America's F-22 Raptor Vs. Iran's F-14 Tomcat: Who Comes Out On Top?

Click here to read the full article. Here's What You Need To Remember:  The Raptor
holds all of the cards in terms of instantaneous and sustained turn rates—which in
the F-22’s case is greater than 30 degrees per second—and energy addition. The
Raptor’s incredible specific excess power and sheer maneuverability combined with
its new AIM-9X missiles makes it so that the odds are grotesquely stacked in the F-
22 pilot’s favor. It would be like clubbing a baby seal. A full-scale military
campaign against Iran would require the United States to destroy the Iranian air
force—which to this day flies American-built warplanes. The best of Iran’s decrepit
fighter aircraft fleet is the Grumman F-14 Tomcat. The Imperial Iranian Air Force
purchased 80 of the powerful fourth generation fighters before the 1979 Islamic
revolution, but deliveries were halted at 79 aircraft. Additionally, Iran had
purchased 714 Hughes (now Raytheon) AIM-54A Phoenix long-range semi-active/active
radar guided air-to-air missiles, which have a range of roughly 100 nautical miles.
When the F-14A was developed, it was amongst the most capable fighters developed by
the United States during the late 1960s. The jet entered service with the U.S. Navy
in 1974 equipped with the AWG-9 long-range pulse Doppler radar, which had a range
of over 115 nautical miles and was the first American radar set to incorporate a
track while scan mode to allow for a multiple shot capability. Coupled with the
AIM-54, the AWG-9 could target six enemy bombers simultaneously. On paper, the
Tomcat provided the fleet with a potent capability—though the reality did not quite
meet the Navy’s public relations hype. Iran has upgraded its Tomcats with new
avionics and potentially new weapons, but only a handful of Tehran’s F-14s are in
flyable condition—perhaps as few as 20 aircraft. However, other than perhaps 20
Russian-made Mikoyan MiG-29 Fulcrums, the venerable Tomcat is the Islamic Iranian
Air Force’s most capable fighter. In the event of a war, the F-14 would be Iran’s
first line of defense against an American onslaught. Story continues The stealthy
Lockheed Martin F-22A Raptor air superiority fighter would almost certainly lead an
American attack. Compared to the antiquated F-14, the Raptor is a technological
marvel and is equipped with some of the most sophisticated sensors ever developed
for a military aircraft. The F-22 combines extreme stealth and sustained supersonic
speed—it can cruise at just above Mach 1.8 without afterburners—with integrated
avionics and extreme agility. The Raptor’s Northrop Grumman AN/APG-77 (V)1 active
electronically scanned array radar and ALR-94 passive electronic support measures
suite would spot an F-14 from many tens of nautical miles away before the Tomcat
had any idea that an F-22 was in the vicinity. The Raptor, having detected a flight
of Iranian F-14s and given the go-ahead to engage, would likely turn toward the
enemy and launch its Raytheon AIM-120D AMRAAM missile—which reported has a range of
96 nautical miles when launched from a conventional fighter—from high supersonic
speeds exceeding Mach 1.5 and at altitudes well above 50,000ft. It would be all
over for the Iranian F-14s before anyone in the enemy formation would have any idea
they were under attack. Even if the Raptors had run out of AMRAAMs and were forced
to engage within visual range, the F-22s can use their stealth to close in
unobserved to less than 1000ft to either kill the F-14s with Raytheon AIM-9X
Sidewinders or 20mm Vulcan cannon fire. Indeed, F-22 pilots flying during exercises
such as Red Flag or Northern Edge will often sneak into guns range to make
unobserved kills from very close distances by taking advantage of the Raptor’s
stealth. More often than not, the Raptor’s quarry is caught completely unaware.
However, if by some bizarre circumstance the F-22 is embroiled in a dogfight with
the F-14, the chances are the Raptor will kill the Tomcat unless the American pilot
suffers from extremely bad luck or makes a serious error. The Raptor holds all of
the cards in terms of instantaneous and sustained turn rates—which in the F-22’s
case is greater than 30 degrees per second—and energy addition. The Raptor’s
incredible specific excess power and sheer maneuverability combined with its new
AIM-9X missiles makes it so that the odds are grotesquely stacked in the F-22
pilot’s favor. It would be like clubbing a baby seal. Of course, that’s just in the
case that Iran’s leaders are foolish enough to take the United States head on. It
would be much smarter for Iran to use asymmetric means to take on the United States
instead of challenging America in the air. This article first appeared several
years ago. Image: Wikipedia. Click here to read the full article.

