The F-22 versus the F-15 is like having two football teams against each other and one of them [the Raptor] is invisible, explained pilot Mike “Dozer” Shower, who has had the experience of flying both. His statement sums up the very reason why, even though the F-15EX is very powerful, stealth is still the game-changer in air warfare today.
The F-15EX Eagle II is the new version of the legendary F-15 fighter, featuring digital fly-by-wire flight controls, the AN/APG-82(V)1 AESA radar, and the AN/ALQ-250 Eagle Passive/Active Warning and Survivability System (EPAWSS). Capable of Mach 2.5 top speed, a combat radius of approximately 687 nautical miles, and up to 22 air-to-air missiles or 29,500 pounds of mixed ordnance, it’s a multi-role behemoth. Its open systems architecture for missions allows for effective incorporation of new software and weapons, including future hypersonic missiles and autonomous teaming with Collaborative Combat Aircraft. Its structural life of 20,000 hours is twice that of previous Eagles, and conformal fuel tanks offer range without compromising aerodynamic performance.
But in a nose-to-nose fight, these don’t detract from the F-22 Raptor’s fundamental strength: faceted shaping, radar-absorbent material, and weapon bays internalized to minimize radar cross-section. The Raptor’s stealth is not an add-on—it is the linchpin to its “first-look, first-kill” philosophy. In training exercises like Northern Edge 2006, Raptors registered a kill-to-zero ratio of 108 against fourth-generation planes, frequently sneaking undetected behind enemy lines before the enemy had any idea that it was there.
The F-22’s performance envelope is no less demanding. Its Pratt & Whitney F119 engines produce sustained supercruise at Mach 1.5 using no afterburners, minimizing infrared signature and fuel usage while sustaining supersonic intercept speed. Thrust vectoring noozles, in combination with high thrust-to-weight ratio, enable post-stall maneuvers like the Herbst J-Turn and “controlled Raptor Slides” reversing direction or bleeding speed beyond conventional fighters’ capabilities. In the words of former Col. Terry “Stretch” Scott, The flight controls … are phenomenal … it really sucks to fight in a normal fighter against it. Feels like cheating.
Sensor fusion is another decisive discriminator. The F-22’s AN/APG-77 AESA radar, infrared search and track (IRST), missile launch detectors, and electronic warfare suite operate as a single integrated system, automatically synthesizing a three-dimensional battlespace picture. In an F-15 you’re the sensor operator … in the F-22 Raptor, it does it all for you, Shower explained. This automation shortens the kill chain, allowing even less experienced pilots to exploit the jet’s full lethality.
In uncorrected operational data, the F-15EX surpasses the Raptor in top speed and range—Mach 2.5 compared with Mach 2.25, and approximately 2,400 ferry miles range compared with 2,000. Its payload flexibility renders it priceless for homeland defense, standoff attack, and serving as a “missile truck” escorting stealth assets. In a mixed air environment, the EX can lead an area down with beyond-visual-range missiles while F-22s and F-35s force through hostile air space. Its EPAWSS can spoof and jam enemy sensors, as well as provide survivability on non-stealth missions.
But electronic warfare cannot completely make up for a large radar cross-section in the face of peer stealth fighter or state-of-the-art surface-to-air missile systems. Beyond-visual-range engagement, with the Raptor’s low observability and high altitude-high speed flight profile, precludes the F-15EX’s reaction time significantly. At close-in dogfighting range, the F-22’s maneuverability and instant nose-pointing capability, supplemented by thrust vectoring, are the tipping factors.
Operational considerations come into the equation as well. The F-22 fleet is limited to 187 aircraft, with sustainment and phased retirement circa 2030 as the Next Generation Air Dominance fighter is fielded. The F-15EX, on the other hand, is coming into production in quantity, with 144 coming in with the USAF by 2026, with common logistics with the existing Eagles. In a longer term, availability and upgradeability could tip the scales in favor of the EX. But in the near-term, high-threat air superiority environment, the Raptor’s stealth, supercruise, and sensor fusion combination is unequalled.
