Lockheed Martin F-22A Raptor (09-4191) arrives at the 2016 RIAT Fairford 7Jul2016 arp.jpg
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor is an American single-seat,
twin-engine A twinjet or twin-engine jet is a jet aircraft powered by two engines. A twinjet is able to fly well enough to land with a single working engine, making it safer than a single-engine aircraft in the event of failure of an engine. Fuel efficien ...
, all-weather
stealth Stealth may refer to: Military *Stealth technology, technology used to conceal ships, aircraft, and missiles **Stealth aircraft, aircraft which use stealth technology **Stealth ground vehicle, ground vehicles which use stealth technology ** Stea ...
tactical
fighter aircraft Fighter aircraft are fixed-wing military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air superiority of the battlespace. Domination of the airspace above a battlefield ...
developed for the United States Air Force (USAF). As 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
signals intelligence Signals intelligence (SIGINT) is intelligence-gathering by interception of ''signals'', whether communications between people (communications intelligence—abbreviated to COMINT) or from electronic signals not directly used in communication ( ...
capabilities. The prime contractor,
Lockheed Martin The Lockheed Martin Corporation is an American aerospace, arms, defense, information security, and technology corporation with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta in March 1995. It ...
, built most of the F-22's airframe and weapons systems and conducted final assembly, while Boeing provided the wings,
aft "Aft", in nautical terminology, is an adjective or adverb meaning towards the stern (rear) of the ship, aircraft or spacecraft, when the frame of reference is within the ship, headed at the fore. For example, "Able Seaman Smith; lie aft!" or "Wh ...
fuselage, avionics integration, and training systems. The aircraft first flew in 1997 and was variously designated F-22 and F/A-22 before it formally entered service in December 2005 as the F-22A. Although the USAF had originally planned to buy a total of 750 ATFs, the program was cut to 187 operational aircraft in 2009 due to high costs, a lack of air-to-air missions due to the focus on counterinsurgency operations at the time of production, a ban on exports, and development of the more affordable and versatile F-35; the last F-22 was delivered in 2012. While it had a protracted development and initial operational difficulties, the F-22 has become a critical component of the USAF’s tactical airpower. The fighter's combination of stealth, aerodynamic performance, and mission systems enable unprecedented air combat capabilities and set the benchmark for its generation. The F-22 is expected to serve into the 2030s and eventually be succeeded by the USAF's Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) manned fighter component.


Development


Origins

In 1981, the U.S. Air Force identified a requirement for an Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) to replace the
F-15 Eagle The McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle is an American twin-engine, all-weather tactical fighter aircraft designed by McDonnell Douglas (now part of Boeing). Following reviews of proposals, the United States Air Force selected McDonnell Douglas's ...
and
F-16 Fighting Falcon The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a single-engine multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it evolved into a successful ...
. Code-named "''Senior Sky''", this air-superiority fighter program was influenced by emerging worldwide threats, including new developments in Soviet air defense systems and the proliferation of the
Sukhoi Su-27 The Sukhoi Su-27 (russian: Сухой Су-27; NATO reporting name: Flanker) is a Soviet-origin twin-engine supermaneuverable fighter aircraft designed by Sukhoi. It was intended as a direct competitor for the large US fourth-generation jet ...
"Flanker"- and Mikoyan MiG-29 "Fulcrum"-class of fighter aircraft. It would take advantage of the new technologies in fighter design on the horizon, including composite materials, lightweight alloys, advanced flight control systems and avionics, more powerful propulsion systems, and most importantly, stealth technology. In 1983, the ATF concept development team became the System Program Office (SPO) and managed the program at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. The demonstration and validation (Dem/Val) request for proposals (RFP) was issued in September 1985, with requirements placing a strong emphasis on stealth and supercruise. Owing to the immense investments required to develop the technology needed to achieve performance goals, teaming between companies was encouraged. Of the seven bidding companies, Lockheed and Northrop were selected on 31 October 1986. Lockheed, through its Skunk Works division, then teamed with Boeing and
General Dynamics General Dynamics Corporation (GD) is an American publicly traded, aerospace and defense corporation headquartered in Reston, Virginia. As of 2020, it was the fifth-largest defense contractor in the world by arms sales, and 5th largest in the Uni ...
while Northrop teamed with McDonnell Douglas, and the two contractor teams undertook a 50-month Dem/Val phase, culminating in the flight test of two technology demonstrator prototypes, the YF-22 and the
YF-23 The Northrop/McDonnell Douglas YF-23 is an American single-seat, twin-engine stealth fighter aircraft technology demonstrator designed for the United States Air Force (USAF). The design was a finalist in the USAF's Advanced Tactical Fighter (A ...
, respectively. Concurrently,
Pratt & Whitney Pratt & Whitney is an American aerospace manufacturer with global service operations. It is a subsidiary of Raytheon Technologies. Pratt & Whitney's aircraft engines are widely used in both civil aviation (especially airlines) and military aviat ...
and General Electric were awarded contracts to develop the YF119 and YF120 engines respectively for the ATF engine competition. Dem/Val was focused on system engineering, technology development plans, and risk reduction over point aircraft designs; in fact, after the down-select, the Lockheed team completely changed the airframe configuration in the summer of 1987 due to weight analysis during detailed design, with notable changes including the wing planform from swept trapezoidal to diamond-like and a reduction in forebody planform area. Contractors made extensive use of analytical and empirical methods, including computational fluid dynamics, wind-tunnel testing, and
radar cross-section Radar cross-section (RCS), also called radar signature, is a measure of how detectable an object is by radar. A larger RCS indicates that an object is more easily detected. An object reflects a limited amount of radar energy back to the source. ...
(RCS) calculations and pole testing; the Lockheed team would conduct nearly 18,000 hours of wind-tunnel testing. Avionics development was marked by extensive testing and prototyping and supported by ground and flying laboratories. During Dem/Val, the SPO used the results of performance and cost trade studies conducted by contractor teams to adjust ATF requirements and delete ones that were significant weight and cost drivers while having marginal value. The short takeoff and landing (
STOL A short takeoff and landing (STOL) aircraft is a conventional fixed-wing aircraft that has short runway requirements for takeoff and landing. Many STOL-designed aircraft also feature various arrangements for use on airstrips with harsh conditio ...
) requirement was relaxed to delete thrust-reversers, saving substantial weight. As avionics was a major cost driver,
side-looking radar Side-looking airborne radar (SLAR) is an aircraft- or satellite-mounted imaging radar pointing perpendicular to the direction of flight (hence ''side-looking''). A squinted (nonperpendicular) mode is possible also. SLAR can be fitted with a sta ...
s were deleted, and the dedicated infra-red search and track (IRST) system was downgraded from multi-color to single color and then deleted as well. However, space and cooling provisions were retained to allow for the later addition of these components. The ejection seat requirement was downgraded from a fresh design to the existing McDonnell Douglas
ACES II ACES II is an ejection seat system manufactured by the Collins Aerospace division of Raytheon Technologies (RTX). ACES is an acronym for Advanced Concept Ejection Seat. It is used in Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II, McDonnell Douglas F ...
. Despite efforts by the contractor teams to rein in weight, the takeoff gross weight estimate was increased from to , resulting in engine thrust requirement increasing from to class. Each team produced two prototype air vehicles for Dem/Val, one for each of the two engine options. The YF-22 had its maiden flight on 29 September 1990 and in-flight tests achieved up to Mach 1.58 in supercruise. After the Dem/Val flight test of the prototypes, on 23 April 1991, Secretary of the USAF Donald Rice announced the Lockheed team and Pratt & Whitney as the winners of the ATF and engine competitions. The YF-23 design was considered stealthier and faster, while the YF-22, with its thrust vectoring nozzles, was more maneuverable as well as less expensive and risky.Goodall 1992, p. 110. The press speculated that the Lockheed team's design was also more adaptable to the U.S. Navy's Navalized Advanced Tactical Fighter (NATF), but by fiscal year (FY) 1992, the Navy had abandoned NATF.Miller 2005, p. 76.


