ISA FI-22 Raptor WIP

Initially developed under the working project XF-15I, the ISA FI-22 Raptor is the most advanced fighter in the ISA Air Force. It was developed originally to be a 'modest improvement' over the existing F-15 Eagle, but ultimately turned into, as one of the designers put it, a monster of the skies. Trials of the aircraft would prove the design team correct as it was immediately feared by Super Eagle pilot, Col. Robert Olds who was tasked with testing the new fighter. Olds, a Triple of the Second World War with nine kills against Shenyian Bombers, and ten against Shenyian Fighters, took one look at the aircraft and called it a Mustang. Throughout the testing, 'Mustang 1' proved herself far beyond the expectations of her designers. From a standing start, the two Pratt Jacobs F-120-119A Super Turbofan engines pushed the aircraft to V1 in just 335m. Once the gear was retracted, Olds pulled the aircraft into an 76 degree climb, and the aircraft reached 3000m in just 15 seconds before leveling off.

Despite being designed as an Interceptor, the Raptor in an agile dog fighter as well. In tests against ISA F-16 Vipers and F-15 Eagles, a lone Raptor (again, piloted by Olds) was able to defeat 12 aircraft for every 'death' it suffered. Olds once said that if the new fighter was adopted as the standard front-line fighter for the ISA, it would own the skies. But it first had to come into the light.

After a year and a half of flight testing, a ISA Congressional Review of the ISA Air Forces Budget raised some eyebrows, and the Senior Procurement Officer of the Air Force (SPOAF), Major General William Hastings, was brought in to testify. During the five hour review, Congressman Fredrick Gasim of New Atlantia, brought up that this project was stated to be a mere 'modest improvement' over the F-15, but noticed that the now renamed FI-22 was clearly superior to the F-15 in every conceivable way. It was faster, had a higher rate of climb, higher service ceiling, larger ordinance capacity, and even a superior radar suite. The Congressman was especially critical of the price tag, which was almost double that of the F-15 initially. And was projected to have a 25% higher procurement cost than the F-15 once production had fully commenced. Undeterred, Major General Hastings invited the Congressman to a ride-along in the aircraft at its unveiling during the Thunder Over the Cliffs Air Show at New Atlantia City Combined Air Station.

When the Congressman climbed into the aircraft at the air show, Col Olds was at the controls. The aircraft was wheeled out to an awed crowd, and towed beyond the crowd. When the engines roared to life, the aircraft taxied past the crowd to get into take-off position as the announcer told the crowd about the aircraft and its public capabilities. When the aircraft roared down runway, the Congressman broke into the speakers to tell the crowd that until this point, he had never been in the aircraft, let alone seen it. The ten minute demonstration showed off all of the fighters capabilities, and culminated in a .9mach pass only 30m over the runway in front of the crowd followed by a steep climb back to 1,000m. After landing, the Congressman gave a speech, formally giving his support for the aircraft, and its production. More importantly for the citizens of New Atlantia, a new plant was to be constructed by Martin Air Works specifically to produce and service this aircraft. The new plant would introduce 8,500 permanent jobs to the area, with another 12,000 temporary jobs. The plant would be completed within 12 months, with the first production FI-22A Raptor rolling off the assembly line just 6 months later. The ISA Air Force, 3rd Interceptor Squadron officially accepted "Mustang 4" into service June 7th, 2009 with Col. Olds being assigned to command the newly reformed Squadron.

In the few years that followed, many FI-22 pilots would often be mocked, and refereed to as 'pretty boys' by pilots operating from other squadrons, and would gain a reputation of being 'stuck up' due to their reclusiveness. This was due to the fact that the Raptors Radar Cross Section made it the ISAs first true stealth fighter. This knowledge was a closely guarded secret, forcing Pilots, WSOs, and Ground Crews to be under special orders to avoid the secret from getting out. This included a rule forbidding them from drinking, or using recreational narcotics. Furthermore, many crews had to request special permission from the Air Force to marry, or allow their Spouse to live on base due to the top secret nature of the aircraft. Stealth was viewed by the general public as a 'first strike' option, and was publicly unpopular with the general population. The only reason the Raptor was even allowed to be built was because all of its Stealth features enhanced its capabilities as a Fighter Interceptor, making for good plausible deniability.

The aircraft itself is an impressive beast to behold. Armed with twin 30mm Air Master Cannons with 260 rounds per gun, and up to 17 Air to Air missiles (9 in two internal bays, with another 8 on optional stations). The two F-120-119A Engines are each capable of putting out an impressive 40,000 pounds of thrust each, and have no issues pushing the 57,000lb (standard combat weight) aircraft to its unclassified top speed of 2.8 Mach, and even enabling the aircraft to cruise at a steady 1.3 Mach. The aircraft relies on the powerful Hughes APG-80 AESA radar to detect threats up to 480km away, and able to classify and target up to 130km away. The Hughes TR-97 Tail Radar can detect threats up to 80km behind the aircraft, giving pilots ample time to evade incoming missiles from the rear.

As a result of the two radars installed on the Raptor, and because of the monster weapons load, the split cockpit was devised as a means to provide additional cooling units for the Raptors flight and combat computer, as well as additional life-support options for the Pilot and WSO. Both the Pilot and WSO have full control capability over the aircraft, with the WSO receiving dedicated computer assistance if he or she is required to fly the plane. This design decision initially received some criticism from some, noting how the aircraft would lose some of its agility and stability as a result. Immediately following these criticisms, and after initial tests with Mustang 1, a 'chin' Canard was added to improve stability when operating at higher speeds and altitudes. The Canards behind the cockpit provide some assistance in maneuvers, but are mainly designed to keep the aircraft stable at speed.

Another striking feature of the aircraft is the landing gear arrangement. While the aircraft relies on the normal tricycle arrangement, additional wheels were added to each strut to add extra weight distribution when the aircraft is fully loaded. This was done after it was discovered that Mustang 2, the first armed model, had left sizable marks in the tarmac and taxiway during a test. The addition of an extra wheel per strut alleviated the problem. To further assist with weight issues, the landing gear struts were adapted from the F-14, and share 60% commonality with the Tomcats own landing gear.

OK, now that you've gotten through that wall of text, I can finally talk about the model itself.

This monster fighter began life while I was still working at Amazon. Since leaving, I've worked on it here and there, and decided today to go ahead and post it just to show that I'm at least not dead. Don't worry commissioners, this model's been sitting on the HDD for a few months before I decided to throw this render up, I am working on commissions.

Main inspiration for the aircraft comes from a combination of two unlikely sources, Ace Combat 6, and Yukikaze. Obviously, elements of the real F-22 were applied as well, but the CFA-44 Nosferatu, and FFR-31MR Super Sylph were the main inspirations for this thing.