Well that sounds like the opposite of retirement. Approved.

@sabre_phoenix5996

3 ай бұрын

Needs to be capable all the way up until that time!

@moonasha

3 ай бұрын

they've been slated for gradual retirement in the 2030s for a long time. Of course, who knows what will happen between now and then. They might be kept around like the nighthawks and pulled out of retirement to do things

@Tibbs_Farm

3 ай бұрын

Sounds like F22 will be fighting in WWIII

@indridcold8433

3 ай бұрын

The A-10 Thunderbolt II was supposed to be retired in the late 1980s, then again in the mid 1990s, the again in the mid 2000s, then around the end of 2010s. They were dreamed obsolete back in 1990s and were scheduled for decommissioning. During his first presidency, American president, Donald J. Trump, approved of the A-10 to receive new longer wings with more hard mounting spots. When Donald J. Trump becomes the American president again, in 2025, he will concentrate on making the United States of America energy independent again. The savings from purchasing far less foreign petroleum, and petrol gas, will probably be used for upgrades to proven military technologies, help American infrastructure, return careers to United States of America and even Canada, and reduce the strangle hold China has on the American economy.

@eschdaddy

3 ай бұрын

Amen brother!

We all knew that beast wasn't ready for retirement. 🇺🇸💪

@juancarrero1119

3 ай бұрын

The other non retirement B-52 Stratofortress 🇵🇷🇺🇸💪🏼

@AnimeSunglasses

3 ай бұрын

​@@juancarrero1119 Hercules. But also yes.

@dx-ek4vr

3 ай бұрын

I feel like it’s not gonna retire until it gets at least 1 air to air kill (something besides a balloon). It does seem like it’s gonna be that stubborn

@flossordie2256

3 ай бұрын

Let the kid eat!

@Mcree114

3 ай бұрын

Would be a shame to spend billions developing literally the best fighter jet ever created just to have it's only confirmed kill being a spy balloon before retirement. Upgrading it to meet 6th gen standards makes way more sense than doing the whole process over again with the NGAD program imo.

Took my 12 year old daughter to an air show with the F-22. F-22 is now her phone wallpaper. When you see it you know.

@debilthomes501

3 ай бұрын

That is awesome to hear.

@Kodakcompactdisc

3 ай бұрын

It’s a menacing yet gorgeous plane.

@joshlewis575

3 ай бұрын

I live by an air force base. They're constantly trying to get some stationed here. Hope they get em 1 day cause seeing that thing ripping in the sky would be sick. What an engineering marvel

@Groaznic

3 ай бұрын

That's super awesome!

@jpoeng

3 ай бұрын

Love her already… I have a 16 y.o. she can meet in a few years. 🤣

"Would you intercept me?" *licks lips "I'd intercept me.." *gyrates hips with malicious intent

@82raptor

3 ай бұрын

I would intercept me!

@SortaProfessional89

3 ай бұрын

Okay habituallinecrosser

@MarvelousSeven

3 ай бұрын

(Does Silence of the Lambs Dance)

@williammartin9751

3 ай бұрын

*Vectors thrust with malicious intent

@W1ckedRcL

3 ай бұрын

@@williammartin9751 YES! Omg this is so much better. Gonna use it from now on.

Hell yeah, love the HLC shoutout, "would you intercept me, I'd intercept me"

@trumanhw

3 ай бұрын

-- Sincerely, Buffalo Bill Theme: Q Lazarus, Goodbye Horses

@scopedog9197

3 ай бұрын

So hard...

@Jie_Hua

3 ай бұрын

when’d he say that

@blink182bfsftw

3 ай бұрын

Hlc?

@0giwan

3 ай бұрын

Habitual Line Crosser. Watch his stuff, it's hilarious.

*F-22 Is pure, military-grade American Muscle*

Any fighter is only as good as the guy in the seat. And the F-22 has some of the best prepared pilots in the world. Glad to see they're not letting these aircraft go to seed

@RazyrDiarmait

3 ай бұрын

The exact reason why Russia is losing the war.

@granatmof

3 ай бұрын

Eventually that pilot is going to be AI. The limits on g forces then becomes material strength, not human limitations.

