F-22 Raptor wows crowd in Middle Eastern debut | Aviation International News

F-22 Raptor wows crowd in Middle Eastern debut

Making its first-ever appearance in the Middle East, the U.S.

By Chris Pocock • Defense Correspondent

November 14, 2009

Making its first-ever appearance in the Middle East, the U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor is flying over each day from Al Dhafra airbase, Abu Dhabi, for its 14-minute display slot. Major Dave “Zeke” Skalicky is showing off America’s top-of-the-line stealth fighter with a serious of gravity-defying maneuvers.

But everything you see in the F-22 demonstration is applicable to real air combat, according to Col. Dirk Smith, operations group commander for the 1st Tactical Fighter Wing. “The F-22 has a huge advantage over other fighters, thanks to the combination of thrust-vectoring [TV] and the very sophisticated flying control system [FCS],” he told AIN.

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