Through further looking at the capabilities of the Typhoon in comparison to other contempory fighters, the Typhoon clearly falls short of not just an F-22 but other so called older fighters in many ways.
In a scenario where unrefuelled operating radius is not a big issue, such as the local defence of British airspace, the Typhoon is clearly highly competitive and would exceed the capabilities of both an F-15 or Flanker variant without a phased array and extended range AAMs. But its alleged stealth and supercruise capabilities are not comparable to an F-22. The Typhoon is powered by dual EJ200 afterburning turbofan, which is comparable to late model F/A-18's and optimised for transonic performance rather than cruise burn. Despite Eurofighter's claim that the engine has a supercruise capability, the engine is technologically of the same generation as that in evolved F-15 and F18 engines, and not the uniquely designed supercruising powerplants such as the American F119 and F120. Claims that the Typhoon is also stealthy due to the use of S-bend inlet tunnels and radar absorbent materials is also hard to justify, as it seems to lack any of the planform alignment, panel edge alignments, blending or faceting used on American stealth aircraft such as the F-117, B-2, F-22 and F-35. External stores would probably make the Typhoon's radar signature at least 10-100 times greater than seen on US aircraft, and is probably comparable to the Rafale.
The Typhoon compares favourably with the Su-35 in close combat agility and dash speed, but it does hold a significant advantage over current Russian systems and sensors, and does not have the range of the Irbis E radar, or will it be able to match a supercruise engine equipped Flanker. Detection ranges for Russian NIIP N-011M and Phazotron Zhuk-Ph radars and new AAM missiles suggest that an external stores loaded Typhoon with could be effectively engaged well within its optimum range by the latest Russian Flankers. New build American F-15's with current technology engines, and AESA/ramjet AAM package would also maintain a performance margin over even future variants of the Typhoon as well as operating radius advantage. The Typhoon's effectiveness would largely hinge on tactics, and the relative advantages of fitted radar and the specific AAMs such as the Meteor.
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