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The F-22 is the first-ever 5th generation fighter jet to enter service, and the first fighter to include stealth features. Its thrust-vectoring engines and advanced weapons systems give it an edge at close-range dogfighting, and it also has powerful sensors for beyond-visual range.
The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is an undisputed king of the air. Born from a program by the Department of Defense to develop a new plane to replace the aging F-16 Fighting Falcon in the late '90s, the aircraft that would become the F-35 came from a design submitted by Lockheed Martin.
Both US-origin F-15 and Russian-origin Su-30 are primarily air superiority fighters and are considered the 'best dogfighters' in the world.
The SU-57 is generally considered to have better speed and maneuverability than the F-35, while the F-35 emphasizes stealth and versatility.
The SU-35 has a higher top speed and longer combat radius than the F-35, while the F-35 has more advanced avionics and sensor systems. Both aircraft can carry various weapons, but the F-35 has an advantage in stealth technology and the ability to carry weapons internally.
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.
After $67 billion and more than 20 years, the F-22 finally won a dogfight against an unarmed, nearly immobile opponent. When it officially entered military service in 2005, the U.S. Air Force hailed the F-22 Raptor as an "exponential leap in warfighting capabilities."
The F-22 cannot be matched by any known or projected fighter aircraft. A combination of sensor capability, integrated avionics, situational awareness, and weapons provides first-kill opportunity against threats.
According to Smithsonian Magazine, the last ever dogfight occurred in 1969 over Central America between Honduras and El Salvador. With that said, the aerial tactics used during WWII are still considered by many to have won the war.
Erich Hartmann, with 352 official kills the highest scoring fighter pilot of all time.
The June 16, 1943, flight was considered a suicide mission and ended with the longest continuous dogfight in Air Force history. Those aboard became the most highly decorated combat aircrew of the U.S. military, but not without paying a heavy price.
The F-35A is at the forefront of air combat technology. Advanced sensors and data fusion allow it to gather and share information faster than ever before. Capable of supersonic flight while retaining stealth, the F-35A has extraordinary acceleration, agility and 9G manoeuvrability.
Finally, the F-35 office said simulated combat scenarios have shown that four F-35s have won encounters when pitted against a four-ship of F-16s. "The F-35s won each of those encounters because of its sensors, weapons, and stealth technology," the statement said.
F-16s have been used by the United States in Afghanistan since 2001. One USAF F-16 fighter was lost during the operations in Afghanistan: on 3 April 2013 a USAF F-16 crashed near Bagram Airfield in eastern Afghanistan's Parwan province killing its pilot.
America's formidable air superiority fighter, F-22 Raptor, considered the world's most capable jet because of its stealth features and sensor fusion technology, lost a couple of dogfights to German Eurofighter Typhoons, causing severe damage to the mighty Raptor's reputation.
The F-22 Raptor is the most powerful air superiority fighter in the world, while the F-35 is probably the most advanced multi-role fighter right now. That means that the Raptor is more effective in air-to-air combats (faster and could operate at higher altitude).
It was a component in every major war, though with steadily declining frequency, until the end of the Cold War in the early 1990s. Since then, longer-range weapons such as beyond-visual-range missiles have made dogfighting largely obsolete.
MiG-29 scores high on energy maneuverability and capability to gain in a slow-speed close fight, say German pilots who have done combat training operating one against the other. While the F-16 has an advantage above 200 knots speed, the MiG-29 has incredible nose-pointing capability down to 100 knots.
May 2, 2005 – 2 F/A-18 Hornets of VMFA-323 are shot down by Iraqi/Al-Qaeda Insurgents over south-central Iraq. Both pilots killed. November 27, 2006- An F-16 Fighting Falcon was shot down by Al-Qaeda/Iraqi insurgents in Fallujah while on a low-altitude ground-strafing run. The pilot, Major Troy Gilbert, was killed.
The F-22 fleet, which now numbers 182 aircraft, has experienced 32 “Class A” mishaps and 50 “Class B” accidents over the past 21 years. A Class A accident involves a fatality, loss of the aircraft, or more than $2.5 million in damage.
Ukrainian Su-27
The Su-27 was designed starting in 1969 as an interceptor jet for Russian defense. The prototype was launched in 1977, and the jet entered service in 1981. It is still widely used in various iterations.
The short answer is no. Despite Russia's lofty claims about the Su-57, the aircraft itself exists in such small numbers that it offers very little in terms of added combat capability to Russia, especially when only being leveraged within Russian airspace to deploy long-range weapon systems.
A Su-35, equipped with an Irbis-E radar, should be able to detect an F-35 at 48 kilometers and track it at 30 kilometers, according to Zikidis.