Production and procurement

As the program moved to full-scale development, or Engineering & Manufacturing Development (EMD), the production F-22 design had notable differences from the YF-22, despite having a similar configuration. The wing’s leading edge sweep angle was decreased from 48° to 42°, while the vertical stabilizers were shifted rearward and decreased in area by 20%. The radome shape was changed for better radar performance and the wingtips were clipped for antennas. To improve pilot visibility and aerodynamics, the canopy was moved forward and the engine inlets moved rearward . The shapes of the fuselage, wing, and
stabilator A stabilator is a fully movable aircraft horizontal stabilizer. It serves the usual functions of longitudinal stability, control and stick force requirements otherwise performed by the separate parts of a conventional horizontal stabilizer and el ...
trailing edges were refined to improve aerodynamics, strength, and stealth characteristics. The production airframe was designed with a service life of 8,000 hours. Increasing weight during EMD caused slight reductions in projected range and maneuver performance. Aside from advances in air vehicle and propulsion technology, the F-22’s avionics and software were unprecedented in terms of complexity and scale, with the fusion of multiple sensors systems and software integration of 1.7 million lines of code."F-22 aircraft No. 4005 completes successful first flight."
''
Federation of American Scientists The Federation of American Scientists (FAS) is an American nonprofit global policy think tank with the stated intent of using science and scientific analysis to attempt to make the world more secure. FAS was founded in 1946 by scientists who wo ...
''. Retrieved 23 July 2009.
To enable early looks and troubleshooting for mission software development, a Boeing 757 was modified with F-22 mission systems to serve as the Flying Test Bed avionics laboratory. The end of the
Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
and the
dissolution of the Soviet Union The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...
in 1991 reduced the Department of Defense's (DoD) urgency for new weapon systems and the following years would see reductions in DoD spending; this resulted in the F-22's EMD being rescheduled and lengthened multiple times. The division of work amongst the team largely carried through from Dem/Val to EMD, although prime contractor Lockheed acquired
General Dynamics General Dynamics Corporation (GD) is an American publicly traded, aerospace and defense corporation headquartered in Reston, Virginia. As of 2020, it was the fifth-largest defense contractor in the world by arms sales, and 5th largest in the Uni ...
' fighter portfolio at Fort Worth, Texas in 1993 and thus had the majority of the airframe manufacturing. While
Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company is a major unit of Lockheed Martin with headquarters at Air Force Plant 4 in Fort Worth, Texas. Lockheed Martin Aeronautics is based in Marietta, Georgia and Palmdale, California. Palmdale is home to the Advan ...
primarily performed Dem/Val work at its Skunk Works sites in
Burbank Burbank may refer to: Places Australia * Burbank, Queensland, a suburb in Brisbane United States * Burbank, California, a city in Los Angeles County * Burbank, Santa Clara County, California, a census-designated place * Burbank, Illinois, ...
and
Palmdale, California Palmdale is a city in northern Los Angeles County in the U.S. state of California. The city lies in the Antelope Valley region of Southern California. The San Gabriel Mountains separate Palmdale from the Los Angeles Basin to the south. On Aug ...
, it would shift the program office and EMD work from Burbank to Marietta, Georgia, where it performed final assembly; program partner Boeing provided additional airframe components as well as avionics integration and training systems in Seattle, Washington. The first F-22, an EMD aircraft with tail number 4001, was unveiled at Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Marietta on 9 April 1997 and first flew on 7 September 1997."Chronology of the F-22 Program."
''F-22 Team'', 4 November 2012. Retrieved 23 July 2009.
In 2006, the F-22 development team won the
Collier Trophy The Robert J. Collier Trophy is an annual aviation award administered by the U.S. National Aeronautic Association (NAA), presented to those who have made "the greatest achievement in aeronautics or astronautics in America, with respect to im ...
, American aviation's most prestigious award. The USAF originally envisioned ordering 750 ATFs at a total program cost of $44.3 billion and procurement cost of $26.2 billion in FY 1985 dollars, with production beginning in 1994 and service entry in the late 1990s. The 1990 Major Aircraft Review led by
Secretary of Defense A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...
Dick Cheney Richard Bruce Cheney ( ; born January 30, 1941) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 46th vice president of the United States from 2001 to 2009 under President George W. Bush. He is currently the oldest living former U ...
reduced this to 648 aircraft beginning in 1996 and in service in the early-to-mid 2000s. After the end of the Cold War, this was further curtailed in the 1993 Bottom-Up Review and by 1997, funding instability had cut the total to 339, which was again reduced to 277 by 2003. In 2004, with its focus on asymmetric counterinsurgency warfare in Iraq and Afghanistan, the DoD under Secretary
Donald Rumsfeld Donald Henry Rumsfeld (July 9, 1932 – June 29, 2021) was an American politician, government official and businessman who served as Secretary of Defense from 1975 to 1977 under president Gerald Ford, and again from 2001 to 2006 under Presi ...
further reduced the planned procurement to 183 operational aircraft, despite the USAF's preference for 381 to ensure adequate squadron numbers for its Air Expeditionary Force structure. A multi-year procurement plan was implemented in 2006 to save $15 billion, with total program cost projected to be $62 billion for 183 F-22s distributed to seven combat squadrons. In 2008, Congress passed a defense spending bill that raised the total orders for production aircraft to 187. Production, with the first lot awarded in September 2000, supported over 1,000 subcontractors and suppliers from 46 states and up to 95,000 jobs, and spanned 15 years at a peak rate of roughly two airplanes per month. The first two F-22s built were EMD aircraft in the Block 1.0 configuration for initial flight testing and envelope expansion, while the third was a Block 2.0 aircraft built to represent the internal structure of production airframes and enabled it to test full flight loads. Six more EMD aircraft were built in the Block 10 configuration for development and upgrade testing, with the last two considered essentially production quality jets. Production for operational squadrons consisted of 74 Block 10/20 training aircraft and 112 Block 30/35 combat aircraft; one of the Block 30 aircraft is dedicated to flight sciences at
Edwards Air Force Base Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force installation in California. Most of the base sits in Kern County, but its eastern end is in San Bernardino County and a southern arm is in Los Angeles County. The hub of the base is E ...
, California. Block 20 aircraft from Lot 3 onward were upgraded to Block 30 standards, increasing the Block 30/35 fleet to 149 aircraft while 37 remain in the Block 20 configuration. The numerous new technologies in the F-22 resulted in substantial cost overruns and delays. Many capabilities were deferred to post-service upgrades, reducing the initial cost but increasing total program cost. Due to the aircraft's sophisticated capabilities, contractors have been targeted by cyberattacks and technology theft. As production wound down in 2011, the total program cost is estimated to be about $67.3 billion, with $32.4 billion spent on Research, Development, Test and Evaluation (RDT&E) and $34.9 billion on procurement and military construction (MILCON) in then year dollars. The
incremental cost In economics, the marginal cost is the change in the total cost that arises when the quantity produced is incremented, the cost of producing additional quantity. In some contexts, it refers to an increment of one unit of output, and in others it r ...
for an additional F-22 was estimated at $138 million in 2009."FY 2009 Budget Estimates", .
U.S. Air Force, February 2008. Retrieved 23 July 2009.
"Selected Acquisition Report (SAR) – F-22, RCS: DD-A&T(Q&A)823–265." Department of Defense, 31 December 2010. Retrieved 13 March 2019.


Ban on exports

The F-22 cannot be exported under US federal law to protect its stealth technology and classified features. Customers for U.S. fighters are acquiring earlier designs such as the F-15 Eagle and 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.Smith, R. Jeffrey
"Premier U.S. fighter jet has major shortcomings: F-22's maintenance demands growing."
''The Washington Post'', 10 July 2009. Retrieved 24 July 2009.
In September 2006, Congress upheld the ban on foreign F-22 sales.Bruno, M
"Appropriators Approve F-22A Multiyear, But Not Foreign Sales."
''Aviation Week'', 27 September 2006. Retrieved 28 August 2011.
Despite the ban, the 2010 defense authorization bill included provisions requiring the DoD to report on the costs and feasibility for an F-22 export variant, and another report on the effect of F-22 export sales on the US aerospace industry. Some Australian politicians and defense commentators proposed that Australia should attempt to purchase F-22s instead of the planned F-35s,Carmen, G

'' The Age'', 2 October 2006. Retrieved 31 August 2011.
citing the F-22's known capabilities and F-35's delays and developmental uncertainties."Australia and the F22 Raptor."
''kuro5hin.org'', 26 June 2006. Retrieved 3 July 2006.
However, the
Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...
(RAAF) determined that the F-22 was unable to perform the F-35's strike and close air support roles.Houston, A
"Strategic Insight 9 – Is the JSF good enough?"
''
Australian Strategic Policy Institute The Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) is a defence and strategic policy think tank based in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, founded by the Australian government and funded by the Australian and overseas governments, industry ...
'', 18 August 2004.
The Japanese government also showed interest in the F-22 for its Replacement-Fighter program. The Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) would reportedly require fewer fighters for its mission if it obtained the F-22, thus reducing engineering and staffing costs. However, in 2009 it was reported that acquiring the F-22 would require increases to the Japanese government's defense budget beyond the historical 1 percent of its GDP. With the end of F-22 production, Japan chose the F-35 in December 2011. Israel also expressed interest, but eventually chose the F-35 because of the F-22's price and unavailability."Israeli Plans to Buy F-35s Hitting Obstacles."
''Defense Industry Daily'', 27 June 2006. Retrieved 23 July 2009.


