Comparison of the F-22 Raptor and the Eurofighter Typhoon

General

Both aircraft are designed to be effective in both air-to-ground attack and air-to-air attack and defense missions. However, the missions and roles assigned to both, and especially to the Raptor, are in the air superiority domain. Typhoon's lifespan will be much longer than Raptor's, many models will be upgraded and the number of user countries and aircraft used will increase. However, the Raptor is an aircraft that has not been sold to any country, the number of orders projected at the beginning of the project was greatly reduced due to the lack of a competitor, and no model upgrades or remanufacturing is planned. It was born as a lone predator and will say goodbye to the sky as a lone predator.

The Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor is one of the most advanced jet fighter/bombers in the world. It is clearly the world's most advanced air superiority aircraft. First flown in September 1997, the Raptor is at the forefront of the USAF's fighter fleet and is a 5th generation jet fighter. It has recently been joined by another 5th generation jet fighter, the F-35, which is mainly used for strike missions. 

The Eurofighter Typhoon, developed in cooperation with a consortium of several European countries (the UK, Germany, Italy and Spain), is the most important combat component of the British Royal Air Force and is in service worldwide with the air forces of Germany, Italy, Austria, Spain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar and Oman. In contrast, the Raptor's technology and cost overruns have led to an export ban on the aircraft. Theoretically, both of these aircraft are extremely capable and comparable to each other, but how can we compare the two jets? We will explore this issue and examine these two super machines to see what the pros and cons really are compared to each other. 

EF Typhoon

Typhoon was designed and developed as a multi-role and air superiority fighter/bomber. Development began in 1983 with the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain. France left the development program to pursue the Dassault Rafale projects. The first Eurofighter prototype began flight on August 6, 1986, designated the British Aerospace EAP, slightly different from the EAP prototype of the final Typhoon form. The Typhoon has a delta wing design with a pair of canards in front, similar to the Rafale. The complex fly-by-wire system and relaxed stability design give the aircraft almost unrivaled agility.

Typhoon entered active service in August 2003. It is powered by two Eurojet EH200 afterburning turbofan engines that accelerate the aircraft to Mach 2.0 or 1,320 mph. As for the Typhoon's weapons/ammunition carrying capacity, there is a wide range of ammunition it can carry. Over the years, Typhoon has carried a variety of weapons such as GBU-10 Paveway II GPS bombs and AIM-9 Sidewinder heat-seeking missiles, while it also has a Mauser BK-27 mm cannon, a weapon originally developed for the Panavia Tornado. In total, the Typhoon's fuselage has a total of 13 hardpoints for carrying ammunition.

The Eurofighter Typhoon was not intended to reinvent the existing model of air superiority, but to perfect it as it is. The delta wing design, a shape almost adopted by the F-22's defunct bomber sibling, the YF-23, offers increased lift and range as well as a high degree of subsonic maneuverability. The design and the materials that make up the Typhoon all give it a comparably higher degree of stealth than you will find on the most advanced 4th generation fighters.

The aircraft is built with advanced composite materials to provide a low radar profile and strong airframe. Only 15% of the aircraft's surface is metal, providing stealth operation and protection from radar-based systems.

Like many other agile fighter jets, including the F-22, the Typhoon utilizes electronic warfare capabilities to conceal the return signal of radar tracking it. Unlike the maintenance-intensive Raptor, the Typhoon is designed to be easy to maintain, assembled from 15 interchangeable modules to minimize repair time. In close air combat, it has a Mauser BK27mm cannon capable of firing 1,000 or 1,700 rounds per minute with 150 rounds carried in the fuselage.

Since entering service, the Typhoon has evolved into a highly capable multi-role platform, leaving its air superiority roots behind to become one of the most versatile jet fighters in service today, utilizing its 13 ammunition handling hardpoints for a wide range of mission sets.

"The Eurofighter Typhoon is absolutely stunning in terms of smoothness of controls and the ability to pull (and maintain high G-forces)," said USAF F-22 pilots who flew the Typhoon in one of the Red Flag exercises. The Typhoon is designed for agility and ease of control. Especially in the version we flew, the avionics, color moving map displays, etc. are all absolutely first class. The maneuverability of the aircraft in close combat was also very impressive". 

The Typhoon's Eurojet EJ200 afterburning turbofan engines are not as powerful as the Raptor's engines and propel the Eurofighter to a top speed of Mach 2, while the Raptor's top speed is Mach 2.25. However, top speed does not make an abnormal difference in a dogfight, and the Eurofighter's relatively low weight provides a better thrust-to-weight ratio for the Typhoon in an interceptor configuration than a similarly equipped Raptor.

F-22 Raptor

The Raptor, meanwhile, had a tough upbringing. It first flew in 1997 and entered service in 2005, with the United States Air Force remaining the sole operator of the aircraft. An original plan order of 750 units was drastically reduced to 187 due to high costs and a lack of air-to-air missions. The Raptor is an air superiority fighter with stealth capabilities, but can also conduct air-to-ground attacks and assist airpower in an electronic warfare role. The Raptor's design is in some ways more conventional than the Typhoon, with no forward canard and the main wing design in clipped diamond geometry, similar to a delta wing.

