F-22 Raptor – That said, the Raptor isn’t perfect. Subsequent exercises with Indian Air Force and Malaysian Air Force Sukhoi Su-30 fighters, as recently as 2014, show that the F-22 is superior but also vulnerable to the greater number of Russian-built aircraft.
Technologies such as Digital Radio Frequency Memory (DRFM) jamming—an electronic method of capturing and transmitting RF signals—could negate the advantages of the Raptor radar and AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles. The lack of a helmet-mounted sight (which the Su-30 has, paired with missiles like the AA-11 Archer) and carrying only two sidewinders limited the Raptor’s capabilities in short-range missions.
F-22 Raptor
Source: theaviationgeekclub.com
Although the F-22 first began development in the late 1990s, you may be surprised to learn that it did not complete its first combat mission until 2014. The mission included targeting and attacking an ISIS Command and control building in Syria involved.
Mission-Ready Sustainment
According to reports, the expedition was a success. However, since it has been fully operational since 2005, why wasn’t the Raptor used in combat earlier? According to the Air Force, the high-tech (and very expensive) jet was simply not necessary.
Some may question whether the reported oxygen problems are to blame. One of the surprising F-22 facts is that between 2008 and 2012 there were more than 24 reports of pilots suffering hypoxic symptoms while flying the F-22.
It’s hard to know for sure, but it’s good to have evidence that these planes can do the job if needed. The F-22A Raptor is an advanced tactical fighter aircraft developed for the United States Air Force (USAF).
It entered service with the USAF in December 2005 to replace the F-15, with a focus on agility, stealth and range. Apparently the plane was successful, according to the pilots quoted in this article. But the Raptor escaped during a difficult time for “pure fighters.”
F- Weapons
The Air Force originally planned to buy 750 Raptors, but the number requested by Congress dropped to 339 in the 1990s. Terror was about to begin. Arguing the case for an expensive, covert air-to-air platform became more difficult when America’s most pressing enemies were being fought with homemade roadside bombs, not integrated air defense systems.
In early 2010, Congress decided to limit the total fleet of Raptors to 187, and the production of the aircraft was stopped. In September 2002, the USAF decided to redesignate the F/A-22 aircraft to reflect its multi-mission capability in ground attack as well as air-to-air roles.
The aircraft’s designation was changed again to F-22A when it achieved initial operational capability (IOC) in December 2005. The F-22 fleet, which is assigned to seven US Air Force bases, is ready to be deployed quickly anywhere in the world where it is needed.
The Air Force has described the F-22 as “unsurpassed by any known or projected fighter aircraft.” The National Aeronautics and Space Administration awarded Lockheed Martin the 2006 Collier Trophy, America’s most prestigious aviation award, for “the design, testing and operation of the revolutionary F-22 Raptor, which provides absolute air superiority for America’s future.”
Talons Out
Maj. Joshua Gunderson, commander of the F-22 Raptor Demonstration Team, flies during the Thunder Over New Hampshire Air Show at Pease Air National Guard Base, N.H., Sept. 11, 2021. The demonstration team’s mission is to provide unparalleled maneuverability of the Air
to demonstrate Force’s fifth generation air superiority stealth aircraft, highlight the Air Force’s history of service through heritage flying and engage with local communities through outreach events. (US Air Force photo: Technician Steven Tucker) The aircraft was in production for 15 years, about two per month at its peak.
Source: www.unilight.at
The last Raptor was completed in December 2011 and delivered to the USAF on 2 May 2012. The F-22 Raptor has four wing hardpoints, each rated to carry 2,270 kg, which can carry the AIM-120A AMRAAM or external fuel tanks.
The Raptor has three internal weapons bays. The main weapons bay can carry six AMRAAM AIM-120C missiles or two AMRAAMs and two 1,000-pound GBU-32 joint direct attack missiles (JDAMs). With two external wing tanks the 18,000 lb.
