the lockheed martin f-22 raptor is an american single-seat twin-engine all-weather stealth
tactical fighter aircraft developed for the united states air force usaf the result of the usaf's
advanced tactical fighter atf program the aircraft was designed as an air superiority fighter
but also has ground attack electronic warfare and signal intelligence capabilities the aircraft was
variously designated f-22 and f a-22 before it formally entered service in december 2005 as
the f-22a despite its protracted development and operational difficulties usaf considers
the f-22 a critical component of its tactical air power the fighter's combination of stealth
aerodynamic performance and mission systems enabled unprecedented air combat capabilities
the f-22 cannot be exported under u.s federal law to protect its stealth technology and classified
features customers for us fighters are acquiring earlier designs such as the f-15 eagle and the
f-16 fighting falcon or the newer f-35 lightning ii which contains technology from the f-22
but was designed to be cheaper more flexible and available for export in september 2006 congress
upheld the ban on foreign f-22 sales despite the ban the 2010 defense authorization bill included
provisions requiring the dod to prepare a report on the costs and feasibility for an f-22 export
variant and another report on the effects of f-22 export sales on u.s aerospace industry
the f-22 raptor is a fighter aircraft that can quickly attack enemy defenses
without being detected of course being a very feared combat tool
the aircraft with the designation of stealth has the ability to avoid detection be it visual audio
sensors or radar waves in addition to being called stealth this aircraft also received the nickname
silent aircraft its presence is able to become a fortress and paralyze the enemy through the air
today's air force is made up of seven fighter types the f-22 raptor f-15 cd eagle f-15e strike
eagle f-15ex super eagle f-35 joint strike fighter f-16 fighting falcon and a-10 thunderbolt it is a
diverse menagerie of aircraft from high-end air superiority fighters to close air support planes
some of which overlap in purpose the replacement for the f-22 rapper made waves in 2020 when the
air force shockingly revealed it designed built and flew a prototype in just one year
nobody knows what the mysterious fighter jet looks like and it may be some time before it enters
air force service but it's a real flying aircraft it's important to consider the four fighters will
almost certainly be augmented by large numbers of cheaper drones that could address some critical
but highly dangerous roles like close air support going from four fighters to seven isn't a step
back but it could help pave the way for the air force to do something new top air force
officials are now convinced the lockheed martin f-22 raptor lacks the magazine depth and range
needed to carry it into the next decade as the services air superiority fighter of choice
but the exact timing of its retirement will depend on how quickly the air force can put its sixth
generation fighter into production said lieutenant general clinton hinot the services deputy chief of
staff for strategy integration and requirements by about the 2030 time frame you're talking about a
40 year old platform in the f-22 and it's just not going to be the right tool for the job especially
when we're talking about defending our friends like taiwan and japan and the philippines against
a chinese threat that grows and grows henno told defense news in an exclusive may 13 interview
we're treating the f-22 as the bridge to the ngad capability he said using an acronym for the
next generation air dominance program under which the service plans to develop a sixth
generation fighter to replace the f-22 a note spoke with defense news a day after air force
chief of staff general cq brown disclosed the service's upcoming plan to phase out the f-22
and streamline this services fighter inventory to four main fighter variants those four aircraft
include ngad the lockheed martin f-35 joint strike fighter boeing f-15ex and lockheed f-16
right now we have seen seven fighter fleets my intent is to go down to about four with
that four what is the right mix brown said at the mickele's and associates conference on wednesday
he added that the service would also retain the a-10 warthog attack plane for a while talk of
the f-22's future was conspicuously absent in brown's comments even though the raptor
currently ranks as the air force's second newest fighter and its premier air superiority fighter
he note said the f-22's retirement would be event-driven and interwoven with ngad's
development occurring closer to the 2030s than in the upcoming fiscal year 2022 budget cycle
few details have been released about the highly classified ngad program but service officials
conceive it as a family of systems not simply a traditional fighter jet flown by a human pilot
last september former air force acquisition executive will roper announced that a full-scale
ngad demonstrator had made its inaugural flight at the moment we're thinking that it's manned
unmanned and optionally manned henot said frankly i think we're going to explore all of those to go
forward to see exactly what the best use of this is it's unclear how close ngad is to being fielded
but henot said it's proceeding ahead of expectations some of our best airmen and
joint partners are very impressed with the progress that the primes have made and all
of the other subcontractors have made he said probably the biggest part of it is going to be the
idea of digital design and then integration of the systems on the government reference architecture
if we can do those things well we're going to field it earlier he said if not the air
force will have to retain the f-22 longer it's a great airplane henote said of the f-22 but as the
service moves into the 2030s the raptor will find itself outpaced by adversary technologies in a war
game the air force held last year which simulated a chinese invasion of taiwan set in the mid-2030s
the service relied on ngad to penetrate into areas populated by chinese threats the f-22s range and
magazine depth issues aren't that different from those of the f-35 hanod acknowledged the
f-22 can carry six aim 120c amram and two aim-9 missiles internally for air-to-air missions while
the f-35 can carry only four amraams inside its payload bay while maintaining a self-configuration
however the f-35 is newer more flexible and easier to maintain with a longer service life ahead of
it than what the f-22 can offer and new weapons incoming as part of its block 4 upgrade program
eventually the air force will also seek a replacement for its f-16 fleet
brown has previously said the air force will consider buying a clean sheet design or new
production f-16s instead of purchasing additional f-35s to replace the f-16s
i don't need to make that decision today brown said on wednesday that's probably six seven
eight years away into the future what i need to do is start shaping the thought process
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