Manage Your ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ Sadness With These Awesome Toys

In an alternate reality, today was going to be a very big day because "Top Gun:
Maverick" was set to open in theaters all over the world. We'd finally figure out
what Maverick has been up to for the last 35 years and learn the status of his
relationship with Iceman. Alas, COVID-19 had other plans for Tom Cruise and "Top
Gun: Maverick," and now we're scheduled to see the movie on Dec. 23, 2020, even
though that date is starting to look a bit uncertain as the pandemic begins to make
a summer comeback. Even though Paramount put the brakes on a lot of promotions, no
one could stop the release of "Top Gun: Maverick" toys that were already in the
retail pipeline months before the shutdown. Like the orphaned "Black Widow" and "No
Time to Die" toys on shelves at Target and Walmart, "Maverick" toys are a painful
reminder of a summer that never was. That doesn't make them any less awesome. If
you're looking to scratch that need for speed, check out these "Top Gun: Maverick"
winners. Thanks to the Top Gun Movie fan page on Instagram for inspiration and for
letting us use one of their photos. Follow them for great images and memes If you
want to buy these for yourself, eBay may be your best bet. The Matchbox cars are
available on Amazon. Walmart online has the aircraft carrier and the jet launcher.
1. Matchbox "Top Gun: Maverick" Aircraft Carrier If you're going to collect die-
cast toys, you need a way to store them, and this aircraft carrier has space for 10
Sky Busters die-cast planes. It comes with a Boeing F/A-18, and the deck features
real working missile launchers. Retail is around $20. 2. Matchbox "Top Gun:
Maverick" Dark Star Sky Slammers Jet Launcher (Image courtesy top.gun.movie
Instagram) There's nothing more satisfying that whacking on an air-powered launcher
and making something sail across the room. The Sky Slammers Darkstar or Attack Jet
launcher will fire your Sky Busters jets across the room while making a whistling
sound and a sonic boom. Retail is around $10. 3. Matchbox Sky Busters Jets The
classic die-cast Sky Busters airplane series has launched five "Top Gun: Maverick"
models so far: Darkstar, Enemy Strike Jet, Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet Hero, the
classic F-14 Tomcat and the Lockheed Martin F-35B. Each plane's package is labeled
number X/15, so that suggests that Mattel will launch 10 more planes later this
year. Fingers crossed. These planes were supposed to retail for $2.50 each, but
prices are currently higher online. 4. Matchbox "Top Gun: Maverick" Car Sets
Matchbox has also released two sets that feature four vehicles and one plane. Set
one includes an MBX Swing Wing Jet, 2010 Ford Raptor Pickup, 1956 Aston Martin
DBR1, Petrol Pumper Gas Truck and 2008 Dodge Challenger. The other set features a
Swing Wing MBX Plane, 1972 Ford Bronco, Jeep 4x4, 2019 Ford Mustang and 2011 Mini
Countryman. Each set sells for around $11. Just what these cars have to do with
"Top Gun: Maverick" will have to remain a mystery until at least December. In the
meantime, load up on toys and make up your own quarantine plots while we all wait
for the real thing. Whether you're looking for news and entertainment, thinking of
joining the military or keeping up with military life and benefits, Military.com
has you covered. Subscribe to the Military.com newsletter to have military news,
updates and resources delivered straight to your inbox. Show Full Article ©
Copyright 2020 Military.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be
published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Gun vs. Gun: Is the Glock 17 Really Better Than the Kel-Tec KMR 30?

