Aviation Specials — F-22 Raptor (2017)

which provides stepped enhancements

including upgraded air-to-ground

mission capabilities, including GBU-39

SDB integration, plus other new

capabilities such as AIM-120D AMRAAM

and AIM-9X. The USAF is also looking at

upgrading the entire  eet to a common

standard. ‘We only include two dedicated

air-to-ground rides,’ says ‘Burn’. ‘In ACT [air

combat tactics] and the larger missions

such as the main capstone event they’ll

get a little bit of everything.’

SYNTHETIC RAPTOR

Interestingly, with many countries aiming

for a 50:50 split of live versus synthetic

 ying training, the Raptor B-Course is

already heavily skewed towards the

43rd FS instructor pilots don’t have the use of two-seat training

aircraft, so they become extremely skilled at monitoring their

student from the position of being a  ight lead.

RAPTOR^45

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