The F-22 Raptor remains an unparalleled fighter jet for the United States Air Force and continues to flex its capabilities, proving to be a cornerstone in American air dominance. Recently, at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, the Polar Force exercise showed off its might. That display also included an “elephant walk” of 24 F-22 Raptors display of readiness and muscle for the fighter jet.
No fighter aircraft in service or development currently can match the combination of stealth, supercruise, maneuverability, and advanced avionics that the F-22 featured when it entered service in 2005. Although production was cut short, the F-22A is a cornerstone of U.S. air superiority for decades to come.
The entire design of the F-22 Raptor was for air projection and dominance that would be accomplished with great rapidity and distance, to achieve defeats of threats to deny access to the U.S. Air Force, Army, Navy, and Marine Corps. Pilots can track, identify, shoot, and kill directly and far-forward air threats using their sophisticated sensor suites well before becoming detectable. The aircraft’s cockpit design and sensor fusion give the pilot way better situational awareness.
Presently equipped, the Raptor is armed by two AIM-9 Sidewinders plus six AIM-120 AMRAAMs in air-to-air missions, among which include two 1,000-pound GBU-32 Joint Direct Attack Munitions inside the Raptor for air-to-ground sorties. Future upgrades should allow for an enhanced radar plus eight small-diameter bombs.
The engines of the F-22 are unmatched in their power-their thrust exceeds that of all current fighter engines, permitting supercruise speeds to be maintained without afterburners. The latter capability increases the operating envelope of the F-22 concerning both speed and range over that of current fighters, which must burn huge amounts of fuel operating afterburners to travel at supersonic speeds.
Advanced aero design, flight controls, thrust vectoring, and the high thrust-to-weight ratio will give the Raptor capabilities that no other known aircraft will be able to match both currently and for the foreseeable future. The combined effects of stealth, integrated avionics, and supercruise drastically reduce the likelihood of surface-to-air missile engagement and reduce the enemy tracking and engagement capability.
The F-22 has better reliability and maintainability than any fighter in history, operates with less maintenance, and uses manpower for operations much more efficiently. The roots of the aircraft go back to the 1980s when the prototype YF-22 was selected in competition over the YF-23 in 1991. The program got full-rate production approval in 2005, with the designation changed to F-22A that December.
General specifics show the F-22 has a wingspan of 44 feet 6 inches, length of 62 feet 1 inch, height of 16 feet 8 inches, maximum take-off weight of 83,500 pounds, with a range of more than 1,850 miles with two external wing fuel tanks. The aircraft has one M61A2 20-millimeter cannon, AIM-9 infrared air-to-air missiles, and AIM-120 radar-guided air-to-air missiles.
The F-22 Raptor represents the most advanced fighter that the United States Air Force has in its fleet today, setting the standard for air superiority, guaranteeing that America will hold the edge in the air battle for many years into the future.