USAF demo team performs precision aerial maneuvers at major Air Exhibitions to demonstrate the unique capabilities of the world’s first 5th generation fighter aircraft
The United States Air Force (USAF) F-22 Raptor Demo Team will be presented at the International Air and Space Fair, FIDAE 2024, to be held from April 9 to 14, on the north side of Arturo Merino Benitez Airport, in Santiago, Chile.
The Demo Team performs precision aerial maneuvers at major air shows to demonstrate the unique capabilities of the world’s first 5th generation fighter aircraft. The team performs about 20 exhibitions a year, encompassing 10 million viewers.
The F-22 Demo Team is based at Joint Base Langley-Eustis in Hampton, Virginia, and in March 2007 held its first display at Tyndall Air Force Base. Since then, it has performed more than 250 demonstrations around the world, and at FIDAE it has participated in the 2010, 2016, 2018 and 2022 editions, impressing the public with its power and agility.
The Lockheed Martin F-22A Raptor is the main combat aircraft of the USAF, the only Air Force user of this $143 million aircraft. Its combination of stealth, supercruise, supermaneuvrability, and integrated avionics represents an exponential leap in air-to-air and air-to-ground combat capabilities. This weapon system is an essential part of the Global Strike Task Force and is designed to rapidly project air superiority over long distances.
The aircraft is 16 feet, 8 inches high; has a length of 62 feet, 1 inch; a wingspan of 44 feet; weighs 43,340 pounds and its maximum takeoff weight is 83,77 pounds. It has a range of 1,600 miles and a ceiling of above 50,000 feet.
The multirole fighter has a sophisticated sensor subsystem that together with its AN/APG-77 AESA radar, allows the pilot to track, identify, shoot, and destroy air-to-air threats before being detected. Significant advances in cockpit design and sensor fusion enhance the pilot’s situational awareness.
In air-to-air configuration it can carry AIM-120 AMRAAM and AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles. In air-to-ground configuration it can internally carry GBU-32 1,000 lb JDAM bombs and employs on-board avionics for navigation and smart weapons launch support. In addition, it has a 20mm Glating M61A2 cannon.
Its powerplant is composed of two Pratt & Whitney F119-PW-100 turbofan engines with afterburners and two thrust vectoring nozzles which together enable it to achieve twice the speed of sound with supercruise capability (sustained supersonic flight condition without use of the afterburner) and supermaneuverability. This characteristic is the result of the sophisticated aerodynamic design, advanced flight controls, thrust vectoring and high thrust-to-weight ratio, giving it the ability to outmaneuver most fighter aircraft in operation today.
Oscar Aránguiz, Communications and Marketing Manager, FIDAE 2024