@teaser6089

3 ай бұрын

@@RazyrDiarmait that and terrible equipment compared to nato lol

@thelordofcringe

3 ай бұрын

Cool story bro. So, uh, why did inferior iranian pilots annihilate Saddam's experienced pilots? Oh right, the technical advantage.

"Would you intercept me? I would intercept me!" Iykyk😂

Hostile aircraft: Ha! We got you surrounded F-22. F-22 (in HLC voice): Good. Now I will be able to finally put max effort in

@protorhinocerator142

3 ай бұрын

Bad guys: Why do I hear final boss music?

@ElementalWarrior1999

3 ай бұрын

May it never come to it but it will still be interesting how our F22 raptor does against other so called stealth and next generation air superiority fighters for example the j-20 in real air combat.

@mrwhips3623

3 ай бұрын

Cringe

@kevinquinn7645

3 ай бұрын

F22: I'm not locked in here with you. You're locked in here with me.

@dangingerich2559

3 ай бұрын

Bad guys: Maybe you can't count, but there's four of us and only one of you. f-22: So go get some more guys and we'll make it and even fight.

"Would you intercept me? I'd intercept me." The F-22

The day the king will fly into the sunset and be replaced will come, but not today.

@indridcold8433

3 ай бұрын

The mighty warbird will retire one day. When the nations no longer have conflicts, people treat each other like the family they truly are, peace reigns all over the planet, and there is no more war, the mighty warbird will rest. Until then that grande day, that the good await, and the evil will lament, the warrior must fly on.

@LunarBootes

3 ай бұрын

@@indridcold8433Cringe ASF

@teaser6089

3 ай бұрын

@@indridcold8433 that day will never come

@indridcold8433

3 ай бұрын

@@teaser6089 The sad thing is, you are likely very correct, even if you do not want to be.

Its interesting cause as a kid i was sad all the 4th gen fighters were getting replaced by the f22/f35 but crazy how time changes things

@DroneStrike1776

3 ай бұрын

Sometimes, you need a chainsaw and not a precision chisel. Old conventional is the chainsaw. It's just like how I like my car naturally aspirated old school torque converter automatic or manual, and not some turbo, hybrid, or EV with a CVT or electric gearbox.

@teaser6089

3 ай бұрын

@@DroneStrike1776 F35 will be able to control drone wingmen in the future allowing the F35 to access an arsenal the F16 couldn't even dream off

@epapa737

Ай бұрын

@@DroneStrike1776 For sure and end of the day wars are won with economic weapons if they are still viable but 700+ raptor orders was crazy back then

'Do not go gentle into that good night...old age should burn and rave at close of day...rage, rage against the dying of the light'...this poem moves me every time...also in connection with the Raptor.

@heinous70

3 ай бұрын

As forgettable as it was for me as a teenager in the late eighties, I recently realized it moves me now as well

@swell07_

2 ай бұрын

sounds like you want to make the world a worse place for others as your last action. no dignity

The F-22 is like that old grandpa who says he’s going to retire but never does

@jtho8937

3 ай бұрын

B-52: When I was your age...

@drumngrewve

3 ай бұрын

​@@jtho8937ha, but truth!!!

@drumngrewve

3 ай бұрын

But is still quite capable of no struggle kicking your ass...

@pike100

3 ай бұрын

He has "old man strength." 😮

@harrymu148

3 ай бұрын

Or that one prize fighter that was kept from the competitions because no one was good enough to let him warm up on

When you are surrounded you have the enemy exactly where you want them. Now you can attack in any direction. Great Video. Cancelling the F22 was very short sighted.

@BosworthMcG

3 ай бұрын

The Wehrmacht at Stalingrad probably beg to differ.

I juat saw F-22s takeoff from Savanah Hilton Head Airport. Im still in awe how the fast the go vertical straight up to like 10-20000 ft. Nothing like seeing them.

The Raptor is my absolute favorite. Used to be the Tomcat but this jet took over for me when I was in middle school when it came out. Honing a Supreme blade makes sense instead of waiting for the ngad.

