Summary and Key Points: The People’s Liberation Army Air Force operates roughly 300 J-20 stealth fighters, is fast-tracking the J-35 into service, and has two sixth-generation aircraft in development about which almost nothing is publicly known. The American answer to that — the F-47 and the F/A-XX — will take years to arrive in meaningful numbers. Which is why the US Air Force now plans to fly the F-22 Raptor into the 2050s and 2060s, an aircraft that first flew nearly thirty years ago, and to upgrade every airframe it owns rather than retire any of them.
The F-22 Raptor: The B-52 (As in Timeless) of Stealth Fighters?
The U.S. Air Force intends to fly the Raptor well into the 2050s and 2060s.
Such extended service is possible because the Raptor has proven to be continually upgradeable.
Today’s Raptor is an almost entirely different aircraft from the one that first took flight nearly 30 years ago; it has received new avionics, sensors, software, coating materials, and weapons.
The F-22’s Mach 2.25 speed and superior thrust-to-weight ratio enable the aircraft to vector and maneuver in flight, which contributes to its ability to prevail in air-to-air engagements and secure air superiority.
The Raptor may still be the best air-dominance platform the world has ever seen.
It would likely prevail against high-speed Russian Su-27s and Su-57s and could outmatch the Chinese fifth-generation J-20 Mighty Dragon.
China J-20 Fighter. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
F-22s Counter China
Aside from pure capabilities, there are other reasons the Pentagon should sustain the F-22 for as long as possible, and these are related to production.
It may take several years for the future F-47 and F/A-XX to be delivered in sufficient numbers, as the F-35 has been, but the potential for great power conflict means the Air Force must be ready to mass fifth- and sixth-generation airpower.
The People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) operates roughly 300 J-20 stealth jets and is fast-tracking the J-35, as well as two new sixth-generation aircraft about which little is known.
China is well known for its civil-military fusion in technological development and its ability to rapidly accelerate platform production.
Therefore, retiring the F-22 would not only remove crucial capabilities but also leave the Air Force with a potential airpower deficit relative to the PLAAF.
Su-57 Felon Fighter from Russian Air Force.
Keep Entire F-22 Fleet
These are just a few of the reasons the Pentagon wants to fully upgrade the Air Force’s entire fleet of F-22s, including older airframes.
Thanks to some structural maintenance and reinforcements, the airframes of the F-22s have remained viable.
Many of the F-22’s core attributes have withstood the test of time, as its speed, stealth, and aerial maneuverability make it hard for even advanced modern air defenses to track.
The F-22’s supercruise enables the aircraft to maintain Mach speeds without needing an afterburner.
F-22 Upgrades
Upgrades to the Raptor have been going on for years and have arrived in successive waves.
Lockheed Martin has embarked upon several efforts in recent years to maintain, reinforce, and upgrade the aircraft’s stealth coating.
Nearly 10 years ago, Lockheed and the Air Force implemented a massive, fleet-wide weapons-oriented software upgrade to the Raptor called 3.2b.
The 3.2b software effort greatly expanded the capabilities of the F-22’s AIM-9X and AIM-120D air-to-air missiles.
Range, fire control, targeting precision, and anti-jam hardening were among the vital software upgrades that massively improved the capabilities of the Raptor’s weapons.
These upgrades have now been operational across the fleet for many years.
First Shot – First Kill
The Raptor is associated with the famous phrase “first shot, first kill.” Its stealth and speed position it to deliver crippling, effective first strikes.
Speed of deployment is also critical for the Raptor, which is why the Air Force pioneered and maintained a “Rapid Raptor” program to ensure the F-22 could arrive and attack any location worldwide within 24 hours.
U.S. Air Force Maj. Josh ‘Cabo’ Gunderson, F-22 Raptor Demonstration Team pilot, flies during the Lockheed Martin Sace and Air Show in Sanford, Florida, Nov. 1, 2020. The F-22 possesses a sophisticated sensor suite allowing the pilot to track, identify, shoot and kill air-to-air threats before being detected. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Sergio A. Gamboa)
The F-22 Raptor performs a demonstration at the Mather Airshow in Sacramento, California, Sept. 23, 2018. The P-38 is a World War I-era fighter aircraft that was developed for the Army Air Corps. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Lauren Parsons/Released)
F-22. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
This was accomplished by ensuring that F-22s, along with their necessary supplies and maintainers, were strategically positioned worldwide.
In more recent years, the F-22 Raptor has dramatically improved its ability to share data with the F-35 using two-way LINK 16 functionality.
Previously, datalink connectivity was limited to one-way communication, but the Air Force upgraded this capability in recent years.
Furthermore, the F-22 has received a greatly enhanced Advanced Electronically Scanned Array radar capable of tracking multiple targets and threat trajectories simultaneously.
About the Author: U.S. Air Force Expert Kris Osborn
Kris Osborn is President of Warrior Maven – Center for Military Modernization. Osborn previously served at the Pentagon as a highly qualified expert in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army—Acquisition, Logistics & Technology. Osborn has also worked as an anchor and on-air military specialist at national TV networks. He has appeared as a guest military expert on Fox News, MSNBC, The Military Channel, and The History Channel. He also has a Masters Degree in Comparative Literature from Columbia University
