The F-22 Raptor is the top for current-day aircraft, containing the most advanced solutions in aeronautical engineering. This fifth-generation stealth fighter, developed by Lockheed Martin and Boeing, boasts unbeatable air superiority.
Developed in 2005, the F-22 Raptor answers the replacement to the aging F-15 Eagle and aims to keep U.S. air superiority well into the 2040s. The main state-of-the-art features of the advanced stealth technology, sensor fusion, and supercruise allow it to fly within supersonic speeds without afterburners. All this is done with thrust-vectoring nozzles, giving it excellent maneuverability, making the Raptor a formidable adversary in dogfights.
The armament of the Raptor is equally impressive: two AIM-9 Sidewinder heat-seeking missiles and six AIM-120 AMRAAM radar-guided missiles for air-to-air missions and two 1,000-pound GBU-32 JDAMs, plus eight 250-pound Small Diameter Bombs, for the air-to-ground profile along with its air-to-air weaponry – all carried internally in its weapons bays to preserve its stealth profile.
As advanced as it is, the F-22 has faced significant setbacks in its program. The aircraft entered service on the crest of the Global War on Terror, in which its air-superiority features were not particularly of use against the most insurgent forces that lacked advanced air-defense systems. Consequently, then, the program was curtailed to purchase 186 units from the 750 units it was thought to be needed by the Pentagon.
The timing of its deployment to the projected battle theaters overlapped with high operational cost and evolving military priorities, leaving the F-22 one of the luckless aircraft. Probably only 130 operational aircraft of those delivered, again restricted by spare parts and maintenance in availability of the fleet.
The technologies and their production process that went into the F-22 were far too sensitive for sale abroad, even to its closest partners- Israel, Japan, and Australia. Members of Congress, in 1998, attached a legislative amendment that explicitly banned sale of F-22s for foreign deployment. The concern was mainly the danger of technology theft by America’s adversaries, specifically China and Russia.
Although the potential of an export version was being looked into by the Department of Defense, no promise of funding from Congress was in the running. By now, the foreign buyers have set their eyes on the F-35, which is still yet another future fighter program.
Moving forward, the USAF is continuing to modernize the F-22 through RAMP (Reliability, Availability, and Maintainability Program) and software releases to continuously improve the tactical capabilities. The structural life extension modifications of 2020 have reset the service life of the fleet, and mid-life upgrades may be considered in the future to further enhance survivability and lethality.