Production termination

Throughout the 2000s when the U.S. was primarily involved in asymmetric warfare in Iraq and Afghanistan, the USAF's procurement goal of 381 F-22s was questioned over rising costs, initial reliability and availability problems, limited multirole versatility, and a lack of relevant adversaries for air combat missions."Assertion and Facts."
''senate.gov.'' Retrieved: 17 January 2012.
In 2006, Comptroller General of the United States David Walker found that "the DoD has not demonstrated the need" for more investment in the F-22, and further opposition was expressed by Bush Administration Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld and his successor Robert Gates, Deputy Secretary of Defense
Gordon R. England Gordon Richard England (born September 15, 1937) is an American politician and businessman who was the U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense and twice served as the U.S. Secretary of the Navy in the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush. ...
, and Chairman of
U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee The Committee on Armed Services (sometimes abbreviated SASC for ''Senate Armed Services Committee'') is a committee of the United States Senate empowered with legislative oversight of the nation's military, including the Department of Defe ...
(SASC) Senators
John Warner John William Warner III (February 18, 1927 – May 25, 2021) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the United States Secretary of the Navy from 1972 to 1974 and as a five-term Republican U.S. Senator from Virginia from 1979 to 200 ...
and
John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two terms ...
. Under Rumsfeld, procurement was severely cut to 183 aircraft. The F-22 lost influential supporters in 2008 after the forced resignations of Secretary of the Air Force
Michael Wynne Michael Walter Wynne (born September 4, 1944) is an American politician and business executive and was the 21st United States Secretary of the Air Force. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates asked for and received his resignation (and that of Chief ...
and the Chief of Staff of the Air Force General T. Michael Moseley. In November 2008, Gates stated that the F-22 lacked relevance in asymmetric post-Cold War conflicts, and in April 2009, under the
Obama Administration Barack Obama's tenure as the 44th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2009, and ended on January 20, 2017. A Democrat from Illinois, Obama took office following a decisive victory over Republican ...
, he called for production to end in FY 2011 after completing 187 F-22s.Levine, Adam, Mike Mount and Alan Silverleib
"Gates Announces Major Pentagon Priority Shifts."
CNN, 9 April 2009. Retrieved 31 August 2011.
The loss of staunch F-22 advocates in the upper DoD echelons resulted in the erosion of its political support. In July 2008, General James Cartwright, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, stated to the SASC his reasons for supporting the termination of F-22 production, including shifting resources to the multi-service F-35 and preserving the F/A-18 production line for the EA-18G Growler's electronic warfare capabilities. Although Russian and Chinese fighter developments fueled concern for the USAF, Gates dismissed this and in 2010, he set the F-22 requirement to 187 aircraft by lowering the number of major regional conflict preparations from two to one, despite an effort by Moseley's successor General
Norton Schwartz Norton Allan Schwartz (born December 14, 1951) is a retired United States Air Force General who served as the 19th Chief of Staff of the Air Force from August 12, 2008, until his retirement in 2012. He previously served as commander, United Stat ...
to raise the number to 243. After President Obama threatened to veto further production at Gates' urging, the Senate voted in July 2009 in favor of ending production and the House agreed to abide by the 187 cap. Gates highlighted the F-35's role in the decision, and in 2011, he explained that Chinese fighter developments had been accounted for when the F-22 numbers were set, and that the U.S. would have a considerable advantage in stealth aircraft in 2025 even with F-35 delays. In December 2011, the 195th and final F-22 was completed out of 8 test EMD and 187 operational aircraft produced; the jet was delivered on 2 May 2012. The curtailed procurement would force the USAF to operate the F-15C/D into the 2020s in order to retain adequate numbers of air superiority fighters. Although production ended, F-22 tooling was retained for the possibility of a production restart or a Service Life Extension Program (SLEP). A
RAND Corporation The RAND Corporation (from the phrase "research and development") is an American nonprofit global policy think tank created in 1948 by Douglas Aircraft Company to offer research and analysis to the United States Armed Forces. It is financed ...
paper from a 2010 USAF study estimated that restarting production and building an additional 75 F-22s would cost $17 billion, resulting in $227 million per aircraft, $54 million higher than the flyaway cost. At that time, Lockheed Martin stated that restarting the production line itself would cost about $200 million. Production tooling and associated documentation were subsequently stored at the
Sierra Army Depot Sierra Army Depot (SIAD) is a United States Army post and military equipment storage facility located near the unincorporated community of Herlong, California. It was built in 1942 as one of several ammunition storage facilities located far enou ...
to support the fleet life cycle while its Marietta plant space was repurposed to support the
C-130J The Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules is a four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft. The C-130J is a comprehensive update of the Lockheed C-130 Hercules, with new engines, flight deck, and other systems. The C-130J is the newest v ...
and F-35; engineering work for sustainment and upgrades continued at Fort Worth, Texas and Palmdale, California. In April 2016, the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) Tactical Air and Land Forces Subcommittee, citing advances in air warfare systems of Russia and China, directed the USAF to conduct a cost study and assessment associated with resuming production of the F-22. On 9 June 2017, the USAF submitted their report to Congress stating they had no plans to restart the F-22 production line due to economic and logistical challenges; it estimated it would cost approximately $50 billion to procure 194 additional F-22s at a cost of $206–216 million per aircraft, including approximately $9.9 billion for non-recurring start-up costs and $40.4 billion for aircraft procurement costs with the first delivery in the mid-to-late 2020s. The long time gap since the end of production meant hiring new workers and sourcing replacement vendors, contributing to the high start-up costs and lead times. The USAF believed that the funding would be better invested in its next-generation Air Superiority 2030 effort, which evolved into the Next Generation Air Dominance.


Upgrades

The F-22 and its subsystems were designed to be upgraded over its life cycle. The modernization and upgrades consist of software and hardware modifications, or Tactical Mandates, captured under numbered Increments, originally called Spirals, as well as software-only Operational Flight Program (OFP) Updates. Amid debates over the airplane’s relevance in asymmetric counterinsurgency warfare, the first Increments and OFP Updates primarily focused on ground attack, or strike capabilities. Increment 2, the first upgrade program, was implemented in 2005 for Block 20 aircraft onward and enabled the employment of
Joint Direct Attack Munition The Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) is a guidance kit that converts unguided bombs, or "dumb bombs", into all-weather precision-guided munitions. JDAM-equipped bombs are guided by an integrated inertial guidance system coupled to a Global Pos ...
s (JDAM). The improved AN/APG-77(V)1 radar, which incorporates air-to-ground modes, was certified in March 2007 and fitted on airframes from Lot 5 onward.AP/APG-77(V).
''Forecast International''. March 2012
Increment 3.1 and Updates 3 and 4 for Block 30/35 aircraft improved ground-attack capabilities through synthetic aperture radar mapping and radio emitter direction finding,
electronic attack An electronic countermeasure (ECM) is an electrical or electronic device designed to trick or deceive radar, sonar, or other detection systems, like infrared (IR) or lasers. It may be used both offensively and defensively to deny targeting info ...
and Small Diameter Bomb (SDB) integration; testing began in 2009 and the first upgraded aircraft was delivered in 2011.Wall, Robert and Amy Butler
"USAF Weighs Future Priority Needs."
''Aviation Week'', 21 November 2011.
To address oxygen deprivation issues, F-22s were fitted with an automatic backup oxygen system (ABOS) and modified life support system starting in 2012. In contrast to prior upgrades, Increment 3.2 for Block 30/35 aircraft emphasized air combat capabilities and was a two-part process. 3.2A focused on electronic warfare, communications and identification, while 3.2B included geolocation improvements and full integration of the AIM-9X and
AIM-120D The AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile, or AMRAAM (pronounced ), is an American beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile (BVRAAM) capable of all-weather day-and-night operations. It is 7 inches (18 cm) in diameter, and employs ...
; fleet releases began in 2013 and 2019, respectively. Concurrent with Increment 3.2, Update 5 in 2016 added automatic ground collision avoidance system (
GCAS A Gamma Cassiopeiae variable (γ Cassiopeiae variable) is a type of variable star, named for its prototype γ Cassiopeiae. Variability γ Cassiopeiae variables show irregular changes in brightness on a timescale of decades. These typically hav ...
), datalink updates, and more. Update 6, deployed in tandem with 3.2B, incorporated cryptographic and avionics stability enhancements. Alongside 3.2B, an open mission system (OMS) processor module and architecture were added and an
agile software development In software development, agile (sometimes written Agile) practices include requirements discovery and solutions improvement through the collaborative effort of self-organizing and cross-functional teams with their customer(s)/ end user(s), ad ...
process was implemented to enable faster enhancements from additional vendors. The Multifunctional Information Distribution System-Joint Tactical Radio System (MIDS-JTRS) for Mode 5
IFF In logic and related fields such as mathematics and philosophy, "if and only if" (shortened as "iff") is a biconditional logical connective between statements, where either both statements are true or both are false. The connective is bicon ...
and Link 16 traffic was installed starting in 2021, and the airplane can also use the
Battlefield Airborne Communications Node The Battlefield Airborne Communications Node (BACN) is a United States Air Force (USAF) airborne communications Repeater, relay and Gateway (telecommunications), gateway system carried by the unmanned Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk, EQ-4B an ...
(BACN) as a two-way communication gateway. Additional modernization and enhancements are under development, with funding currently extending to 2031; upgrades currently being tested include new sensors and antennas, long range advanced infrared search and track (AIRST), and more durable stealth coatings. Other enhancements being developed include all-aspect IRST functionality for the Missile Launch Detector (MLD), manned-unmanned teaming capability, and cockpit improvements. The planned
Multifunction Advanced Data Link Multifunction Advanced Data Link (MADL) is a fast switching narrow directional communications data link between stealth aircraft. It began as a method to coordinate between F-35 aircraft (the Joint Strike Fighter), but HQ Air Combat Command wants t ...
(MADL) integration was cut due to development delays and lack of proliferation among USAF platforms. Although the Thales Scorpion helmet-mounted cuing system (HMCS) was successfully tested on the F-22 in 2013, funding cuts delayed its deployment to the fleet. Lockheed Martin has also proposed upgrading all Block 20 training aircraft to Block 30/35 in order to increase numbers available for combat. The F-22 has also been used to test technology for its eventual successor from the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program; some advances are expected to be applied to the F-22 as well. Aside from capability upgrades, the F-22 fleet underwent a $350 million "structures retrofit program" to address improper titanium heat treatment in the parts of certain airframe batches. By January 2021, all aircraft had gone through the Structural Repair Program to add another 8,000 flight hours to their usable lifetimes.Rolfsen, Bruce
"F-22 design problems force expensive fixes."
''Air Force Times'', 12 November 2007.
In the long term, the F-22 is expected to eventually be succeeded by the NGAD's sixth-generation manned fighter component.


Design


Overview

The F-22 Raptor is a fifth-generation air superiority fighter that is considered fourth generation in
stealth aircraft Stealth aircraft are designed to avoid detection using a variety of technologies that reduce reflection/emission of radar, infrared, visible light, radio frequency (RF) spectrum, and audio, collectively known as stealth technology. The F-117 N ...
technology by the USAF. It is the first operational aircraft to combine supercruise, supermaneuverability, stealth, and
sensor fusion Sensor fusion is the process of combining sensor data or data derived from disparate sources such that the resulting information has less uncertainty than would be possible when these sources were used individually. For instance, one could potentia ...
in a single weapons platform."F-22 Raptor fact sheet."
U.S. Air Force, March 2009. Retrieved 23 July 2009.
The F-22 has clipped diamond-like
delta wing A delta wing is a wing shaped in the form of a triangle. It is named for its similarity in shape to the Greek uppercase letter delta (Δ). Although long studied, it did not find significant applications until the Jet Age, when it proved suitabl ...
s blended into the fuselage with four empennage surfaces and leading edge root extensions running to the upper outboard corner of the caret inlets. Flight control surfaces include leading-edge flaps, flaperons,
aileron An aileron (French for "little wing" or "fin") is a hinged flight control surface usually forming part of the trailing edge of each wing of a fixed-wing aircraft. Ailerons are used in pairs to control the aircraft in roll (or movement around ...
s, rudders on the canted vertical stabilizers, and all-moving horizontal tails (
stabilator A stabilator is a fully movable aircraft horizontal stabilizer. It serves the usual functions of longitudinal stability, control and stick force requirements otherwise performed by the separate parts of a conventional horizontal stabilizer and el ...
s); for speed brake function, the ailerons deflect up, flaperons down, and rudders outwards to increase drag. The aircraft has a refueling boom receptacle centered on its spine and retractable tricycle landing gear.Kohn, Lt. Col. Allen E. and Lt. Col.
Steven M. Rainey Steven M. Rainey is a test pilot and retired United States Air Force (USAF) officer. , he is a test pilot for Stratolaunch Systems working on the Scaled Composites Stratolaunch, Scaled Composites ''Stratolaunch'' aircraft. Previously, he was Lockh ...