@ronjon7942

3 ай бұрын

Not as much as producing our promised 750 aircraft. 🫡

@debilthomes501

3 ай бұрын

Me too, I used to love the F14 after driving past Miramar NAS every day to work in the late 80's (Top Gun). But the F22 is just tits.

@GT-mq1dx

3 ай бұрын

The Big Cat will always be my favorite bar none, but the Raptor cannot be touched. Two beautiful planes, love them both.

@Jewelhammer

3 ай бұрын

@@GT-mq1dxthe big cat, as in the massive Indian 747 with a cat painted on its front?

Hopefully they can put on the new more durable RAM paint. Everybody says that old stuff does not like rain and cost way to much in time and money to keep good.

@harrysamwel3665

3 ай бұрын

This is the reason the tax payers get to pay for a new 6th gen fighter. It’s so extremely expensive to use that they need a new fighter! If they could cut the fly hour cost by a huge margin this plane could live on a bit longer. Fantastic plane either way, the new upgrades will serve it well for sure.

The F-22 Raptor, still “kicking arse”. ✊🇺🇸👍

Let me just say. This is one of the best channels of it's type on social media. Nice job.

That peregrine missile is big change for both F22s & F35s, when your talking about doubling your missile load out. Extended range, drone wingman and upgrades in EW to go along with better missiles, looking harder and harder to cross to Taiwan.

@JamesOMalley-hb4tf

3 ай бұрын

Peregrine does not even exist yet😂

Again amazing F-22 stock photo from Poland. Ofc with Bełchatow power plant in the background ;).

United States : the f22 is being retired. Russia : yes! Now we attack! United states: pyske

@pike100

3 ай бұрын

*Psych

Need to get this info to Growling Sidewinder ASAP! Need to see that new helmet added to the F-22 in DCS! Really though, great news. Seems like an actual appropriate use of military budget for once. Thanks, Sandboxx!

That's about $70 million dollars per plane for an upgrade! Wowza!

@harrysamwel3665

3 ай бұрын

So what’s the flying cost per hour of this marvel of engineering?

@JeremiahAnunnaki

3 ай бұрын

​@harrysamwel3665 50-60 thousand. It cost to have the most premier fighter in the world. I feel safer having it. 🇺🇸

YES! Keep the F22 Raptor fighting!!

It's a potentially ridiculous idea but after seeing those stealth pods I can't help but imagine E-22 and E-35 variants for electronic warfare and early warning.

@alexanderschooler579

3 ай бұрын

I think the f35 or a pack of them already can..

Speedy recovery brother

Alex, thank you for covering this. As remarkable as the F-22 still is, its lack of IRST is a significant disadvantage. It’s reassuring knowing that upgrades are at least being tested and considered. This channel has been and continues to be informative and trustworthy. As a viewer, I appreciate your citations and accurate information gathering. Always concise, and well narrated.

HLC reference!!!!!! Love both these guys.

Man.....don't apologize for anything. Your content is some of the absolute best in the business, and since our business is world class, that makes your content some of the best in the world.

Most of F22s have more than half life left

Such a dope airplane. I got to see one at an air show, it was something I will always remember.

"into that good night". He said the line! Thankyou for great work

Ha! I always figured they'd be upgraded. They're just too good to be mothballed or scrapped.

Damn Alex Hollings! You continue to have the greatest content. I’ve been following you since the SofRep days

I love this plane! I’m glad we’ll have them around awhile.

Take care Alex, we will be here when you get back.

"This feature [IRST] was fairly new when the raptor program opted to omit..." Wrong. And, no discussion of why that decision was made.

@fulcrum2168

3 ай бұрын

Cost is the reason

@jkg6211

3 ай бұрын

Can you say "Obama"?

Thank Barry for allowing the short sightedness of the production line. Long live the Fighters!

@jkg6211

3 ай бұрын

I was wondering if anyone would acknowledge that fact. He almost did as much damage to America as the so-called current idiot. Good call.

@MrProzaic

3 ай бұрын

I'm thinking the same thing

@pike100

3 ай бұрын

Barry?

This is great news! GOD bless America

Feel better, Alex, thanks.

I'm beginning to think with ceramic RAM and the new RDE dual mode scramjets, 6th generation fighters might be hypersonic.

Get well soon. Thanks for the info.

