![]() ![]() Powered by Pratt & Whitney F119 turbofans, each with 35,000 pounds of thrust, the F-22A-the Air Force’s newest fighter-sports a nozzle that can direct exhaust thrust up or down as much as 24 degrees. Today’s most maneuverable fighters use thrust vectoring, which can make a jet turn faster and more tightly. What a pilot really needs is a way to quickly get in the right position to fire at the enemy. Real fighter pilots will tell you that what Maverick does is a showoff move that bleeds off so much energy that you’re vulnerable to getting shot down yourself. Remember the scene in the movie Top Gun when Navy pilot Pete “Maverick” Mitchell gets the upper hand on his instructors by slowing down, pulling up the nose of his F-14 Tomcat, and watching his opponent fly right by? The idea was to get a quick, unexpected position behind the bad guy, putting Maverick (played by Tom Cruise) and his trusty sidekick Goose into place to win the Engagement.
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