"F-22 Flight Test Program Update."
9 April 1999. Archived fro

/ref> The aircraft's dual
Pratt & Whitney F119 The Pratt & Whitney F119, company designation PW5000, is an afterburning turbofan engine developed by Pratt & Whitney for the Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) program, which resulted in the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor. The engine delivers thrust ...
augmented turbofan engines are closely spaced and incorporate pitch-axis thrust vectoring nozzles with a range of ±20 degrees; the nozzles are fully integrated into the F-22’s flight controls and vehicle management system. Each engine has maximum thrust in the 35,000 
lbf The pound of force or pound-force (symbol: lbf, sometimes lbf,) is a unit of force used in some systems of measurement, including English Engineering units and the foot–pound–second system. Pound-force should not be confused with pound-m ...
(156 kN) class. The F-22's thrust-to-weight ratio at typical combat weight is nearly at unity in maximum military power and 1.25 in full afterburner. The caret inlets generate oblique shocks with the upper inboard corners to ensure good total pressure recovery and efficient supersonic flow compression. Maximum speed without external stores is approximately
Mach Mach may refer to Mach number, the speed of sound in local conditions. It may also refer to: Computing * Mach (kernel), an operating systems kernel technology * ATI Mach, a 2D GPU chip by ATI * GNU Mach, the microkernel upon which GNU Hurd is bas ...
1.8 at military power and greater than Mach 2 with afterburners.Ayton, Mark. "F-22 Raptor". ''
AirForces Monthly ''Air Forces Monthly'' is a military aviation magazine published by Key Publishing, and based in Stamford, Lincolnshire, United Kingdom. It was established in 1988. It provides news and analysis on military aviation, technology and related topics ...
'', August 2008, p. 75. Retrieved 19 July 2008.
The F-22's high cruise speed and operating altitude over prior fighters improve the effectiveness of its sensors and weapon systems, and increase survivability against ground defenses such as
surface-to-air missile A surface-to-air missile (SAM), also known as a ground-to-air missile (GTAM) or surface-to-air guided weapon (SAGW), is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft or other missiles. It is one type of anti-aircraft syst ...
s. The ability to supercruise, or sustain
supersonic Supersonic speed is the speed of an object that exceeds the speed of sound ( Mach 1). For objects traveling in dry air of a temperature of 20 °C (68 °F) at sea level, this speed is approximately . Speeds greater than five times ...
flight without using afterburners, allows it to intercept targets that afterburner-dependent aircraft would lack the fuel to reach. The use of internal
weapons bay The bomb bay or weapons bay on some military aircraft is a compartment to carry bombs, usually in the aircraft's fuselage, with "bomb bay doors" which open at the bottom. The bomb bay doors are opened and the bombs are dropped when over the ...
s permits the aircraft to maintain comparatively higher performance over most other combat-configured fighters due to a lack of parasitic drag from external stores. The F-22's thrust and aerodynamics enable regular combat speeds of Mach 1.5 at , thus providing 50% greater employment range for air-to-air missiles and twice the effective range for JDAMs than with prior platforms."USAF Almanac." ''Air Force magazine'', May 2006. Its structure contains a significant amount of high-strength materials to withstand stress and heat of sustained supersonic flight. Respectively, titanium alloys and
bismaleimide Maleimide is a chemical compound with the formula H2C2(CO)2NH (see diagram). This unsaturated imide is an important building block in organic synthesis. The name is a contraction of maleic acid and imide, the -C(O)NHC(O)- functional group. Malei ...
/epoxy composites comprise 42% and 24% of the structural weight. The F-22's aerodynamics,
relaxed stability In aviation, relaxed stability refers to an aircraft with low or negative stability. An aircraft with negative stability will have a tendency to change its pitch and bank angles spontaneously. An aircraft with negative stability cannot be trimm ...
, and powerful thrust-vectoring engines give it excellent maneuverability and energy potential across its flight envelope. The airplane has excellent high alpha (
angle of attack In fluid dynamics, angle of attack (AOA, α, or \alpha) is the angle between a reference line on a body (often the chord line of an airfoil) and the vector representing the relative motion between the body and the fluid through which it is m ...
) characteristics, capable of flying at trimmed alpha of over 60° while maintaining roll control and performing maneuvers such as the
Herbst maneuver The Herbst maneuver (also known as a J-turn"Turn and Burn." Fulghum, D. A.; Fabey, M. J. ''Aviation Week & Space Technology''. January 8, 2007.
(J-turn) and Pugachev's Cobra.Peron, L. R
"F-22 Initial High Angle-of-Attack Flight Results." (Abstract).
'' Air Force Flight Test Center''. Retrieved 7 November 2009.
The flight control system and full-authority digital engine control (
FADEC A full authority digital engine (or electronics) control (FADEC) is a system consisting of a digital computer, called an "electronic engine controller" (EEC) or "engine control unit" (ECU), and its related accessories that control all aspects of ai ...
) make the aircraft highly departure resistant and controllable, thus giving the pilot carefree handling."F-22 Pilot Perspective".
''Code One Magazine'', October 2000


Avionics

The aircraft has an integrated avionics system where through sensor fusion, data from all onboard sensor systems as well as off-board inputs are filtered and processed into a combined tactical picture, thus enhancing the pilot's situational awareness and reducing workload. Key mission systems include
Sanders Sanders may refer to: People Surname * Sanders (surname) * Bernie Sanders, US presidential candidate and senator * Sarah Huckabee Sanders, former White House press secretary and daughter of Mike Huckabee * Colonel Sanders, founder of KFC (Kentuc ...
/ General Electric AN/ALR-94 electronic warfare system,
Martin Marietta The Martin Marietta Corporation was an American company founded in 1961 through the merger of Glenn L. Martin Company and American-Marietta Corporation. In 1995, it merged with Lockheed Corporation to form Lockheed Martin. History Martin Mari ...
AN/AAR-56 infrared and ultraviolet Missile Launch Detector (MLD), Westinghouse/ Texas Instruments
AN/APG-77 The AN/APG-77 is a multifunction low probability of intercept radar installed on the F-22 Raptor fighter aircraft. The radar was designed and initially built by Westinghouse and Texas Instruments, and production continued with their respective s ...
active electronically scanned array An active electronically scanned array (AESA) is a type of phased array antenna, which is a computer-controlled array antenna in which the beam of radio waves can be electronically steered to point in different directions without moving the an ...
(AESA) radar, TRW Communication/Navigation/Identification (CNI) suite, and long range advanced IRST currently being tested. The APG-77 radar has a low-observable, active-aperture, electronically scanned antenna with multiple target
track-while-scan The track while scan (TWS) is a mode of radar operation in which the radar allocates part of its power to tracking the target or targets while part of its power is allocated to scanning, unlike the straight tracking mode, when the radar directs all ...
in all weather conditions; radar emissions can also be focused to overload enemy sensors as an electronic-attack capability. The radar changes frequencies more than 1,000 times per second to lower interception probability and has an estimated range of against an target and or more in narrow beams. The upgraded APG-77(V)1 provides air-to-ground functionality through synthetic aperture radar mapping and strike modes.Fulghum, D.A. and M.J. Fabey
"F-22 Combat Ready."
'' Aviation Week'', 8 January 2007. Archived fro
original.
Retrieved: 7 November 2009.
Alongside the radar is the ALR-94 electronic warfare system, among the most technically complex equipment on the F-22, that integrates more than 30 antennas blended into the wings and fuselage for all-round radar warning receiver (RWR) coverage and threat geolocation. It can be used as a passive detector capable of searching targets, with range (250+ nmi) exceeding the radar's, and can provide enough information for a radar lock and cue emissions to a
narrow beam In optics, a pencil or pencil of rays is a geometric construct used to describe a beam or portion of a beam of electromagnetic radiation or charged particles, typically in the form of a narrow beam ( conical or cylindrical). Antennas which str ...
(down to 2° by 2° in azimuth and elevation). Depending on the detected threat, the defensive systems can prompt the pilot to release countermeasures such as flares or chaff. The MLD uses six sensors to provide full spherical infrared coverage while the advanced IRST, housed in a stealthy pod on the wing, is a narrow field-of-view sensor for long-range passive identification and targeting. To ensure stealth in the radio frequency spectrum, CNI emissions are strictly controlled and confined to specific sectors, with tactical communication between F-22s performed using the directional Inter/Intra-Flight Data Link (IFDL).Sweetman 2000, pp. 41–47. Radar and CNI information are processed by two
Hughes Hughes may refer to: People * Hughes (surname) * Hughes (given name) Places Antarctica * Hughes Range (Antarctica), Ross Dependency * Mount Hughes, Oates Land * Hughes Basin, Oates Land * Hughes Bay, Graham Land * Hughes Bluff, Victoria La ...
Common Integrated Processor (CIP)s, each capable of processing up to 10.5 billion instructions per second. The aircraft has also been upgraded to incorporate an automatic ground collision avoidance system (GCAS). The F-22's ability to operate close to the battlefield gives the aircraft threat detection and identification capability comparative with the
RC-135 Rivet Joint The Boeing RC-135 is a family of large reconnaissance aircraft built by Boeing and modified by a number of companies, including General Dynamics, Lockheed, LTV, E-Systems, and L3 Technologies, and used by the United States Air Force and Royal ...
, and the ability to function as a "mini- AWACS", though its radar is less powerful than those of dedicated platforms. This allows the F-22 to rapidly designate targets for allies and coordinate friendly aircraft. Data can be transferred to other aircraft through a BACN or via Link 16 using MIDS-JTRS. The IEEE 1394B
bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...
developed for the F-22 was derived from the commercial IEEE 1394 "FireWire" bus system.Philips, E.H. "The Electric Jet." ''Aviation Week'', 5 February 2007. In 2007, the F-22's radar was tested as a wireless data transceiver, transmitting data at 548 megabits per second and receiving at gigabit speed, far faster than the Link 16 system. The radio frequency receivers of the electronic support measures (ESM) system give the aircraft the ability to perform
intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance ISTAR stands for intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance. In its macroscopic sense, ISTAR is a practice that links several battlefield functions together to assist a combat force in employing its sensors and managing t ...
(ISR) tasks. The F-22's baseline software has some 1.7 million lines of code, the majority involving the mission systems such as processing radar data. The integrated nature of the avionics, as well as the use of
Ada Ada may refer to: Places Africa * Ada Foah, a town in Ghana * Ada (Ghana parliament constituency) * Ada, Osun, a town in Nigeria Asia * Ada, Urmia, a village in West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Ada, Karaman, a village in Karaman Province, Tur ...
, has made the development and testing of upgrades challenging. To enable more rapid upgrades, the avionics suite added an open mission systems (OMS) processor, as well as an open-source architecture called the Open Systems Enclave (OSE) to enable the use of
containerized Containerization is a system of intermodal freight transport using intermodal containers (also called shipping containers and ISO containers). Containerization is also referred as "Container Stuffing" or "Container Loading", which is the pro ...
software from third-party vendors.