The Raptor is also capable of Mach 2. It is powered by two Pratt & Whitney F119-PW-100 augmented turbofans, which propel the aircraft to a top speed of Mach 2.25, higher than the EF Typhoon. As for the Raptor's ammunition carrying capacity, a wide range of weapons can be carried, including in-fuselage weapons bays. There are three in-fuselage ammunition carrying compartments that can carry weapons such as the AIM-9 Sidewinder and AIM-120 AMRAAM. The Raptor also has a cannon in the form of the M61A2 Vulcan 20 mm rotary cannon and a bomb rack for ammunition such as GPS JDAMs in the main weapons bay.

Evaluation based on "dogfights" between Raptor and Typhoon in Red Flag exercises:

According to open sources, while many details remain unclear, there are some things we know for sure about the dogfighting exercises between the F-22 and the EF Typhoon that the USAF conducted at Red Flag. Based on pilot testimony, we know that at least some (if not all) were one-on-one missions. Most importantly, there have been persistent indications that the Raptor's external fuel tanks have stealth and aerobatic capabilities that prevent their visibility on radar. However, when you attach your external fuel tanks to your Raptor, you lose your stealth capability, and there is no known technology to make these tanks invisible to radars, so these findings have to be scientifically proven. Hiding your external fuel tanks in certain directions with serious maneuverability is a more logical assessment.

In real life, F-22 pilots will almost certainly be able to spot the Typhoon undetected, allowing the Raptor to put itself in an advantageous position before the dogfight begins. 

In these exercises, some Raptor pilots flew Typhoon (with the Raptor pilot in front and the Typhoon pilot in the rear in dual control Typhoons), but unfortunately, some Typhoon pilots are not able to fly Raptor (Raptor does not have a two-seater version).

It is also possible to judge and comment on aircraft performances based on book performance values (which is what we do), but the impressions of an experienced pilot are much, much more valuable. In this context, the EF Typhoon was analyzed with the eyes and pilot skills of its competitor, but unfortunately the Raptor could not be analyzed with the eyes and pilot skills of its competitor. On the other hand; of course, not all of these evaluations and the most valuable ones can be shared in open sources. For this reason, we are evaluating according to the data available to us; less and less detailed data exempts us from making a valuable evaluation.

Both aircraft serve relatively similar roles, both in air-to-surface attack missions and in fighting for air superiority. Both are extremely agile superjet fighters, and it is difficult to tell which is more agile, but it is safe to say that the Raptor has an advantage over its European counterpart. Both, of course, first flew in the 1990s and have experienced various delays in their programs. But each is at the forefront of various air task forces.

In other words, if an enemy air force launches an aerial attack on Typhoon and Raptor-using countries, the Typhoon and Raptor will be the first aircraft to intercept the enemy country's bombers and the fighters escorting those bombers.

Which is the Better Jet Fighter?

This is always a difficult question to answer, but the Raptor has the advantage. The Raptor has a higher top speed than the Typhoon, the same range of 2,800 miles and the same service ceiling of 20,000 feet. Its engines have a thrust vectoring system, which further increases the Raptor's maneuverability. The Raptor's agility is world renowned and its stealth capabilities give it an additional advantage over the Typhoon. This is not to say that the Eurofighter is not capable. It is a highly advanced super machine and is still being developed. 

The F-22 Raptor was always meant to be a revolution in air power, relying heavily on America's groundbreaking stealth technology to produce the stealthiest operational fighter on the face of the planet. But it's not just stealth that makes the Raptor a capable platform. It also has a high degree of sensor fusion and advanced avionics that allow for extreme situational awareness while reducing cognitive load for the pilot. In other words, the F-22's on-board computers allow the pilot to focus less on operating the aircraft and more on the fight.

According to Raptor pilots, when you fly the Raptor, you don't think about flying the Raptor, you think about operating the Raptor, flying is secondary.

Furthermore, the F-22 does not rely entirely on stealth and sensor fusion, but incorporates elements of what could be considered a 4th generation dogfighting design: thrust vectoring control, or the ability to steer jet nozzles independently of the fuselage to perform incredibly aerobatic maneuvers, a high thrust-to-weight ratio, and a great built-in M61A2 cannon, a 20mm Gatling gun capable of firing 480 rounds at a rate of 6,000 rounds per minute. The Typhoon's Mauser BK-27 mm cannon is not a player in the M61A2 league.

An experienced Typhoon pilot who dogfighted with the Raptor at Red Flag admitted: "The Raptor has vector thrust, the Typhoon doesn't, it's amazing what this plane (Raptor) can do, the Typhoon can't do it".

The F-22 bridges the two philosophies of warfare; it offers such a high degree of stealth and situational awareness that it can win most battles before its opponent even knows it's there, and it also has a highly regarded set of traditional dogfighting features, giving it the muscle, power and agility to take on and defeat some of the most dynamic dogfighters of the previous 4th generation, who made a name for themselves in the field.

Conclusion

In this duel, we can say that America (F-22 Raptor) could very well defeat Europe (EF Typhoon).

When the sensors are working and the two airborne adversaries are talking to each other, the Raptor is virtually untouchable when all is well. A 4th generation fighter/bomber versus an F-22 is like two football teams going head-to-head, and one of them (the F-22) is invisible!

But it goes without saying that no pilot is going to engage in a dogfight with a serious opponent with external fuel tanks still dangling from the wings. In real combat, the Raptor will drop its external fuel tanks before engaging in a super-maneuverable dogfight like the Typhoon.