Other Countries Have Developed Their Own Versions Of The F-
Fuel capacity allows the F-22 to fly 1,600 nautical miles, with a maximum combat radius of 410 nm with supercruise. It carries an M61A2 20 millimeter cannon with 480 rounds for close range and fire. Inside its weapons bays are two AIM-9 infrared air-to-air missiles and six AIM-120 radar-guided air-to-air missiles.
For strike missions, the Raptor is loaded with two 1,000 lb. GBU-32 JDAM and two AIM-120 radar-guided air-to-air missiles. It is important that advanced aircraft, such as the F-22, live up to the hype around them.
All this talk of specialized radars, stealth and speed might make you wonder what kind of accuracy all these features create in an aircraft. Well, the F-22 is doing pretty well. When fighting an opponent like the F-15, the F-22 had a 108:0 kill ratio according to reports from exercise Northern Edge in 2006. What exactly does this number mean?
Compare that to the numbers the F-15 put up when up against a much more sophisticated aircraft, the F-5. It reported a cooling ratio of 8:1. The F-22 holds good proportions when paired with even the most advanced aircraft because of all the highly specialized and unique technology it contains.
F- Engine
Lockheed Martin is committed to providing our US Air Force customers with higher readiness rates, faster response times and lower life cycle costs. Through Agile Sustainment, a comprehensive weapons management program, and an award-winning performance-based logistics (PBL) contract, we provide a highly integrated F-22 support system.
A variant of the M61A2 Vulcan cannon is mounted internally above the right air intake. The General Dynamics chainless ammunition handling system holds 480 rounds of 20mm ammunition and feeds the weapon at a rate of 100 rounds per second.
The F-22s did not see as much action as expected due to their capabilities and cost of development, but they did provide a valuable service. Its main task in this regard is intelligence gathering and surveillance of enemy targets.
Between 2014 and 2015, the F-22s flew more than 200 strikes in Syria, dropping 270 bombs on approximately sixty locations. They also took part in their first close air support mission, when an air strike near friendly forces called for the precision and speed that only the F-22 could provide.
F-A Raptor Development
The F-22 isn’t always the most practical aircraft for combat missions, but the military is grateful to have it when needed. The AN/APG-77 radar was developed for the F-22 by the Electronic Sensors and Systems Division of Northrop Grumman and Raytheon Electronic Systems.
The radar uses an active electronically scanned array antenna with 2,000 transmit/receive units, which provides agility, small radar cross-section and wide bandwidth. Deliveries of the AN/APG-77 began in May 2005. “The very existence of this aircraft – your aircraft – changed the strategic landscape forever,” said Lockheed Martin CEO Robert J. Stevens.
Source: m.media-amazon.com
The date was May 2, 2012 and the occasion was the delivery of the F-22 Raptor to the US Air Force. There was a special meaning attached to this plane. It was the last of the 195 F-22s that Lockheed Martin has produced for the Air Force over the past 15 years, and it marks the end of the world’s only operational fleet of fifth-generation stealth fighters.
Wingspan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The 44.5 ft / 13.56 m F-22 is capable of stowing large quantities of weapons.
Advanced Tactical Fighter
However, the variety of weapons compatible with the blades is not great. It is true that the Raptor can carry air-to-air missiles or air-to-ground missiles, but the size and model are very specific. Currently, the F-22 is designed to carry short-range AIM-9 Sidewinder and medium-range AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles for air-to-air combat.
It can also store a variety of JDAM bombs for air-to-ground combat. The F-22 may go down in American history as the most feared fighter of all time, but there was another aircraft in development in the 1990s that could have surpassed it in some ways.
The Northrop YF-23 had better supercruise capabilities with its General Electric YF120 variable-cycle engines, better range and, some said, a stealthier design. So why was the F-22 Raptor selected for production over the YF-23? Several main reasons played a role in this decision.