Cockpit

The F-22 has a
glass cockpit A glass cockpit is an aircraft cockpit that features electronic (digital) flight instrument displays, typically large LCD screens, rather than the traditional style of analog dials and gauges. While a traditional cockpit relies on numerous mech ...
with all-digital flight instruments. The monochrome head-up display offers a wide field of view and serves as a primary flight instrument; information is also displayed upon six color
liquid-crystal display A liquid-crystal display (LCD) is a flat-panel display A flat-panel display (FPD) is an electronic display used to display visual content such as text or images. It is present in consumer, medical, transportation, and industrial equipmen ...
(LCD) panels.Williams 2002, p. 10. The primary flight controls are a force-sensitive side-stick controller and a pair of throttles. The USAF initially wanted to implement
direct voice input Direct voice input (DVI), sometimes called voice input control (VIC), is a style of human–machine interaction "HMI" in which the user makes voice commands to issue instructions to the machine through speech recognition. In the field of militar ...
(DVI) controls, but this was judged to be too technically risky and was abandoned. The canopy's dimensions are approximately 140 inches long, 45 inches wide, and 27 inches tall (355 cm × 115 cm × 69 cm) and weighs 360 pounds. The canopy was redesigned after the original design lasted an average of 331 hours instead of the required 800 hours. The F-22 has integrated radio functionality, the signal processing systems are virtualized rather than as a separate hardware module. The integrated control panel (ICP) is a keypad system for entering communications, navigation, and autopilot data. Two up-front displays located around the ICP are used to display integrated caution advisory/warning (ICAW) data, CNI data and also serve as the stand-by flight instrumentation group and fuel quantity indicator."Military Avionics Systems", Ian Moir and Allan Seabridge, Wiley, pp. 360 The stand-by flight group displays an artificial horizon, for basic instrument meteorological conditions. The primary multi-function display (PMFD) is located under the ICP, and is used for navigation and situation assessment. Three secondary multi-function displays are located around the PMFD for tactical information and stores management.Williams 2002, p. 11. The ejection seat is a version of the ACES II commonly used in USAF aircraft, with a center-mounted ejection control. The F-22 has a complex
life support system A life-support system is the combination of equipment that allows survival in an environment or situation that would not support that life in its absence. It is generally applied to systems supporting human life in situations where the outsid ...
, which includes the onboard oxygen generation system (OBOGS), protective pilot garments, and a breathing regulator/anti-g (BRAG) valve controlling flow and pressure to the pilot's mask and garments. The pilot garments were developed under the Advanced Technology Anti-G Suit (ATAGS) project and protect against chemical/biological hazards and cold-water immersion, counter
g-force The gravitational force equivalent, or, more commonly, g-force, is a measurement of the type of force per unit mass – typically acceleration – that causes a perception of weight, with a g-force of 1 g (not gram in mass measure ...
s and low pressure at high altitudes, and provide thermal relief."A preliminary investigation of a fluid-filled ECG-triggered anti-g suit", February 1994 Following a series of hypoxia-related issues, the life support system was consequently revised to include an automatic backup oxygen system and a new flight vest valve.


Armament

The F-22 has three internal weapons bays: a large main bay on the bottom of the fuselage, and two smaller bays on the sides of the fuselage, aft of the engine inlets; a small bay for countermeasures such as flares is located behind each side bay. The main bay is split along the centerline and can accommodate six LAU-142/A launchers for beyond-visual-range (BVR) missiles and each side bay has an LAU-141/A launcher for short-range missiles. The primary air-to-air missiles are the
AIM-120 AMRAAM The AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile, or AMRAAM (pronounced ), is an American beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile (BVRAAM) capable of all-weather day-and-night operations. It is 7 inches (18 cm) in diameter, and employs ...
and the AIM-9 Sidewinder, with planned integration of the AIM-260 JATM. Missile launches require the bay doors to be open for less than a second, during which pneumatic or hydraulic arms push missiles clear of the aircraft; this is to reduce vulnerability to detection and to deploy missiles during high-speed flight. An internally mounted M61A2 Vulcan 20 mm rotary cannon is embedded in the airplane's right wing root with the muzzle covered by a retractable door.Miller 2005, p. 94. The radar projection of the cannon fire's path is displayed on the pilot's head-up display. Although designed for air-to-air missiles, the main bay can replace four launchers with two bomb racks that can each carry one 1,000 lb (450 kg) or four 250 lb (110 kg) bombs for a total of of air-to-surface ordnance.Polmar 2005, p. 397. While capable of carrying weapons with GPS guidance such as JDAMs and SDBs, the F-22 cannot self-designate laser-guided weapons. While the F-22 typically carries weapons internally, the wings include four
hardpoint A hardpoint is an attachment location on a structural frame designed to transfer force and carry an external or internal load. The term is usually used to refer to the mounting points (more formally known as a weapon station or station) on the ...
s, each rated to handle . Each hardpoint can accommodate a pylon that can carry a detachable 600- gallon (2,270 L) external fuel tank or a launcher holding two air-to-air missiles; the two inboard hardpoints are "plumbed" for external fuel tanks. The two outboard hardpoints have since been dedicated to a pair of stealthy pods housing the IRST and mission systems. To preserve the aircraft's stealth while enabling additional payload and fuel capacity, stealthy external carriage has been investigated since the mid-2000s, with a low drag, low-observable 600-gallon external tank and pylon currently under development. The aircraft can jettison external tanks and non-stealthy stores and their attachments to restore its stealth and
kinematic Kinematics is a subfield of physics, developed in classical mechanics, that describes the motion of points, bodies (objects), and systems of bodies (groups of objects) without considering the forces that cause them to move. Kinematics, as a fie ...
performance.


Stealth

The F-22 was designed to be highly difficult to detect and track by radar. Measures to reduce RCS include airframe shaping such as alignment of edges, internal carriage of weapons, fixed-geometry serpentine inlets and curved vanes that prevent line-of-sight of the engine faces and turbines from any exterior view, use of
radar-absorbent material In materials science, radiation-absorbent material, usually known as RAM, is a material which has been specially designed and shaped to absorb incident RF radiation (also known as non-ionising radiation), as effectively as possible, from as ma ...
(RAM), and attention to detail such as hinges and pilot helmets that could provide a radar return. The F-22 was also designed to have decreased radio frequency emissions, infrared signature and acoustic signature as well as reduced visibility to the naked eye. The aircraft's flat thrust-vectoring nozzles reduce infrared emissions of the exhaust plume to mitigate the threat of
infrared homing Infrared homing is a passive weapon guidance system which uses the infrared (IR) light emission from a target to track and follow it seamlessly. Missiles which use infrared seeking are often referred to as "heat-seekers" since infrared is radi ...
("heat seeking") surface-to-air or
air-to-air missile The newest and the oldest member of Rafael's Python family of AAM for comparisons, Python-5 (displayed lower-front) and Shafrir-1 (upper-back) An air-to-air missile (AAM) is a missile fired from an aircraft for the purpose of destroying a ...
s. Additional measures to reduce the infrared signature include special topcoat and active cooling to manage the heat buildup from supersonic flight. Compared to previous stealth designs like the F-117, the F-22 is less reliant on RAM, which are maintenance-intensive and susceptible to adverse weather conditions. Unlike the
B-2 The Northrop (later Northrop Grumman) B-2 Spirit, also known as the Stealth Bomber, is an American heavy strategic bomber, featuring low-observable stealth technology designed to penetrate dense anti-aircraft defenses. A subsonic flying w ...
, which requires climate-controlled hangars, the F-22 can undergo repairs on the flight line or in a normal hangar. The F-22 has a ''Signature Assessment System'' which delivers warnings when the radar signature is degraded and necessitates repair. While the F-22's exact RCS is
classified Classified may refer to: General *Classified information, material that a government body deems to be sensitive *Classified advertising or "classifieds" Music *Classified (rapper) (born 1977), Canadian rapper *The Classified, a 1980s American roc ...
, in 2009 Lockheed Martin released information indicating that from certain angles the airplane has an RCS of 0.0001 m2 or −40 dBsm – equivalent to the radar reflection of a "steel marble"; the aircraft can mount a Luneburg lens reflector to mask its RCS.Fulghum, David A
"F-22 Raptor To Make Paris Air Show Debut"
''Aviation Week'', 4 February 2009. Retrieved 15 February 2009.
Effectively maintaining the stealth features can decrease the F-22's
mission capable rate In reliability engineering, the term availability has the following meanings: * The degree to which a system, subsystem or equipment is in a specified operable and committable state at the start of a mission, when the mission is called for at ...
to 62–70%. The effectiveness of the stealth characteristics is difficult to gauge. The RCS value is a restrictive measurement of the aircraft's frontal or side area from the perspective of a static radar. When an aircraft maneuvers it exposes a completely different set of angles and surface area, potentially increasing radar observability. Furthermore, the F-22's stealth contouring and radar-absorbent materials are chiefly effective against high-frequency radars, usually found on other aircraft. The effects of Rayleigh scattering and resonance mean that
low-frequency radar Low-frequency radar is radar which uses frequencies lower than 1 GHz such as L-band, UHF, VHF, and HF, as opposed to the usual radar bands, which range from 2 GHz to 40 GHz.The radar cross section of any target depends on the freque ...
s such as weather radars and early-warning radars are more likely to detect the F-22 due to its physical size. However, such radars are also conspicuous, susceptible to
clutter Clutter and its derivations may refer to any of the following: Excessive physical disorder * Clutter, a confusing, or disorderly, state or collection, and possible symptom of compulsive hoarding * Clutter (marketing), numerous advertisements, ...
, and have low precision. Additionally, while faint or fleeting radar contacts make defenders aware that a stealth aircraft is present, reliably vectoring interception to attack the aircraft is much more challenging. According to the USAF an F-22 surprised an Iranian
F-4 Phantom II The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is an American tandem two-seat, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor and fighter-bomber originally developed by McDonnell Aircraft for the United States Navy.Swanborough and Bow ...
that was attempting to intercept an American
UAV An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft without any human pilot, crew, or passengers on board. UAVs are a component of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS), which includes adding a ground-based controller ...
, despite Iran's assertion of having military VHF radar coverage over the Persian Gulf. Beginning in 2021, the F-22 has been seen testing a new chrome-like surface coating. This highly polished surface appears to change color based on the viewer's orientation to the aircraft. It is speculated that the new coating will help to reduce the F-22's detectability by IRST and other infrared tracking systems and missiles. This coating has also been seen on some F-35 and F-117 test aircraft.