This upgrade can’t come fast enough!!

Alex is the goat

What a cool plane and a totally different plane even now before the upgrade than it was when it first came out.

Best wishes from Australia Alex. Get better soon mate.

Habitual Linecrosser mentioned. Nice.

The actual Dylan Thomas quote is, “Do not go gentle into that good night”.

@kenjifox4264

3 ай бұрын

The F-22 won’t let any adversaries go gentle into the night.

@wunderkind-7724

3 ай бұрын

@@kenjifox4264 touché

YF-23 Supremacy 🕷️🕷️🕷️

"Would you intercept me? I'd intercept me" LOL

Love your content man keep it up 👍

Get better soon Alex! 😊

Get well soon. Take care.

Good night Chesty wherever you are! Semper Fi ! Thanks Alex

Great video and info as usual, thank you Alex. Some of the F-15 footage was shot from right here in Okinawa.

749 F-22s available today would mean we wouldn't hear a peep out of Russia and China today. Congress commissioning a recent study to find out what it would cost to restart the F-22 production line is an acknowledgement that it was a massive mistake to cut the buy.

@ferrous3262

3 ай бұрын

don't think things work like that

@Chuck_Hooks

3 ай бұрын

@@ferrous3262 Congress seeing about restarting F-22 production says otherwise

@blue_ish4499

3 ай бұрын

@@Chuck_Hooks nuclear weapons remain supreme

@Chuck_Hooks

3 ай бұрын

@@blue_ish4499 Only useful if you're the only one who has them. Conventional overmatch keeps American enemies quiet

@IndigoSeirra

3 ай бұрын

​@@Chuck_HooksIt would be a massive mistake to restart production for F-22s. The F-22 is not designed for a fight in the Pacific and is too dated to support CCAs. The extreme costs of restarting production would push back NGAD for years. These costs would be better spent in producing a new, modern, purpose built fighter to combat China.

Thank you Alex and only the very best for you.

Good health and God bless you. Thank you for all you do for us, your fans!

Am I the only one who thinks the J20 is little more than a stealthish missile truck?

@tommanseau6277

3 ай бұрын

Nope. The thing is, nobody outside of China really knows what the J 20's abilities are. Is it built like far too many Chinese constriction projects, or is it actually good? Without real combat data we don't and won't know.

@JohnnyTromboner

3 ай бұрын

It's totally invisible.. ..to Chinese radar

@hugoguerreiro1078

3 ай бұрын

​@@tommanseau6277you can still speculate from the clues we've seen. It's not like we need to be 100% sure of anything, since we're in a casual environment.

@KC_Smooth

3 ай бұрын

That's likely exactly what the J20 is... Which is still a weapon to be feared.

@Cyrribrae

3 ай бұрын

Pretty much. Definitely still a threat, though. Much better to be prepared for anything, especially because air dominance plays a role in DETERRANCE as well, not just in actual combat.

"We're surrounded" "Great, every direction is target-rich"

@JSFGuy

3 ай бұрын

We're surrounded? That simplifies the problem.

At the end, you mentioned my favorite Gen Puller quote.

I really am proud of the 22. Hope you feel better quick, Alex...

The F-22 is a beast. 18 years later it towers above the newest Russian fighters.

@matthewstrange3778

3 ай бұрын

Russian fighters have had off bore sight targeting for decades, f22 was way behind in that regard.

@truthvfiction

3 ай бұрын

@@matthewstrange3778 The SU57 still doesn’t have LoS visual targeting. Russians still think we’re in a dogfighting era? Is your comment some kind of joke?

@JamesOMalley-hb4tf

3 ай бұрын

​@@truthvfictionno it's not a joke it's the truth. Su 35 probably beats f 22 honestly.

🎖️🤗🏆🙏 Thank you for sharing

The new stealth pods could also be used by 4th generation fighters to reduce their radar signatures too. So, I would assume that in the future, the military with eventually make these pods standard issue in high threat environments.

There's a potentially huge problem with the stealth fuel pods: if they're coated with the same top-secret radar absorbing material, and they're being dropped as the plane no longer needs them, won't that give away samples of the RAM coating to any enemy who recovers one of these pods? Is it worth giving away the secret coating just to extend the range of the F-22?

