I commented on that pic before and will say the same now -- that without knowing the details of that engagement, there is no telling on how the EF-18 'shot' down the F-22.
The Growler is a formidable EW platform and any adversary will rue the day he faces the Growler. But the F-22 is in a class by itself.
What were the 'rules of engagement' (ROE) ? Was the F-22 serving as a target to test the EF-18's EW capabilities to the fullest ? Was it a single fighter vs single fighter ? Put aside the fact that it was an EW platform that wears the Raptor marking, usually it is the lead and wingman pair that goes after a target. It does not matter if the target is a lumbering bomber or an agile fighter, it is always lead and wingman. What if the enemy fighter killed one of the pair before he himself got killed ?
Who was Red and who was Blue ? Quite often, the 'bad guys' are Red and they are allowed unlimited regeneration, meaning if a Red fighter was virtually shot down, he must leave the area but is allowed to return, as a new combatant, after a few minutes. This is to stress the Blue team to its endurance limits, simulating fighting against a numerically superior foe. If the EF-18 was a Red fighter, was there a kill to loss ratio, meaning how many Red fighters virtually died before the Blue Raptor fighter was virtually shot down ?
While I will not take credit away from the Growler crew, neither will I cast any doubt on the Raptor pilot. Air combat, even simulated, is very much a blender of variables that goes round and round at that blender speed. A snapshot in time, like that image of the Growler with the Raptor marking, tells us nothing.