Operational history


Designation and testing

The YF-22 was originally given the unofficial name "Lightning II", from the World War II
Lockheed P-38 Lightning The Lockheed P-38 Lightning is an American single-seat, twin piston-engined fighter aircraft that was used during World War II. Developed for the United States Army Air Corps by the Lockheed Corporation, the P-38 incorporated a distinctive twi ...
fighter which persisted until the mid-1990s, when the USAF officially named the F-22 "Raptor". The "Lightning II" name was later given to the F-35. The aircraft was also briefly dubbed "SuperStar" and "Rapier". In September 2002, USAF changed the Raptor's designation to F/A-22, mimicking the Navy's McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet and intended to highlight a planned ground-attack capability amid debate over the aircraft's role and relevance. The F-22 designation was reinstated in December 2005, when the aircraft entered service."U.S. to Declare F-22 Fighter Operational."
Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse (AFP) is a French international news agency headquartered in Paris, France. Founded in 1835 as Havas, it is the world's oldest news agency. AFP has regional headquarters in Nicosia, Montevideo, Hong Kong and Washington, D.C ...
, 15 December 2005.
The F-22 flight test program consisted of flight sciences and developmental testing (DT) by the
411th Flight Test Squadron The 411th Flight Test Squadron is a United States Air Force squadron assigned to the 412th Operations Group of Air Force Materiel Command, stationed at Edwards Air Force Base, California. It conducted the Advanced Tactical Fighter program flyof ...
at Edwards AFB, California and operational test and evaluation (OT&E) by the
422nd Test and Evaluation Squadron The 422d Test and Evaluation Squadron is a United States Air Force unit. It is assigned to the 53d Test and Evaluation Group, stationed at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. The squadron performs operational testing of all fighter aircraft and mun ...
at Nellis AFB, Nevada. Flight testing began in 1997 with Raptor 4001, the first EMD F-22, and eight more EMD jets assigned to the 411th FLTS would participate in the test program under the Combined Test Force (CTF) at Edwards. The first two aircraft conducted envelope expansion testing such as flying qualities, air vehicle performance, propulsion, and stores separation. The third aircraft, the first to have production-level internal structure, tested flight loads, flutter, and JDAM separation, while two non-flying F-22s were built for testing static loads and fatigue. Subsequent EMD aircraft and the Boeing 757 FTB tested avionics, CNI, environmental qualifications, and observables, with the first combat-capable Block 3.0 software flying in 2001. Raptor 4001 was retired from flight testing in 2000 and subsequently sent to Wright-Patterson AFB for survivability testing, including live fire testing and battle damage repair training. Other retired EMD F-22s have been used as maintenance trainers. The first production F-22 was delivered to the 422nd TES at Nellis in January 2003 for Initial Operational Test & Evaluation (IOT&E). Following a preliminary assessment, called OT&E Phase 1, IOT&E began in April 2004 and was completed in December of that year. This marked the successful demonstration of the jet's air-to-air mission capability, although it was also more maintenance intensive than expected. A Follow-On OT&E (FOT&E) in 2005 cleared the F-22's air-to-ground mission capability. Delivery of operational aircraft for pilot training at Tyndall AFB, Florida began in September 2003, and the first combat ready F-22 of the 1st Fighter Wing arrived at Langley AFB, Virginia in January 2005. As the F-22 was designed for upgrades throughout its lifecycle, the 411th FLTS and 422nd TES would respectively continue the DT/OT&E of these upgrades. The 411th FLTS' fleet was further augmented by a dedicated Block 30 F-22 test aircraft in 2010. In August 2008, an unmodified F-22 of the 411th FLTS performed the first ever air-to-air refueling of an aircraft using synthetic jet fuel as part of a wider USAF effort to qualify aircraft to use the fuel, a 50/50 mix of JP-8 and a Fischer–Tropsch process-produced, natural gas-based fuel. In 2011, an F-22 flew supersonic on a 50% mixture of biofuel derived from camelina.


Introduction into service

In December 2005, the USAF announced that the F-22 had achieved Initial Operational Capability (IOC) with the 94th Fighter Squadron. During
Exercise Northern Edge Exercise Northern Edge is Alaska's premier Military exercise, military joint training exercise. Alaskan Command (ALCOM) uses expansive Alaskan training ranges to conduct this joint training operation. History Jack Frost (1975-1979) Norther ...
in Alaska in June 2006, in simulated combat exercises 12 F-22s from the unit downed 108 adversaries with no losses. During Exercise
Red Flag Red flag may refer to: * Red flag (idiom), a metaphor for something signalling a problem ** Red flag warning, a term used by meteorologists ** Red flag (battle ensign), maritime flag signaling an intention to give battle with no quarter (fight to ...
07–1 in February 2007, 14 F-22s of the 94th Fighter Squadron supported Blue Force strikes and undertook close air support sorties. Against superior numbers of Red Force Aggressor F-15s and F-16s, 6–8 F-22s maintained air dominance throughout and provided airborne electronic surveillance. No sorties were missed because of maintenance or other failures; a single F-22 was judged "lost" against the defeated opposing force. The F-22 achieved Full Operational Capability (FOC) in December 2007, when General John Corley of
Air Combat Command Air Combat Command (ACC) is one of nine Major Commands (MAJCOMs) in the United States Air Force, reporting to Headquarters, United States Air Force (HAF) at the Pentagon. It is the primary provider of air combat forces for the Air Force, and i ...
(ACC) officially declared the F-22s of the integrated active duty
1st Fighter Wing The 1st Fighter Wing (1 FW) is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Combat Command Fifteenth Air Force. It is stationed at Langley Air Force Base, VA. where it is a tenant unit, being supported by the 633d Air Base Wing. Its 1 ...
and
Virginia Air National Guard The Virginia Air National Guard (VA ANG) is the aerial militia of the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States of America. It is, along with the Virginia Army National Guard, an element of the Virginia National Guard. As commonwealth militia uni ...
192d Fighter Wing The 192nd Wing (192 WG), also referred to as the 192D Wing, is a unit of the Virginia Air National Guard and the United States Air Force, stationed at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia. If activated to federal service, the 192 WG is gained by A ...
fully operational. This was followed by an Operational Readiness Inspection (ORI) of the integrated wing in April 2008, in which it was rated "excellent" in all categories, with a simulated kill-ratio of 221–0.


Maintenance and training

The 43rd Fighter Squadron was reactivated in 2002 as the F-22 training unit for the type's basic course at Tyndall AFB. Following severe damage to the installation in the wake of Hurricane Michael in 2018, the squadron and its aircraft were relocated to nearby Eglin AFB; the storm had also damaged several F-22s, but these were later repaired. To reduce operating costs and prolong the F-22's service life, some pilot training sorties are performed using flight simulators, while the T-38 Talon is used for adversary training. The advanced F-22 weapons instructor course at USAF Weapons School is conducted by the 433rd Weapons Squadron at Nellis AFB. Each airplane requires a three-week packaged maintenance plan (PMP) every 300 flight hours.Camelo, Maj. Wilson
"Tyndall AFB takes F-22 pilot training to next level".
U.S. Air Force, 30 July 2014. Archived fro
original.
/ref> The stealth coatings of the F-22 were designed to be more robust and weather-resistant than those used in earlier stealth aircraft. However, early coatings still experienced issues with rain and moisture when F-22s were initially posted to Guam in 2009. The stealth system account for almost one third of maintenance, with coatings being particularly demanding. More durable stealth coatings derived from the F-35's are being considered for future upgrades in order to reduce maintenance efforts. F-22 depot maintenance is performed at Ogden Air Logistics Complex at Hill AFB, Utah, and considerably care is taken during maintenance due to the limited attrition reserve aircraft numbers of the small fleet size. F-22s were available for missions 63% of the time on average in 2015, up from 40% when the aircraft was introduced in 2005. Maintenance hours per flight hour was also improved from 30 early on to 10.5 by 2009, lower than the requirement of 12; man-hours per flight hour was 43 in 2014. When introduced, the F-22 had a Mean Time Between Maintenance (MTBM) of 1.7 hours, short of the required 3.0; this rose to 3.2 hours in 2012. By fiscal year 2015, the cost per flight hour was $59,116.


