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Raptor Shot

I’ve been several times asked what to make of this short video purporting to show a T-38 shooting an F-22 Raptor. Without context, it’s very difficult to say what’s going on. But what’s clear to me is that this is not the end of a full-blown engagement, with the T-38 jock emerging victorious after a close fought fight.

In my personal opinion, this is either some kind of canned drill – heat-to-guns, or defensive perch for example – a “photo-op” from a chase pilot, or an unobserved entry. You can’t fight what you can’t see. But one thing’s for certain:

BFM doesn’t look like that.

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7 comments to Raptor Shot

  • Liz

    That happened (or should I say didn’t happen) here at Holloman. This isn’t a video of a T38 “killing” a Raptor (at least I have it from pretty good authority knowing the people involved)
    It was unprofessional in the extreme for the Laughlin guys to post this on you tube though.

  • Byron Audler

    Message: “Embedding discontinued upon request”.

    Guess someone got cold feet.

  • Liz

    Their commander probably kicked them in the junk.

    You know the first time the actual F22 pilot who was supposedly “killed” in this video heard of this was from me (and I first heard of it from this site). Shared the link with him. He was quite surprised.

  • Stan/Tx

    I think that the shot that killed the F-22 came out of Washington. Too bad, nice airplane.

  • It’s still up. Just not embedded on the link Lex provided.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXmDj3mFrXQ

  • Liz

    Most of the F22 pilots at Holloman are dual qualified to fly both the F22 and the T38. T38s are cheaper to train with, so rather than having mass exercises with six F22s, they fly T38s as adversaries (usually about 4 or more versus one or two F22s).

    But they always arrange for the T38s to hold a significant advantage. For example, the F22s will be short on weapons, or they program a lot of SAM fire from the ground that they have to dodge, ect. Even so, as of yet, no T38s have scored a kill on an F22. But if and when they do it will be due in large part to the vast advantages they’re given in these fights, as well as a good share of luck. And that kill will probably be made by a pilot with a lot of experience and hours in both planes.

  • Rhinowso

    So this is like fighting the Egyptians… after the fight is over they stick their nose back on you to “get a kill” to boast in the Ready Room? All the reason to drop your hook after the knock it off…

    If that was a kill, it looks that the F-22 (if that was it) was either (1) unaware of the T-38 or (2) had already killed the T-38 and was flowing to another fight. Either way, level 2 circle flow in a T-38 vs Raptor shouldn’t end up like this (or any flow T-38 vs Raptor).

    But hey, F-22′s are good, but they aren’t invincible…

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