Air Force officials pushing for the new F-22 jet have new ammo.
They've videotaped the eye-popping hyperacrobatics of the new Russian Su-37 Super Flanker fighter jet, built with unique pivoting engines. "We don't have anything that can do that," a senior Pentagon official tells our Richard J. Newman. The video shows a somersaulting jet that turns course on a dime.
What to watch for:
As the plane moves down the runway, the video shows its unique "thrust vectoring" engines pivoting up and down. This feature allows the plane to use the engines, along with conventional control surfaces, to maneuver the aircraft.
That allows the kind of acrobatics seen in the rest of the video: end-over-end tumbles, rapid reversals of direction, and turns tighter than any existing fighter jet can manage.
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