Deployments

The F-22 was first deployed in February 2007 with the 27th Fighter Squadron to Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan. This first overseas deployment was initially marred by problems when six F-22s flying from Hickam AFB, Hawaii, experienced multiple software-related system failures while crossing the
International Date Line The International Date Line (IDL) is an internationally accepted demarcation on the surface of Earth, running between the South and North Poles and serving as the boundary between one calendar day and the next. It passes through the Pacific O ...
(
180th meridian The 180th meridian or antimeridian is the meridian (geography), meridian 180° both east and west of the prime meridian in a Geographic coordinate system, geographical coordinate system. The longitude at this line can be given as either east ...
of longitude). The aircraft returned to Hawaii by following
tanker aircraft This is a list of tanker aircraft used for aerial refuelling of another aircraft whilst in powered flight. Refueling methods ;Looped hose: The first commercial method employed a hose which was held slack in a trailing half-loop behind both aircr ...
. Within 48 hours, the error was resolved and the journey resumed. Kadena would be a frequent rotation for F-22 units; the jets have also been involved in training exercises in South Korea and Malaysia. In November 2007, F-22s of 90th Fighter Squadron at Elmendorf AFB, Alaska, performed their first NORAD interception of two Russian Tu-95MS bombers. Since then, F-22s have also escorted probing Tu-160 bombers. Defense Secretary Gates initially refused to deploy F-22s to the Middle East in 2007; the type made its first deployment in the region at Al Dhafra Air Base in the UAE in 2009. In April 2012, F-22s have been rotating into Al Dhafra, less than 200 miles from Iran; the Iranian defense minister referred to the deployment as a security threat. In March 2013, the USAF announced that an F-22 had intercepted an Iranian
F-4 Phantom II The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is an American tandem two-seat, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor and fighter-bomber originally developed by McDonnell Aircraft for the United States Navy.Swanborough and Bow ...
that approached within 16 miles of an MQ-1 Predator flying off the Iranian coastline. On 22 September 2014, F-22s performed the type's first combat sorties by conducting some of the opening strikes of
Operation Inherent Resolve Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR) is the U.S. military's operational name for the International military intervention against IS, including both a campaign in Iraq and a campaign in Syria, with a closely-related campaign in Libya. Throu ...
, the
American-led intervention in Syria The American-led intervention in the Syrian Civil War refers to the American-led support of Syrian rebels and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) during the course of the Syrian civil war, including Operation Inherent Resolve, the active mil ...
; aircraft dropped 1,000-pound GPS-guided bombs on Islamic State targets near Tishrin Dam. Between September 2014 and July 2015, F-22s flew 204 sorties over Syria, dropping 270 bombs at some 60 locations. Throughout their deployment, F-22s conducted close air support (CAS) and also deterred Syrian, Iranian, and Russian aircraft from attacking U.S.-backed Kurdish forces and disrupting U.S. operations in the region. F-22s also participated in the U.S. strikes that defeated pro-government and Russian Wagner Group paramilitary forces near Kasham in eastern Syria on 7 February 2018.News Transcript: Department Of Defense Press Briefing by Lieutenant General Harrigian via teleconference from Al Udeid Airbase, Qatar: Press Operations: Lieutenant General Jeffrey Harrigian, commander, U.S. Air Forces Central Command
U.S. Department of Defense, 13 February 2018.
These strikes notwithstanding, the F-22's main role in the operation was conducting intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. In late 2014, the USAF tested a rapid deployment concept involving four F-22s and one C-17 for support, first proposed in 2008 by two F-22 pilots. The goal was for the type to be able to set up and engage in combat within 24 hours. Four F-22s were deployed to Spangdahlem Air Base in Germany in August, and Lask Air Base in Poland and Amari Air Base in Estonia in September 2015, to train with NATO allies. In November 2017, F-22s operating alongside B-52s bombed
opium Opium (or poppy tears, scientific name: ''Lachryma papaveris'') is dried latex obtained from the seed capsules of the opium poppy ''Papaver somniferum''. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid morphine, which i ...
production and storage facilities in Taliban-controlled regions of Afghanistan. In 2019, the F-22 cost US$35,000 per flight hour to operate.


Operational problems

During the initial years of service, F-22 pilots experienced symptoms as a result of oxygen system issues that include loss of consciousness, memory loss, emotional lability and neurological changes as well as lingering respiratory problems and a chronic cough; the issues resulted in a four-month grounding in 2011.Cox, Bob. "Despite investigation, safety concerns linger on F-22." ''Star Telegram'', 25 August 2012.Sughrue, Karen (producer) and
Lesley Stahl Lesley Rene Stahl (born December 16, 1941) is an American television journalist. She has spent most of her career with CBS News, where she began as a producer in 1971. Since 1991, she has reported for CBS's ''60 Minutes''. She is known for her ne ...

"Is the Air Force's F-22 fighter jet making pilots sick?"
''
60 Minutes ''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who chose to set it apart from other news programs by using a unique styl ...
: CBC News'', 6 May 2012. Retrieved 7 May 2012.
In August 2012, the DoD found that the BRAG valve, used to inflate the pilot's vest during high-''g'' maneuvers, was defective and restricted breathing and the OBOGS (onboard oxygen generation system) unexpectedly reduced oxygen levels during high-''g'' maneuvers. The Raptor Aeromedical Working Group had recommended several changes in 2005 to deal with the oxygen supply issues that were initially unfunded but received further consideration in 2012. The F-22 CTF and 412th Aerospace Medicine Squadron eventually determined that breathing restrictions were the root cause. The coughing symptoms were attributed to acceleration atelectasis from high ''g'' exposure and the OBOGS delivering excessive oxygen concentration at low altitudes. The presence of toxins and particles in some ground crew was deemed to be unrelated."H.A.S.C. No. 112-154, F-22 pilot physiological issues."
'' GPO''. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
Modifications to the life-support equipment and oxygen system allowed the distance and altitude flight restrictions to be lifted on 4 April 2013.


Variants

*
YF-22A The Lockheed/Boeing/General Dynamics YF-22 is an American single-seat, twin-engine fighter aircraft technology demonstrator designed for the United States Air Force (USAF). The design was a finalist in the USAF's Advanced Tactical Fighter co ...
– pre-production technology demonstrator for Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) demonstration/validation phase; two were built. *F-22A – single-seat production version, was designated ''F/A-22A'' in early 2000s. *F-22B – planned two-seat variant, cancelled in 1996 to save development costs with test aircraft orders converted to F-22A.Pace 1999, p. 28. *Naval F-22 variant – a planned carrier-borne variant of the F-22 with variable-sweep wings for the U.S. Navy's Navy Advanced Tactical Fighter (NATF) program to replace the F-14 Tomcat. Program was cancelled in 1991.


Proposed derivatives

The FB-22 was a proposed medium-range supersonic stealth bomber for the USAF.Tirpak, John A
"Long Arm of the Air Force."
''Air Force magazine'', October 2002. Retrieved 31 August 2011.
The design was projected to carry up to 30 Small Diameter Bombs to about twice the range of the F-22A. However, the FB-22 proposal appears to have been cancelled with the 2006 Quadrennial Defense Review and subsequent developments, in lieu of a larger subsonic bomber with a much greater range. The X-44 MANTA, or ''multi-axis, no-tail aircraft'', was a planned experimental aircraft based on the F-22 with enhanced thrust vectoring controls and no aerodynamic surface backup.Jenkins, Dennis R., Tony Landis and Jay Miller
"Monographs in Aerospace History, No. 31: American X-Vehicles: An Inventory, X-1 to X-50."
''NASA'', June 2003. Retrieved 13 June 2010.
The aircraft was to be solely controlled by thrust vectoring, without featuring any rudders, ailerons, or elevators. Funding for this program was halted in 2000. ''NASAExplores.com'', 9 October 2003. Retrieved 23 July 2009. In August 2018, Lockheed Martin proposed an F-22 derivative to the USAF and JASDF that would combine an improved F-22 airframe with the avionics and improved stealth coatings of the F-35. The proposal was not considered by the USAF, while JASDF doubted its merits due to cost and existing export restrictions.


Operators

The United States Air Force is the only operator of the F-22. As of August 2022, it has 183 aircraft in its inventory.