FOREST VIRGINIA – Lt. Col. James Hecker flies over Fort Monroe before delivering the first operational F-22A Raptor to its permanent home at Langley Air Force Base, Va., on May 12. This is the first of 26 Raptors to be delivered.
Stealth And Speed
to the 27th Fighter Squadron. The Raptor program is managed by the F-22A System Program Office at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. Colonel Hecker is the squadron commander. (US Air Force photo: CTO Ben Bloker) A skin applied to the aircraft’s skin absorbs radar energy.
The cockpit is even designed to minimize the radar return from the pilot’s helmet, and it does all this without reducing visibility, which is a problem on the F-35. In addition to increasing maneuverability, the horizontal tail flaps at the rear of the aircraft act as a shield against the heat of the engine exhaust, making things more difficult for heat-seeking missiles.
Due to China’s increasingly advanced air and naval weapons, Japan found itself in the need to modernize its own military arsenal. One of these needs is a response to China’s Chengdu J-20 stealth fighter jet. Japan has started preparing for production to replace the Mitsubishi F-2 with the new F-3, but what the Japanese Self-Defense Forces prefer is to buy Lockheed’s F-22 Raptors.
Unfortunately, the F-22 cannot be sold to anyone outside of the United States, so it looks like they will have to develop a new fighter. They can also consider buying the F-35s, because they are available to US allies and although they are a little less, they get a wider range of missions that are done at a slightly lower cost.
F- Cockpit
The Raptor is also capable of carrying up to 5,000 pounds on its underwings. For ferry operations, these hardpoints would normally carry four 600 liter fuel tanks for extra range. If fuel tanks and extra weapons are needed, the F-22 can be loaded with two fuel tanks and four missiles under the wings.
Today, air-to-air combat and contested airspace are back on the minds of generals and politicians in Washington as China and Russia bid to become regional and global superpowers. However, unlike in 2005, the F-22 is now at the back end of the technology curve.
Source: media.defense.gov
In 2021, the service announced it would field the Raptor sometime around 2030, depending on how quickly the Air Force can adopt the next-generation Air Dominance Fighter — a development project that could cost hundreds of millions of dollars per tail and redefine the term fighter
jet. The NGAD takes over the air superiority role of the F-22, while the multi-role F-35 Lightning II serves as the “cornerstone” of the fighter fleet, according to Air Force chiefs. In honor of his heroic state, the 27th Fleet Fighter Squadron calls the aircraft “Maloney’s Pony”.
The Future Of The Air Force May Not Include Stealth Fighters At All
When the squadron switched to F-22s, they believed the signal would deter the fleet’s stealth targets. But in 2011, the tradition was restored. Raptor number 09-0174 was carried out with the F-22’s first mission in Syria in 2014. However, several parameters are often overlooked when arguing that the expected added value of an aircraft of the sixth generation is a drastic reduction of the planned
Generation suggests or even justifies. F-35 jets. Should the number of F-35 jets be cut as part of an accelerated effort to rush the number of sixth-generation aircraft to war? No. They should complement each other and may actually be separate aircraft with slightly different mission sets and technical characteristics.
US Air Force Maj. Paul Lopez, commander of the F-22 Demo Team, flies next to a KC-135 Stratotanker during a tanker trip over Spokane, Wash., June 20, 2019. Representing the U.S. Air Force and Air Force Command, the F-22 Demo Team travels to
25 air shows a season for the performance and skills of a world champion 5. (US Air Force photo by 2nd Lt. Samuel Eckholm) The bay is equipped with EDO Corp. LAU-142/A AVEL AMRAAM vertical ejector which is a pneumatic-ejector system controlled by the store management system.
Restart The Line?
The Raytheon AMRAAM air-to-air missile is a short- and medium-range all-weather radar-guided fire-and-forget missile with a range of 50nm. The side bays can be loaded with a single Lockheed Martin/Raytheon AIM-9M or AIM-9X Sidewinder versatile short-range air-to-air missile.
