While Hawaii Air National Guard pilots still have at least a year and a half to wait before the first of their new planes is delivered, they can wet their apatites on a new F-22 simulator at Hickam Air Force Base.

"It's actually pretty realistic," said Lt. Col. Chris Faurot, chief of the F-22 Program Integration Office for the Hawaii Air National Guard.

The F-22 has a cruising speed one and a half times the speed of sound, it can turn on a dime, and, according to its manufacturer, it is almost impossible to track on radar.

"It's a slick airplane. You look at the angles. They are all kind of the same. It does have some special coating on it that makes it harder to detect and it reflects the radar off. Stealthy also means being able to control your sensors and how they are admitted and how you receive them. So, it's a combination of all those things that make this airplane a very stealthy airplane," said Sam Grizzle, a spokesman for Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company.

"Air superiority is required for everybody else to do their job, whether it's Navy in the water or Army on the ground, you know, you have to have control of that air space over the top and that's what the mission is for this aircraft," Faurot said.

"We are going to be able to get in there quicker, faster, and closer into these guys before they even know we're there. You know, what that allows us to do is employ our weapons so we get what we call the first look. We'll be able to see them before they can see us. We'll get the first shot off before they can even see us," Faurot added. "It kind of boils down to first look, first shot, and first kill. And it's a huge advantage that with the F-15 we don't necessarily enjoy right now."

Each new F-22 Raptor cost $137.6 million.

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