Frontline squadrons

*
1st Fighter Wing The 1st Fighter Wing (1 FW) is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Combat Command Fifteenth Air Force. It is stationed at Langley Air Force Base, VA. where it is a tenant unit, being supported by the 633d Air Base Wing. Its 1 ...
at
Langley Air Force Base Langley Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located in Hampton, Virginia, adjacent to Newport News, Virginia, Newport News. It was one of List of airfields of the Training Section of the United States Army Air Service, thirty-two ...
, VirginiaDeMayo, Airman 1st Class Chase S
"Langley receives last Raptor, completes fleet."
U.S. Air Force, 19 January 2007.
**
27th Fighter Squadron The 27th Fighter Squadron is a unit of the United States Air Force 1st Operations Group located at Joint Base Langley–Eustis, Virginia. The 27th is equipped with the F-22 Raptor. The 27th Fighter Squadron is the oldest active fighter squad ...
** 94th Fighter Squadron *
3rd Wing The 3rd Wing is a unit of the United States Air Force, assigned to the Pacific Air Forces (PACAF) Eleventh Air Force. It is stationed at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. The Wing is the largest and principal unit within 11th Air For ...
at Joint Base Elmendorf–Richardson, Alaska **
90th Fighter Squadron The 90th Fighter Squadron is a squadron of the United States Air Force. It is assigned to the 3d Operations Group, 3d Wing, Elmendorf AFB, Alaska, Pacific Air Forces. The squadron is equipped with the F-22 Raptor fighter. The 90 FS is one of ...
**
525th Fighter Squadron The 525th Fighter Squadron is a United States Air Force unit. It is assigned to the 3d Operations Group at Joint Base Elmendorf–Richardson, Alaska. The squadron was first activated as the 309th Bombardment Squadron in February 1942. After tr ...
*
15th Wing The 15th Wing is a wing (air force unit), wing of the United States Air Force at Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam, Hawaii. The wing reports to 11th Air Force, Headquartered at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. Its history goes back to j ...
at Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii **
19th Fighter Squadron The 19th Fighter Squadron is a United States Air Force fighter jet squadron and is a part of the Pacific Air Forces' (PACAF) 15th Wing based at Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam, Hawaii. The squadron is one of the oldest in the United States Air ...
( Pacific Air Forces associate unit) *
154th Wing The 154th Wing (154 WG) is a unit of the Hawaii Air National Guard, stationed at Hickam Air Force Base, Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam, Honolulu, Hawaii. If activated to federal service, the Wing is placed under the command of the Pacific Air F ...
at Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii **
199th Fighter Squadron The 199th Fighter Squadron (199 FS) is a unit of the Hawaii Air National Guard 154th Wing located at Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam, Honolulu, Hawaii. The 199th is equipped with the F-22A Raptor. Overview The 199th Fighter Squadron is a unit ...
(
Air National Guard The Air National Guard (ANG), also known as the Air Guard, is a federal military reserve force of the United States Air Force, as well as the air militia of each U.S. state, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the ter ...
unit) *
192nd Fighter Wing The 192nd Wing (192 WG), also referred to as the 192D Wing, is a unit of the Virginia Air National Guard and the United States Air Force, stationed at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia. If activated to federal service, the 192 WG is gained by A ...
at Joint Base Langley–Eustis, Virginia **
149th Fighter Squadron The 149th Fighter Squadron is a unit of the Virginia Air National Guard's 192d Fighter Wing located at Joint Base Langley–Eustis, Virginia. The 149th is the first Air National Guard fighter squadron to fly the F-22 Raptor. History World Wa ...
(Air National Guard associate unit) *
325th Fighter Wing The 325th Fighter Wing (325 FW) is a wing of the United States Air Force based in Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida. Mission The 325th Fighter Wing's primary mission is to provide air dominance training for F-22 Raptor pilots and maintenance per ...
Tyndall AFB, Florida **
43rd Fighter Squadron The 43d Fighter Squadron is part of the 325th Fighter Wing at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida. It conducts advanced fighter training for F-22 Raptor pilots. The squadron is one of the oldest in the United States Air Force, its origins dating ...
(Training Unit) at
Eglin Air Force Base Eglin Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) base in the western Florida Panhandle, located about southwest of Valparaiso in Okaloosa County. The host unit at Eglin is the 96th Test Wing (formerly the 96th Air Base Wing). The ...
, Florida (Originally based at Tyndall Air Force Base, relocated after Hurricane Michael to Eglin, scheduled to move to Langley Air Force Base.) *
44th Fighter Group The 44th Fighter Group (44 FG) is an Air Reserve Component (ARC) unit of the United States Air Force. It is assigned to the Tenth Air Force, Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC), stationed at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida. The 44 FG is an assoc ...
Tyndall AFB, Florida **
301st Fighter Squadron The 301st Fighter Squadron is a United States Air Force Reserve squadron, assigned to the 325th Operations Group, stationed at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida. It is an associate unit of the active duty 325th Fighter Wing. The squadron was f ...
(Air Force Reserve Command associate unit) *
477th Fighter Group The 477th Fighter Group is an Air Reserve unit of the United States Air Force. It is assigned to the Tenth Air Force, Air Force Reserve Command, stationed at Joint Base Elmendorf–Richardson, Alaska. The 477th FG is an associate unit of the 3r ...
Elmendorf AFB, Alaska **
302d Fighter Squadron The 302d Fighter Squadron is part of the Air Force Reserve Command's 477th Fighter Group at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska. It operates the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor conducting an air superiority mission. Mission The 302d Fighter Squadron ...
(Air Force Reserve Command associate unit)


Test and Evaluation Squadrons

*
57th Wing The 57th Wing (57 WG) is an operational unit of the United States Air Force (USAF) Warfare Center, stationed at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. The 57 WG's mission is to provide well trained and well equipped combat forces ready to deploy ...
at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada"433d Weapons Squadron."
U.S. Air Force. Retrieved 5 April 2010.
**
422nd Test and Evaluation Squadron The 422d Test and Evaluation Squadron is a United States Air Force unit. It is assigned to the 53d Test and Evaluation Group, stationed at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. The squadron performs operational testing of all fighter aircraft and mun ...
**
433rd Weapons Squadron The 433rd Weapons Squadron is a United States Air Force unit, assigned to the USAF Weapons School at Nellis AFB, Nevada. The unit was first activated in May 1943 and flew the P-38 Lightning in the Pacific Theater of Operations. The 433rd distin ...
*
412th Test Wing The 412th Test Wing (412 TW) is a wing of the United States Air Force, assigned to the Air Force Test Center at Edwards Air Force Base, California. Overview The 412th Test Wing plans, conducts, analyzes, and reports on all flight and ground tes ...
at
Edwards Air Force Base Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force installation in California. Most of the base sits in Kern County, but its eastern end is in San Bernardino County and a southern arm is in Los Angeles County. The hub of the base is E ...
, California **
411th Flight Test Squadron The 411th Flight Test Squadron is a United States Air Force squadron assigned to the 412th Operations Group of Air Force Materiel Command, stationed at Edwards Air Force Base, California. It conducted the Advanced Tactical Fighter program flyof ...


Accidents

The first F-22 crash occurred during takeoff at Nellis AFB on 20 December 2004, in which the pilot ejected safely before impact. The investigation revealed that a brief interruption in power during an engine shutdown prior to flight caused a flight-control system malfunction; consequently the aircraft design was corrected to avoid the problem. Following a brief grounding, F-22 operations resumed after a review. On 25 March 2009, an EMD F-22 crashed northeast of Edwards AFB during a test flight, resulting in the death of Lockheed Martin test pilot
David P. Cooley David Paul Cooley (February 15, 1960 – March 25, 2009) was a Lockheed test pilot and retired United States Air Force (USAF) officer, responsible for developmental flight testing of the F-117 Nighthawk. He was killed while flying a test missi ...
. An
Air Force Materiel Command Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC) is a major command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force (USAF). AFMC was created on July 1, 1992, through the amalgamation of the former Air Force Logistics Command (AFLC) and the former Air Force Systems Com ...
investigation found that Cooley momentarily lost consciousness during a high-G maneuver, or g-LOC, then ejected when he found himself too low to recover. Cooley was killed during ejection by blunt-force trauma from windblast due to the aircraft's speed. The investigation found no design issues. On 16 November 2010, an F-22 from Elmendorf AFB crashed, killing the pilot, Captain Jeffrey Haney. F-22s were restricted to flying below 25,000 feet, then grounded during the investigation. The crash was attributed to a bleed air system malfunction after an engine overheat condition was detected, shutting down the Environmental Control System (ECS) and OBOGS. The accident review board ruled Haney was to blame, as he did not react properly to engage the emergency oxygen system. Haney's widow sued Lockheed Martin, claiming equipment defects, and later reached a settlement. After the ruling, the emergency oxygen system engagement handle was redesigned; the system was eventually replaced by an automatic backup oxygen system (ABOS). On 11 February 2013, the DoD's
Inspector General An inspector general is an investigative official in a civil or military organization. The plural of the term is "inspectors general". Australia The Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security (Australia) (IGIS) is an independent statutory off ...
released a report stating that the USAF had erred in blaming Haney, and that facts did not sufficiently support conclusions; the USAF stated that it stood by the ruling. During a training mission, an F-22 crashed to the east of Tyndall AFB, on 15 November 2012. The pilot ejected safely and no injuries were reported on the ground. The investigation determined that a "chafed" electrical wire ignited the fluid in a hydraulic line, causing a fire that damaged the flight controls. On 15 May 2020, an F-22 from
Eglin Air Force Base Eglin Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) base in the western Florida Panhandle, located about southwest of Valparaiso in Okaloosa County. The host unit at Eglin is the 96th Test Wing (formerly the 96th Air Base Wing). The ...
crashed during a routine training mission shortly after takeoff; the pilot ejected safely. The cause of the crash was attributed to a maintenance error after an aircraft wash resulting in faulty air data sensor readings.


Aircraft on display

EMD F-22A 91-4003 is on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force.


Specifications (F-22A)


Notable appearances in media


See also


Notes


References


Citations


Bibliography

* Aronstein, David C. and Michael J. Hirschberg. ''Advanced Tactical Fighter to F-22 Raptor: Origins of the 21st Century Air Dominance Fighter.'' Arlington, Virginia: American Institute of Aeronautics & Astronautics, 1998. . * * Jenkins, Dennis R., and Tony R. Landis. ''Experimental & Prototype U.S. Air Force Jet Fighters.'' North Branch, Minnesota: Specialty Press, 2008. . * Miller, Jay. ''Lockheed Martin F/A-22 Raptor, Stealth Fighter''. Hinckley, UK: Midland Publishing, 2005. . * Pace, Steve. ''F-22 Raptor: America's Next Lethal War Machine''. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1999. . * Polmar, Norman. ''The Naval Institute Guide to the Ships and Aircraft of the U.S. Fleet.'' Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 2005. * Sweetman, Bill. "Fighter EW: The Next Generation". '' Journal of Electronic Defense'', Volume 23, Issue 7, July 2000. *


Further reading

* Holder, Bill, and Mike Wallace. ''Lockheed-Martin F-22 Raptor: An Illustrated History'' (Schiffer Military/Aviation History). Atglen, Pennsylvania:
Schiffer Publishing Schiffer Publishing Ltd. (also known for its imprints Schiffer, Schiffer Craft, Schiffer Military History, Schiffer Kids, REDFeather MBS, Cornell Maritime Press, Tidewater Publishers, Thrums Books, Geared Up Publications ) is a family-owned publi ...
, 1998. .


External links

*
F-22 Demo at 2007 Capital Airshow in Sacramento – with narrative by F-22 pilot Paul "Max" Moga
{{Authority control F-022 Raptor 1990s United States fighter aircraft Twinjets Stealth aircraft Articles containing video clips Mid-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1997 Two dimension thrust vectoring aircraft