• The U.S. Air Force’s Raptor Demo Team shows off flight maneuvers in an impressive new video.
  • The clip demonstrates the ultra-maneuverability of the F-22 Raptor, allowing it to dominate in air-to-air combat.
  • The F-22 was the world’s first fifth-generation fighter jet, and only 187 planes were built.

In a stunning new video, the U.S Air Force Air Combat Command’s F-22 Raptor Demonstration Team shows the fighter jet strutting its stuff in the skies over Alaska.

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Piloted by team pilot Maj. Josh “Cabo” Gunderson, the Raptor streaks into the air and performs some of the team’s signature moves:

youtubeView full post on Youtube

The video, which The Aviationist uncovered, was taken at Alaska’s Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson. The base and the beauty of the Chugach Mountains form a backdrop for some of the most spectacular flying you’ll see this year.

The F-22 immediately goes into a steep climb after takeoff, then does a number of low-altitude maneuvers. The video not only shows perspective from inside the cockpit, but from outside as well. Keeping a camera centered on one of the most agile fighters in the world is no easy task. At one point, the Raptor is trailing both shock diamonds and contrails (above), as “Cabo” lights his afterburners during an especially tight maneuver.

The F-22 Raptor was engineered as an air superiority fighter first and foremost. Not only is it stealthy enough to hide from enemy radar, but it’s also maneuverable enough to give a skilled pilot a decisive advantage in air-to-air combat. The Raptor’s twin F119 afterburning turbofan engines generate a total of 70,000 pounds of thrust. Thrust vectoring and advanced fly-by-wire controls allow the pilot unprecedented directional control in an American fighter. The result is arguably the best all-around fighter in service today.

side view of prototype yf 22 advanced tactical fighter during test flight at edwards air force base, ca  photo by time life picturesdepartment of defense dodthe life picture collection via getty images
Time Life Pictures//Getty Images
The first YF-22 test aircraft, 1990.

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Back in the 1980s, the Air Force intended the F-22 Raptor to be a 1:1 replacement for the F-15C Eagle. The Air Force originally planned to purchase 750 F-22s, but terminated production in 2009 with ultimately just 187 planes built. (Blame the Great Recession, twin wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the lack of a peer competitor.) The last aircraft rolled off assembly lines in 2012.

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Kyle Mizokami

Kyle Mizokami is a writer on defense and security issues and has been at Popular Mechanics since 2015. If it involves explosions or projectiles, he's generally in favor of it. Kyle’s articles have appeared at The Daily Beast, U.S. Naval Institute News, The Diplomat, Foreign Policy, Combat Aircraft Monthly, VICE News, and others. He lives in San Francisco.