Key Point: What works for the Glock does not always work for the Kel-Tec, and vice
versa. The modern pistol, a handgun fed by a grip-inserted magazine, was a creation
of the early twentieth century. Despite the innovation the pistol rarely held
significantly more ammunition than a revolver, making revolvers and their superior
reliability a viable choice for decades. The advent of the two-column staggered
magazine doubled, tripled, and even quintupled the pistol’s magazine capacity. Two
modern examples are the Glock 17 and Kel-Tec KMR-30. The invention of the pistol
box magazine promised to vastly increase handgun ammunition capacity. For much of
the nineteenth century handgun designs were dominated by the revolver, which stored
ammunition in a five or six round revolving cylinder. This was easy to manufacture
and used a well known operating system but had its own limitations. Increasing
ammunition capacity beyond six rounds increased the diameter of the cylinder and
made the pistol wider overall. Making the cylinder larger also made the revolver
heavier and more unwieldy. The box magazine promised to to change things. The box
magazine could be inserted into the pistol grip, with the cartridges sitting in a
narrow vertical column. The Colt M1911 handgun could carry seven .45 ACP rounds in
a magazine. That wasn’t appreciably better than a revolver, however. The solution?
Stack ammunition in two vertical columns that merged at the top, allowing the same
amount of ammunition to fit in the same space. Recommended: Air War: Stealth F-22
Raptor vs. F-14 Tomcat (That Iran Still Flies) Recommended: A New Report Reveals
Why There Won't Be Any 'New' F-22 Raptors Recommended: How an ‘Old’ F-15 Might Kill
Russia’s New Stealth Fighter The use of polymers in handguns started in the late
1970s and was popularized with the Glock 17 handgun. The Glock’s frame and grip are
made of plastic, while the barrel and slide are made from steel. This reduces
weight appreciably. The weight reduction, coupled with a double stack magazine,
allowed the Glock to boost its ammunition capacity to 17 rounds of nine millimeter
parabellum ammunition. Glock built a high capacity handgun, but one designed to be
a service handgun for the Austrian Army. The Glock 17 balances weight versus
ammunition capacity versus ammunition lethality in ways other handguns had not,
gaming the system by using lightweight materials other handguns had not. The
resulting handgun was a reliable, accurate handgun just 8.03 inches long. It packed
seventeen rounds of nine millimeter Luger ammunition in a magazine well less than
five inches long. The Glock weighs just 25.02 ounces unloaded and 32.12 ounces
fully loaded. Another handgun, the Kel-Tec KMR-30, took a slightly different path.
Like the Glock 17 the KMR-30 is made of steel and polymer to save weight. Kel-Tec’s
use of polymer in pursuit of weight savings was more radical: although roughly
similar to the Glock and other polymer pistols the KMR-30 goes a step further and
uses polymer in a large portion of the slide. Although durable the Kel-Tec was not
designed as a military or law enforcement service weapon, allowing the company to
make some unconventional choices. Kel-Tec’s minimalist approach to pistol design
also strips away material where it isn’t needed, and the use of the low-recoil .22
Magnum round means fewer places where steel is needed for strength. As a result,
the Kel-Tec weighs a remarkable 13.6 ounces unloaded. Fully loaded with 30 rounds
of ammunition, the KMR-30 still weighs just 19 ounces. How did Kel-Tec achieve M16-
size ammunition storage in the KMR-30? By using smaller diameter bullets. The Glock
17 was engineered to kill or incapacitate human beings, and uses the larger nine
millimeter luger. The Kel-Tec, although also a self-defense weapon, was also
designed as a backcountry plinker or target pistol and uses less lethal (and
smaller diameter) .22 Magnum ammunition. Both the Kel-Tec and the Glock have
generously-sized magazines, but the two are meant for very different tasks and the
designers have made very different design choices. What works for the Glock does
not work for the Kel-Tec, and vice-versa; the Austrian Army would have never
accepted the use of .22 Magnum ammunition, even if it came with a larger magazine,
while backcountry travelers counting every ounce might scorn the Glock’s weight.
Each lightweight, high capacity handgun occupies fills its own niche, small or
large. Kyle Mizokami is a defense and national security writer based in San
Francisco who has appeared in the Diplomat, Foreign Policy, War is Boring and the
Daily Beast. In 2009 he cofounded the defense and security blog Japan Security
Watch. You can follow him on Twitter: @KyleMizokami. This article first appeared in
2018. Image: A Glock 17, 9mm pistol used by Public Security LLC. 22 December 2018.
Wikimedia/Bdonadio. Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International.