- The F-22, the top US air superiority fighter jet, finally has it's first air-to-air kills.
- In a week, this jet downed a Chinese spy balloon and an unidentified "object" in two separate engagements.
It took nearly two decades in service for the F-22 Raptor to record its first air-to-air kills — both of which have come within the past week, but neither kill was against the jets it was actually designed to fight.
US officials said an F-22, a fifth-generation stealth fighter jet, shot down an unidentified, high-altitude "object" over Alaskan airspace on Friday that was flying at an altitude of 40,000 feet and posed a threat to the safety of civilian flights. The Pentagon described the object as being around the same size as a "small car."
This incident comes nearly a week after an F-22 downed a Chinese surveillance balloon — which a top US commander said was 200 feet tall and carrying a payload the size of a jetliner — as it was operating at over 60,000 feet off the coast of South Carolina.
Both jets fired a single AIM-9X Sidewinder air-to-air missile to down the respective systems. The engagement with the Chinese spy balloon marked the first known air-to-air kill for the F-22, as well as the first apparent use of the AIM-9X against a balloon target at that altitude, and Friday's mission against the "object" brings the F-22's tally up to two within just a few days.
Development of an advanced tactical fighter began in the 1970s, and the F-22 Raptor, a byproduct of that program manufactured by Lockheed Martin, was first introduced in 2005. Nearly 190 operational aircraft were built before production ended. According to the US Air Force, this fighter aircraft was seen as a solution to the threats posed by the Soviet Union's Su-27 Flanker and MiG 29 Fulcrum, and also China's Shenyang J-11.
The F-22 emerged as the top US air superiority fighter, one that continues to provide advanced air combat capabilities even in the face of new challenges from Russia and China, both of which are developing their own fifth-gen jets.
The F-22 is 62 feet long and with a wingspan of over 44 feet long, has two engines that can each produce 35,000 pounds of thrust, and is capable of traveling at supersonic speeds, according to the manufacturer. As for its attack capabilities, the jet can strike ground targets from high altitudes and at cruise speeds and engage enemy aircraft.
In the air-to-ground configuration, the F-22 can carry a pair of 1,000-pound GBU-32 Joint Direct Attack Munitions internally, the Air Force said of the jet. The aircraft can drop bombs can be dropped from 50,000 feet while flying at Mach 1.5 and hit moving targets up to 24 miles away.
Despite having operational experience in Syria in the 2010s targeting Islamic State assets, the advanced fighter has never recorded a confirmed air-to-air kill, but now it has two.
The Chinese surveillance balloon that an F-22 shot down on February 4 showed up amid heightened tensions between Washington and Beijing, the latter of which has been operating a global network of such balloons across five continents, the Pentagon said. But it's not immediately clear what, exactly, the F-22 downed over Alaskan airspace on Friday.
"We're calling this an object, because that's the best description we have right now," White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters. "We do not know who owns it, whether it's state owned or corporate owned or privately owned. We just don't know."