F-22 Raptor

The Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor is an American single-seat, twin-engine, all-weather stealth tactical fighter aircraft developed for the United States Air Force (USAF). The result of the USAF's Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) program, the aircraft was designed as an air superiority fighter, but also has ground attack, electronic warfare, and signals intelligence capabilities. The prime contractor, Lockheed Martin, built most of the F-22's airframe and weapons systems and conducted final assembly, while Boeing provided the wings, aft fuselage, avionics integration, and training systems.

The aircraft was variously designated F-22 and F/A-22 before it formally entered service in December 2005 as the F-22A. Despite its protracted development and operational difficulties, USAF considers the F-22 a critical component of its tactical airpower. The fighter’s combination of stealth, aerodynamic performance, and mission systems enable unprecedented air combat capabilities.

The USAF had originally planned to buy a total of 750 ATFs. In 2009, the program was cut to 187 operational aircraft due to high costs, a lack of clear air-to-air missions during production, a ban on exports, and development of the more versatile F-35, with the last F-22 delivered in 2012.

The Initial Operational Capability configuration, fielded in 2005, was already multirole, with the option of four AMRAAMs being replaced by GBU-32 JDAMs. This provided an analogous deep-strike capability to the F-117A, but much more survivable.

Current planning envisages the introduction of the GBU-39/40 Small Diameter Bomb in the Block 20 aircraft by 2007, together with high resolution SAR radar modes, improved radar ECCM, two way voice and data MIDS/Link-16 capability, improved crew station software, and improved electronic countermeasures. The Block 20 configuration is the baseline for the Global Strike Task Force (GSTF) fleet, and will include JSF common radar modules, a dedicated high-speed radar processor, and COTS technology CIP processors.

The Block 30 configuration, planned for 2008-2011, extends the growth seen in the Block 20. Side-looking radar arrays are envisaged to provide a significant ISR capability in the aircraft along with enhancements to provide full air defence suppression (Wild Weasel) and time-critical target engagement capabilities. A Satcom terminal will be added to provide continuous network connectivity during deep-strike profiles.

The post-2011 Block 40 aircraft is intended to be the definitive Global Strike configuration, including incremental enhancements to Block 30 additions, to provide full sensor networking, range enhancements, highly integrated ISR capabilities, and a Helmet Mounted Display similar to the JSF. Longer term planning for post Block 40 envisages an Electronic Attack variant, essentially replacing the lost EF-111A Raven. A stealthy stores pod for JDAM and SDB was also in development to enable carriage on external pylons.