When F-22 Raptor Fighters Show the Iranians What Stealth Means: Some fighter jets are so outdated they are no match for modern 5th-generation airplanes.
That was the lesson from an incident in 2013 when two older F-4 Phantoms flown by Iranian pilots went up against an American F-22 Raptor.
This happened when a U.S. Predator unmanned aircraft was flying in international airspace near Iran.
The F-4s made a run for the drone but the F-22 was flying escort duty to protect the aircraft. The Raptor was operating right next to one of the F-4s and the American stealth warbird radioed the Phantom pilot an amiable warning. The Iranian bogies immediately took off and left the F-22 flying without a challenge. This shows that the two older airplanes were not equal to the modern marvel that is the F-22.
The Air Force Told the F-22 Story for Information Purposes and a Little Fun
Later, the former Air Force Chief of Staff General Mark Welsh decided to make the encounter public. He thought it was necessary to share information about the drone flight and how the Iranians are a threat, but he also wanted to give ordinary people an idea of how good the F-22 really is. These drone challenges have been going on since at least 2012.
Frogfoot Fighters Were Ready to Leap to the Kill
There was a different incident involving two Iranian Su-25 Frogfoot fighters in 2012. Another Predator drone was flying over international waters about 16 miles from Iran’s shores. Predators are slow, but they can loiter over targets for up to 14 hours straight. However, the remotely piloted aircraft could be easily shot down by the Su-25. The Frogfoot pilots were thus overjoyed that they could take out an American aircraft that would show the Predator shouldn’t fly so close to Iranian borders.
So, the Frogfoots used their 30mm cannons in an attempt to blow the Predator out of the sky. Somehow, the Predator wasn’t hit, and the Frogfoots stopped the strafing run, probably because they ran out of ammunition. This could have been a warning from Iran or just sloppy shooting, but as a result, the United States decided to escort Predators with either F/A-18 E/F Super Hornets from the USS John C. Stennis or F-22s flying out of the United Arab Emirates.
Six months later, after the Frogfoot incident, the Iranians went after a Predator again. The remotely piloted craft was flying a normal intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance mission 16 miles from Iran. This time, the F-4 Phantom closed on the Predator and likely had every intention of shooting it down.
More About the F-4
The F-4 was a mainstay for the United States during the Vietnam War. The Phantom has flown with the Air Force, the Navy, and the Marine Corps since 1961. The Phantom was fast, with a top speed of MACH 2+, and could carry nearly 19,000 pounds of munitions. In those days, the F-4 was seen more as a heavier fighter-bomber, but it can provide air interception roles which the Iranians pursued against the Predator.
Flash forward to the modern era and one Iranian F-4 was closing on the Predator for another strafing run. This time, an F-22 was waiting for that contingency. Pilot Lt. Col. Kevin “Showtime” Sutterfield was cleared for action and the F-4 had no idea the F-22 was flying close by.
Showtime Was a Showstopper
General Welsh set up the scene with some glowing commentary. “When the combatant commander wants air power, there is only one number to call. Showtime is an Air Force Reservist … he flies the F-22. He flies it really well.”
Showtime took his F-22 and amazingly flew it under the F-4 to see what kind of weapons it was carrying. The F-22 also has a top speed above MACH 2, and the stealth attributes of the F-22 made it invisible to the Iranian pilot.
The American pilot decided to have some fun. He banked and gained altitude to fly adjacent to the F-4. The Iranian aviator must have been shocked to see that the Raptor had snuck so close to his bird.
Showtime was excited but calmly told the F-4 pilot, “You really oughta go home.” That’s exactly what both Iranians did. They accelerated away and left the F-22 alone with the Predator.
Why the F-22 Raptor Fighter Is So Important
These types of encounters show that American pilots, with a stealth jet, are no match for conventional airplanes. The F-22 is expensive to maintain, but their radar evasion works like a champ and they are maneuverable and fast enough to scare away non-stealth airplanes. Showtime did his job, and Iran knows that it cannot depend on the F-4s in a shooting conflict with the Americans.
That’s not all; the Israelis fly their stealth fighter – the F-35I Adir. This jet can sneak up on Iranian non-stealth birds, too. Iran may need to re-think their military’s force posture which includes so many outdated interceptor,s because they cannot maintain the edge needed to dominate a fight against a modern stealth fighter.
About the Author: Dr. Brent M. Eastwood
Brent M. Eastwood, PhD is the author of Don’t Turn Your Back On the World: a Conservative Foreign Policy and Humans, Machines, and Data: Future Trends in Warfare plus two other books. Brent was the founder and CEO of a tech firm that predicted world events using artificial intelligence. He served as a legislative fellow for U.S. Senator Tim Scott and advised the senator on defense and foreign policy issues. He has taught at American University, George Washington University, and George Mason University. Brent is a former U.S. Army Infantry officer. He can be followed on X @BMEastwood.
