You understand jets I think yes ?
What is the difference between the 22 and the 35 and why don't we sell 22s to other countries ?
Also if the 22 is the good one why does the 35 exist
I don't understand fighter jets , their different uses and purposes and which ones the best....if it doesnt bug you can you kinda explain the difference between 15 16 18 22 and 35 to me? I thought the 22 was supposed to replace the 18 and the 35 the 15 but the 15 and 18 seem pretty awesome and like they don't need replacing?
The 4th generation fighters are the F-14 Tomcat, F-15 Eagle, F-16 Fighting Falcon and FA-18 Hornet. The F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning are newer 5th generation fighter jets which came with a difference in design philosophy. 5th Generation fighters focus more on stealth instead of being more maneuverable, more firepower or faster. The stealth fighters basically defeat other aircraft by not being detected and destroying targets before they even know they're there. In return for their sleathiness though, they might sacrifice speed, maneuverability, range or payload capacity.
The F-22 is the premier stealth air superiority fighter in the world. Has the lowest radar cross-section out of all fighter jets on the planet. The US does not export the F-22 to anyone because they don't want other countries getting their hands on the technology. It is more maneuverable than the F35. Downsides are that it can't carry that many missiles as other fighters and also much more expensive to both maintain and buy than the F35.
The F22 is the ultimate dog fighter and absolute best at what it does - hunting and killing other aircraft. Any enemy aircraft basically have zero chance of beating the F22. Top Gun is not accurate because F-22 would beat enemies from far away without being detected.
The F-35 is designed to be a more versatile mutli-role aircraft with a broader range of capabilities including air-to-air combat, air-to-ground strikes, and intelligence gathering. It is also super stealthy, but not as stealthy as the F-22. It's the second most stealthy fighter jet and the most advanced multi-role fighter on the planet. A stripped down version is what we export to US allies. They come in a lot of variants and actually has more advanced internals and sensor arrays than the F-22 because it is newer. They have advanced features that allow them to be used with drones or directing other less stealthy aircraft to launch missiles.
The older 4th generation fighters have their uses too and they carry more firepower than their 5th generation counterparts because they don't need to be stealthy. You might see an F-35 stealthily flying into enemy territory and identifying targets, then 4th generation fighters would come in and destroy them.
All of our strongest allies (UK, Germany, Japan, South Korea, etc) have F-35's as their most advanced jet fighter in their arsenals.
The F-14 Tomcat was designed as a fleet defense interceptor with the mission of intercepting enemy aircraft, especially bombers, before they could launch anti-ship missiles. It had very powerful engines and an exceptionally powerful radar so it could use the very long range AIM-54 Phoenix missile. It would inherit an air superiority role and later models added some air-to-ground capability. The F-14 was the "high" fighter of the Navy. Its mission has since been replaced by the F/A-18E/F SuperHornet. This was the jet fighter featured in the original Top Gun movie.
The F-15 Eagle was originally designed as an air superiority fighter that is highly maneuverable with superior acceleration. It is also capable of performing close air support and interdiction missions. It would go on to have an undefeated record in air-to-air combat to this day; not a single F-15 has been shot down in live air combat. It's the fastest fighter jet in the world.
The F-16 Fighting Falcon was designed to be a lightweight and cheap to maintain multi-role fighter - capable of air-to-air and air-to-ground combat, as well as for reconnaissance and electronic warfare. It is also capable of performing close air support and interdiction missions and known for its versatility and adaptability. It is the most exported fighter jet on the planet. Because it is so ubiquitous, that is the fighter jet Ukraine will get from the West.
The F/A-18 Hornet was developed as a carrier-based multirole fighter that could perform both air-to-air and air-to-ground missions as well as for reconnaissance and electronic warfare. It is also capable of performing close air support and interdiction missions. Also capable of carrying massive firepower - more missiles than the other fighter jets.
The 5th generation fighters are newer, but that entire time the military were also upgrading the 4th generation fighters at the same time.
The US military also have even more advanced aircraft, but they're all classified. The upcoming NGAD is some crazy science fiction type aircraft that will probably make use of one master aircraft controlling a bunch of drone aircraft and control it with AI. The Air Force will pick the final design in 2024.
