A dozen F-22’s deployed to Middle East

[mixelflick]

Raptors in your neck of the woods always changes the calculus. That's why they're deployed in these situations. I don't care what you're flying, it's going to make you think twice whenever the F-22 is around.

That poor Iranian F-4 pilot probably still has nightmares, assuming he flew again. You can bet his rear view mirrors get a really good workout LOL.

[wrightwing]

To be honest. I'm not sure I see how Raptors will change things.

1. Are the Raptors going to radar spike or dogfight with an offending flanker.

2. Will they be intimidated by the Raptor?

3. Are they going to stay in stealth mode and harass the enemy?

The Russians are using Grey area tactics. I don't see how this helps, if a flanker collides with a Raptor it could make them worse.

4. They're going to tell the unsuspecting Flanker pilots to knock it off, while remaining unseen.

[viperzerof-2]

I think I understand why they moved those Raptors now.

[charlielima223]

Videos in the provided links...

https://theaviationist.com/2023/07/06/r ... -us-mq-9s/

After the collision with an MQ-9A Reaper over the Black Sea earlier this year, it appears that Russian jets are still getting very close to US drones. This time, however, the incident happened over Syria and all aircraft safely returned to base afterwards. The U.S. Air Force Central Command immediately released a statement addressing the incident, together with the video recorded by the MQ-9s.

According to the statement, the incident happened on July 5, 2023 at approximately 10:40 A.M., as three MQ-9 drones were conducting a mission against ISIS targets. Three Russian military aircraft, which AFCENT identified as Su-35s, engaged in “unsafe and unprofessional behavior”, “harassing” the drones. We are already well accustomed to these phrasing after years of close intercepts in that area, however the actions during these incidents seem to be getting more aggressive.

Turns out they're also trying to mess around with French Rafales in the area too...
https://theaviationist.com/2023/07/08/n ... -in-syria/

For the second time in two days, the US Central Command is reporting new incidents between Russian and Coalition warplanes over Syria. This time, it appears that Russian fighters are getting more aggressive not only with US aircraft, but also with other Western nations, as one of these incidents involves French Rafales.

“The repeated violations, of Russian air forces, of agreed-upon standards and practices, is now becoming a significant safety concern in the region,” commented Gen. Michael “Erik” Kurilla, commander of U.S. Central Command after yesterday’s incidents.

Similarly to the earlier report, the first incident involves MQ-9 Reaper drones and Russian Sukhois. In fact, at around 9:30 A.M. local time on June 6, the Russian aircraft, identified as a Su-34 Fullback and a Su-35 Flanker, “engaged in unsafe and unprofessional behavior” while interacting with at least two Reapers carrying out a D-ISIS mission in Syria.
****
Later in the day, the French armed forces reported an incident with Russian aircraft too. The details are scarce, however the brief statement released on social medias explains that two Rafale fighters had to maneuver to avoid a non-professional interaction from a Russian Su-35 fighter while they were conducting a security mission near the Iraqi-Syrian border as part of Opération Chammal.

A photo, which appears to have been taken by the OSF (Optronique secteur frontal/ frontal sector optronics), the InfraRed Search and Track (IRST) installed on the nose of the Rafale, shows a Su-35 crossing paths with the Rafales. It is unknown if the Russian jet used flares also in this occasion.

Seriously F around and find out how quickly F-22s and Rafales can dole out the Darwin Awards. Then when Russia begins to cry that their air forces and other ground assets start disappearing in the Syrian TO they only brought it on themselves. All they have to do is leave those Coalition aircraft alone and they wont have to find out.