Philippine Air Force’s FA-50 Simulates 'Successful' Fox 2 Kill Against 5th Gen F-22 Raptor
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The Philippine Air Force claims to have successfully shot down an American F-22 "Raptor" fifth-generation fighter aircraft during a recent bilateral air exercise.
The Philippine Air Force's FA-50PH aircraft, together with the United States' F-22 "Raptor" and several other aircraft, took part in a joint air exercise named "Cope Thunder 2023" in the airspace of a Southeast Asian country in July.
In addition to the Raptor fighter planes, the US sent additional planes to the joint air exercise, including the A-10 "Warthog" and the C-130 Hercules.
The official journal of the Philippine Air Force's (5th Fighter Wing, Air Defense Command) reported on the "defeat" of the F-22 fighter aircraft.
The Philippine FA-50PH aircraft purportedly shot down an American F-22 "Raptor" in the skies above Luzon Island, the Philippines.
"This is a historic achievement as the lead-in Philippine Air Force aircraft have engaged and defeated fifth-generation fighter aircraft in an air combat simulation in the airspace over Luzon during the Coper Thunder exercise," according to the newspaper's article.
While both the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) and the Philippine Air Force use KAI's FA-50 fighter aircraft, the RMAF has the most recent and capable type, the FA-50 Block 20.
The RMAF's first FA-50 Block 20 aircraft is scheduled to arrive in Malaysia in the fourth quarter of 2026.
The "defeat" of the Air Dominance F-22 "Raptor" fighter aircraft in air exercises is not unusual; prior stories have reported such "defeats."
The reputation of the American Air Dominance fighter, the F-22 Raptor, was significantly damaged in a 2012 story in Air Combat magazine after it was "defeated" in a high-profile air exercise named "Red Flag" that took place in Alaska, USA.
The two-week drill featured different types of fighter aircraft from various countries. The German Air Force (Luftwaffe) participated in the exercise by sending eight Eurofighter Typhoon fighter aircraft from the 74th Tactical Air Force Wing.
According to the report, the German Air Force's Eurofighter Typhoon performed in "Within Visual Range" (WVR) air confrontations, when the F-22 Raptor fighter aircraft's advantages in stealth, radar, and other sensors were ineffective.
With its high-powered sensor fusion capabilities, the F-22 Raptor will surely identify the existence of the Eurofighter Typhoon far sooner than the German Air Force's Typhoon will be aware of its adversary's presence in Beyond Visual Range (BVR) battle.