The F-22 is frighteningly capable in the air superiority role, by all accounts, when it comes to stuff like NATO exercises and Red Flag. AFAIK they haven't lost

The F-22 is frighteningly capable in the air superiority role, by all accounts, when it comes to stuff like NATO exercises and Red Flag. AFAIK they haven't lost any flying attack missions against rebels in Yemen, which might or might not be proof of anything. It's not going to have next-generation stuff like Multifunction Advanced Data Link. I assume that's because of its older avionics, and because it has been deemed not worth upgrading because of its age. [0] It's not my area of expertise but it's probably accurate to say that the F-22 is stronger than anything at its specialized, traditional air superiority mission but it will be left behind when it comes to flying alongside drones and other interceptors. The F-15EX and F-35, along with unmanned drones, will be able to do amazing things in concert by communicating with one another over their network. That is a different paradigm. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multifunctional_Information_Distribution_System https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multifunctional_Information_Di...