Designed as an air
superiority fighter, the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor is a single seat, twin
engine all weather stealth tactical fighter aircraft. The Raptor was developed
for the United States Air Force when a requirement for an advanced tactical
fighter was released in 1981. The requirement was calling for a new superiority
fighter aircraft to replace the F-15 Eagle and the F-16 Fighting Falcon. The emerging
worldwide issues influenced the requirement, code named Senior Sky. The prime
contractor for the F-22 was Lockheed Martin Aeronautics; they manufactured the
majority of the airframe and performed the final assembly at Dobbins Air
Reserve Base in Marietta, Georgia. The rest of the F-22’s airframe was provided
by Boeing Defense, Space and Security. They provided the wings, aft fuselage,
avionics integration and even the training systems.
The
F-22 has many capabilities and is considered by the United States Air Force to
be a critical component of its tactical air power. The USAF also states that
the aircraft is unmatched by any known or projected fighters. Some of the capabilities include ground
attack, electronic warfare and signals intelligence roles. The F-22 has
exceptional air combat capabilities and it is most likely due to its stealth,
aerodynamic performance and situational awareness.
As
the world’s premier fifth generation fighter, the F-22 is the only fighter
capable of conducting air to air and air to ground combat missions at the same
time with near perfection. The F-22 has an exceptional standard of
survivability and can perform at its best even while being faced with airborne
and ground-based threats. The Raptor evolved from a basic concept to a lethal
multimission fighter. It was able to use emerging technologies to become top of
its class.
Although
the F-22 Raptors are highly skilled aircrafts, the need for them was debated
due to the rising costs and the lack of immediate adversaries. Because of the
American law restricting the F-22s from being exported, they could not be sold
to other countries. (Earlier models of the F-15 Eagle and F-16 Fighting Falcon
were better options for exporting because of the lower cost and better
flexibility.) In 2006, the Government
Accountability Office (GAO) assessed the F-22’s cost to be about $361 million
per aircraft; however, in 2012 the GAO increased the estimated cost to about
$412 million per aircraft. One also had to factor in the rough $68,000 cost per
flight hour.
The
government discussed discontinuing the Raptor but in 2008 congress passed a spending
bill funding the continuation of F-22 production. Lockheed Martin was told to
build four additional aircrafts, bringing the total to 187. Despite the
funding, in 2009 under the new Obama administration, President Obama called for
the ending of the F-22’s production. The four additional Raptors were built and
the total was capped at 187 aircrafts.
In order to maintain their
high standards, the Raptors require a good amount of
maintenance and money to
keep the aircrafts in good shape.
Each
Raptor required a month long maintenance plan every 300 hours. One third of
that maintenance plan was dedicated to the stealth system. In order to increase
the F-22’s service life and reduce operating costs, some pilot training were
performed in flight simulators while the T-38 Talon was used for adversary
training.
Raptors
are still operational today and are assigned to various basses across the
country to protect the United States and be combat ready worldwide. One can
find the F-22’s in Virginia, Alaska, Hawaii and a few other bases. The last two Raptors departed Lockheed Martin
in May 2012 and headed for their new home at an air force base in Alaska.