@kuminanida333

3 ай бұрын

I understand that but I think possibly what they are thinking is that even with the material they would not be able to replicate it nor know the maintaince needed for it. I don't entirely agree with process but at the same time despite being able to legally buy engines and hiring engineers from europe and the US china has still yet to master jet engines....for passenger planes to the level needed to make reliable engines for even those.

@Cyrribrae

3 ай бұрын

The challenge isn't just in knowing the secret formula, it's in being able to actually produce and apply it. That's why it's so expensive. You can maybe do some testing on the dropped pods, but that's not really the same thing. Either way, the benefit of flexibility is paramount. You can always choose NOT to use the pods, but you can never use them until you have them. There are many situations where, yes, it would be preferable to have the range to complete missions than to leave the fleet sitting at home unused because you can't risk a carrier getting close enough (or whatever).

@kuminanida333

3 ай бұрын

@@Cyrribrae Basically the worst case is that they get a boost in development and they might gather enough material to apply it to a few aircraft but again they would lack maintaince needed to keep the material working

@Berkana

3 ай бұрын

@@kuminanida333 My concern is that it is still a huge advantage for such a pod to be captured or recovered. They (presumably China or Russia, but more likely a collaboration of the two) could test it to see what radio or IR frequencies work best to detect it, and any number of other things that I would prefer them not to be able to do. I strongly suspect there would be an effort to recover such a pod it were known that a bunch of these were scattered somewhere. I really hope they have self-destruct mechanisms built in so they don't float if dropped on water. At least when they sink to the bottom of the ocean, recovering them will be far more difficult.

@Cyrribrae

3 ай бұрын

@@Berkana it's really just probably not that big of a deal. These things are fragile to begin with (the coating, not the pod), which is why they have to spend so much maintenance time on them. Again, you can do a little testing, but it's not really the same. (IR testing doesn't make any sense anyway). And it's not like it's a secret what bands work best - there's not some secret radio wave that suddenly negates stealth. And the pods are different shapes on the plane compared to on the ground. The US makes weapons that are ready to be used. China and Russia do what you suggest: make big claims to the press, but never show, rarely test, and try to be scary. That strategy works online, but it's shown serious shortcomings against Ukraine, for example. So no, having the capability is much better than pretending you have the capability or simply having nothing.

Sandboxx is my most trusted military channel!

Stay well, Alex.

Thanks much, Alex!

Better to have fewer F22s and get NGADs earlier.

@Cyrribrae

3 ай бұрын

I'd be very surprised if NGAD development depended much, if at all, on the status of F22 upgrades. Well, the money perhaps, but I don't think you're going to speedup R&D that much even with more money. Maybe later on, when NGAD is doing well, they can shift money to speed up production and stuff. But I don't think we're quite there yet.

Don't get it twisted. As sad as it is to say (as I worked on the F-22) the F-22 is in it's twilight years. These upgrades are simply there to keep the F-22 as up to date as possible before NGAD.

@IndigoSeirra

3 ай бұрын

I definitely agree. It is nuts to see how many F22 fanboys refuse to accept that it is becoming outdated. Sure it is an amazing aircraft (and a sexy one at that) but it isn't designed nor ready for a fight in the Pacific.

Take care of yourself first Alex, we cannot do without you.

Great vid again…hope you feel better soon Alex!

Stil want the yf23. Put it on a flat top, long range.... best looking plane ever.

met someone at a gunshow who once flew f-22s. you'd never know it as he was about 350 pounds wearing a sweat stained star wars shirt that almost reached his belly button and the massive glasses. he said the f-22 could actually fly in space and reach orbit- said during the bin laden raid he was called in last minute to do emergency close air support. he made it from his base in arizona to pokistan in 27 minutes, dropped a few bombs, and made it home 30 minutes later. he told his wife he was getting an oil change heh. that guy was awesome. he also did a stint in delta force as a sniper but couldn't talk about it except for taking out bin ladens body double in downtown karachi the day before 9/11.

