Air Force Maps Future F-22 Weapons Strategy

By Kris Osborn – Managing Editor – Warrior Maven

The Air Force is rapidly pursuing a new “agile software development” strategy for its F-22 Raptor to quickly equip the stealth fighter with new sensors, improved radar and avionics, faster computer processors and greatly enhanced weapons technology, service officials said.

The acquisition strategy, called Raptor Agile Capability Release (RACR), is led by Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson and is oriented toward implementing new hardware and software upgrades quickly- to keep the F-22 ahead of near-peer fighter aircraft.

The Air Force is now transitioning toward initial production of a new F-22 3.2B software upgrade engineered to enable increased weapons attack technology for the fighter and, as Capt. Emily Grabowski, Air Force spokeswoman, tells Warrior Maven, “enhance the lethality of the F-22 when employing the AIM-120D and AIM-9X.”

The service is now firing off these weapons as part of operational testing of the 3.2B upgrade through formal weapons evaluation process at Eglin, Nellis, Hill, and Tyndall Air Force Base test ranges.

While Air Force developers are not quick to pinpoint particular threats or adversaries, many have of course taken note of rapidly advancing Russian air defenses and both Russian and Chinese 5th-Gen stealth aircraft development.

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