The F-22 Raptor Battled the US. It Wasn’t Pretty

by Maya Carlin, Warrior Contributor, Weapons

Politics might have been the real enemy of the F-22 Raptor: When the F-22 Raptor first took to the skies, American officials were confident that U.S. air superiority would be maintained for years. As the world’s first-ever fifth-generation fighter, the formidable platform was truly unmatched by any other airframe.

Combining stealth, maneuverability, supercruise, and integrated avionics, the Raptor embodied the future of warfighting capabilities.

The F-22 was an obvious powerhouse of an airframe, yet its production was cut short in 2011. Today, the Air Force only has 185 remaining Raptors and only around 120 of those jets are used in the service’s primary mission aircraft inventory.

As the Air Force continues to develop its highly anticipated Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program – including a new sixth-generation fighter jet platform – the service hopes to relegate the Raptors to retirement. Pointing to the airframe’s hefty maintenance costs, the Air Force wants to reallocate funds to its new program.

However, a deep dive into the F-22’s history indicates that the platform’s potential may have been stymied by politics.

A brief overview of the Raptor:

The F-22’s impressive reputation shared by military experts and aviation buffs alike is well-deserved. In the 1980s, the Air Force began its search for a replacement platform for its aging F-15 Eagle and F-16 Fighting Falcon

airframes.