The Raptor excelled in combat training after the aircraft entered full service in 2005. During Exercise Northern Edge in Alaska in June 2006, dozens of F-22s from the 94th Fighter Wing shot down 108 opponents in simulated combat without loss.
During the exercise, the Raptor-led Blue Force racked up 241 casualties against two losses in air-to-air combat, neither of which was an F-22 loss. A successful fighter allows the pilot to maximize his tactical potential while removing the workload whenever possible.
And the F-22 Raptor takes it to the next level. In what is called “ultra-maneuverability,” the F-22 has a variety of hardware built into every inch of the plane to make it as agile as possible.
F-A Raptor Deployment And Bases
The engines, a pair of Pratt & Whitney F119 engines, change their thrust direction by 20 degrees, which is referred to as thrust acceleration. What does it mean? Well, it allows the aircraft to make more precise high-turns, perform stall maneuvers without stopping the aircraft and direct the aircraft directly to targets.
All of these capabilities give the F-22 an advantage over other smaller fighters it might encounter in the air. The F-22 is built for speed and stealth, but how does it fare in terms of range?
Source: www.thedrive.com
The US Air Force lists a ferry range of only 2,000 miles. Even if it doesn’t make it from the US to the Middle East without refueling, it’s still a pretty impressive range for a sky-cruising jet.
The United States has several options for keeping its air force powered without ever touching the ground. It might surprise you that these methods have been around since the 1950s. They reach altitudes of up to 50,000 and speeds of over 500 mph, allowing the jets that service them to continue their mission essentially uninterrupted.
Despite beginning development in the early 1990s, it was not until December 15, 2005 that the F-22A Raptor achieved initial operational capability. The road to get there was long and arduous with acquisitions, development, testing and training from a number of different suppliers and partners.
The first combat-ready F-22 Raptors were deployed and assigned to the 27th Fighter Wing based out of Langley, VA. A squadron consists of 12 aircraft that act as a single deployable package, capable of both air-to-air and air-to-ground combat.
This same force completed the first mission with the F-22 in Syria in 2014. After reports of the F-22’s superior fighter jet capabilities spread around the world, other countries began to develop their own response to combat this potential threat.
Both China and Russia have made their own versions of the Raptor. Chengdu Aerospace Corporation for China’s Air Force built a stealthy, fifth generation fighter jet called Chengdu J-20. Its first flight was in 2011, but it is suspected that it will not enter service until closer to 2020. The appearance of the aircraft resembles the F-22 with a wide fuselage, a chiseled nose and a frameless canopy.
The US government has pointed out that the US is paying attention to the J-20. One of the most talked about features of the F-22 is its “hyper cruise” capability. Aircraft that reach Mach 1 aren’t all that special in today’s Air Force environment, but what makes the F-22 stand out is that it can fly at Mach 1.5+ without using afterburners.
Afterburners use a lot of fuel and therefore most aircraft do not allow this speed to be maintained. The F-22 Raptor is loaded with two Pratt and Whitney F119 engines that produce enough thrust to avoid the need for afterburners and launch missiles that fly farther and at higher speeds than conventional fighters.
Supercruise gets the F-22 in and out of combat quickly, allowing long-range aerial surveillance and buying more time over enemy targets. In fact, the F-22 is the only aircraft in service that, even when fully loaded with weapons, can achieve supercruise.
The F-22 is powered by two Pratt and Whitney F119-100 engines. The F119-100 is a low bypass afterburner turbofan engine that provides 156kN of thrust. The F119 is the first fighter jet engine to be fitted with hollow wide string propellers on the first fan stage.
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Emma Nehls is a military writer and historian with a passion for exploring the intricacies of warfare and the human experience within the military. With extensive knowledge and a deep understanding of military strategy, tactics, and historical contexts, Nehls brings a unique perspective to his writings.
