US F-22 Raptor Pilot Describes The Challenge Of Going Up Against The F-35

© US Air National Guard photo by Tech. Sgt. Adam Keele Two F-35As. US Air National Guard photo by Tech. Sgt. Adam Keele 

Business Insider: A US F-22 Raptor pilot describes the challenge of going up against F-35 red-air aggressors 

* F-35s flown by dedicated red-air pilots joined the Air Force's top air-combat exercise this month. 

* Capt. Patrick Bowlds, an F-22 pilot, was one of the blue-air pilots who flew against them.

* "It definitely adds a level of complexity," Bowlds said of the red-air F-35s. 

The US Air Force turned up the pressure this month at its premier air-to-air combat-training exercise, for the first time adding F-35 stealth fighters flown by dedicated red-air aggressor pilots - who emulate the tactics of an enemy force - into the mix of threats that blue-air pilots face. 

Red Flag, which takes place at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada, started as an air-combat exercise but has evolved to include not just increasingly advanced aerial aggressor threats but also surface-to-air, space, and information threats. 

"My job is not to give blue an easy day," Col. Scott Mills, the 57th Operations Group commander and an F-35 aggressor pilot, said in a recent statement. 

"My job is to give blue the absolute toughest day that I can. And the way for me to do that is to bring the F-35 into the fight."  

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WNU Editor: Apparently the F-35's stealth capability shines when there are multiple events and threats occuring at the same time.

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