had countless close calls in my 3,000 hours in the F-16 and hundreds of hours in the F-35. Most of those are when you’re younger and learning the importance of flight discipline, meticulous planning, when flying as aggressors. I have employed 20-millimeter machine gun fire just 30 meters away from our friendlies from a mile out. The friendlies were being engaged by the enemy team, and they needed my gun to help them out. Now that’s a close call.
Clash: How do you deal with fear, and what are you afraid of?
Berkland: As an American fighter pilot, I don’t fear anything. I do have concerns. I tell my kids not to be afraid of anything, either. If you’re nervous about something, you need to prepare, have a plan. Be ready to be flexible, too, because the enemy gets a vote and things will often change. And then rely on your teammates. I always fly with a wingman. I’ve been a fighter pilot in the Air Force for 22 years, and have never gone anywhere without one.