@ronjon7942

3 ай бұрын

That was a well thought out comment:)

@jkg6211

3 ай бұрын

He lied to you. I've met dozens of these BS artists... okay, first, lets start with his BS about Binladens body double- if it were true, he wouldn't be able to talk about it. #2 - the F22 has air breathing engines - space doesn't have air, so... "do the math", as they say. 😂

Get well soon, Alex!

Glad to hear the news

It's worrisome that we are so concerned with being ready in the short-term for a war with China (this combined with stuff like buying the wedgetail instead of developing something more capable that wouldn't be ready for 10 years). Things are going badly.

@ronjon7942

3 ай бұрын

Hopefully the stories coming out about China's economy tanking are true. And as long as they believe it to be too costly, or downright unsuccessful to invade Taiwan, things won't go badly. Guess those are big ifs...

Great content as always

Great video, thank you Alex.

Keep up the good work!

Great stuff mate

I worked at Lockheed Martin on the F-22 program for it's 10 year run. They should have built all 755 like they originally were supposed to.

@ronjon7942

3 ай бұрын

Still should.

F22: “they’ve got me surrounded… those poor bastards”.

Nice view of Burke Lakefront Airport in Cleveland, Ohio right about the 00:43 second mark.

Hey Alex! 👊😎 Really enjoyed this one and it brought a whole new light to the scorpion HMD. The same issue will be implemented as the same to submarines USA or otherwise. Submarines have a well. Let's call it for simplistic terms a. Wikipedia of sound transmissions for damn near every ship and submarine in the world. As we all know, sound travels a lot further. Underwater than it does in the air. Now grabbing on to a heat. Signature of an aircraft will be much difficult, more difficult due to the fact that the heat signature of an aircraft changes all the time. Angles of reflections for stealth is great. China making the j20 stealthy on a 12 to 12 where the size is much more limited than a side angle at 3 to 9. Clock references or even a 6 heat signature going to FLIR circumstances. Especially when it comes to a BVR. Then just like in Vietnam it's going to turn into a VID before committing. I did take notice that the raptors heat signature was never shown in this volume of your tutorial. I believe the F-22 is an excellent test bed for our 6th generation fighters that are OTW. ASAP ! No doubt ! With the drones to run as blockers or wide receivers in football terms. Now in A symmetrical warfare circumstances where nothing but bogeys will be from our 9:00 to 3:00 and time references that'll be no problem. It's just not military aircraft s just like submarines they have to have the entire Wikipedia of the flir from civilian to military to get a good BVR justified contact. God I hope the other one being a friendly will have a good one as well 🕊️ I really wish that the USAF they were talking about it about 2 or 3 years ago sending the YF-23 to Japan knowing that the super Cruise was well above the mark. Heat signature reduced to almost nil. Using the same practices as NASA and the space shuttle. Just adding kennard's to the end of the wings to take care of the asset of thrust vectoring. Which was shown to be more effective. 99% of all testing is computerized now as we all know. They can work out most of the bugs before it even gets built. We've come a long way. Really appreciate all the work that you put into your tutorials. Alex and if nobody else has said it I surely will. Thank you so much for your service. Please keep them coming. God bless 🕊️🕊️🕊️

Imagine the NGAD with AIM260 and Peregrine missiles on board.

Thanks Alex

The Eurofighter Typhoon with IRST coupled to the BVR Meteor Missiles is one hell of a combination and with the Striker helmet that can see through the fighter it makes it very lethal...They are also fitting the new Captor AESA MK2 radar and that should add another level of capability...Yes stealth is no where near the F22 but thankfully we are on the same side..

You should cover the new V-280 Valor and the X-defiant prototypes. iirc the army was looking at the X-Defiant to replace the blackhawk but is now going with the Raider X. It's interesting how we're essentially getting both a (hopefully better) Osprey and a modular blackhawk-like helicopter that can even fulfill attack roles.

Get well soon Alex.

Thank you!!! Logic has prevailed.

One idea they're kicking around for the IRST sensors is to stick 'em right on the back of the helmet. No need to mod the airframe or run new cable.

The F35 has a huge thermal signature

Keep up the great work Alex and team. Awesome channel.

Awesome Video! 💯

Another outstanding video. Great job Alex, as always.

Awesome video as always!