Stealth Coatings Behind F-22 Cough?

The Air Force says its F-22 Raptor brings something to the battle that no other U.S. jet fighter can match: Its ability to evade radar through stealth technology.

But now critics are offering up a troubling hypothesis: Could the very materials that make the Raptor stealthy be contributing to problems of dizziness and disorientation that some pilots have experienced in the cockpit?

Air Force investigators are looking into the possibility that toxic substances are infiltrating the pilot's air supply. That's one of their main theories. The other is that pilots are simply not getting enough oxygen.

Pierre Sprey, who was heavily involved in the design of the F-16 fighter and has been critical of the F-22, noted many possible sources for toxic fumes on a jet like the Raptor, such as hydraulic fluid or overheated plastics.

His belief that stealth coatings play a role is based on anecdotes that seem unique to the F-22 — the so-called "Raptor cough" and feelings of disorientation that persist well after a mission ends. He recently outlined his views in an article co-authored with Dina Rasor, an investigator and author who founded the Bauman and Rasor Group, which helps whistleblowers file lawsuits under federal law.

Sprey said if those symptoms are unique to Raptor pilots, perhaps it's connected to what is unique about the Raptor itself: The stealth material, which contains layers bonded together with noxious adhesives.

It is a "very, very serious problem if materials in the Raptor skin are generating vapors at levels high enough to cause a pilot to feel dizzy, he said.

"By the time it gets high enough to give you something like hypoxia, you've really had a snootful," he said.

Sen. Mark R. Warner has heard from several Raptor pilots and Air Force flight surgeons who have confided their concerns about the fighter. The idea that the stealth coatings could be source of toxins is one of the theories coming "from credible people," said Warner spokesman Kevin Hall.


Source: 29 May 2012 - dailyairforce News

Photo: The U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor (Photo by Dan Perrino /flickr)

(5/29/2012)