By Kris Osborn, Warrior
Known for its SuperCruise speed, seemingly unparalleled thrust to weight ratio, aerial “agility” and “first-shot, first-kill” mission mantra, the US Air Force F-22 has found a permanent resting place in the minds of Pentagon weapons developers preparing for the future.
For many years now, the Air Force and Pentagon intent has been to sustain and fly the F-22 well into the 2050s and 2060s, in part because it continues to be so “upgradeable.” Today’s F-22 is an almost entirely different aircraft than that which first took flight nearly 30-years ago, as it has received new avionics, sensing, software, coating materials and weapons. Its Mach 2.25 speed and superior thrust to weight ratio enable the aircraft to vector and maneuver in flight, something which of course contributes to its ability to prevail in air-to-air engagements and achieve air superiority overall. Some have argued that the F-22 remains the most superior air dominance platform the world has ever seen, suggesting it would prevail against high-speed Russian Su-27s and Su-57s and potentially outmatch the Chinese 5th-generation J-20 Dragon.
F-22 “Super”
President Trump called for a next-generation F-22 “Super” during a state visit to Qatar earlier this year, comments which speak to the high measure of confidence his administration and Pentagon officials place in the aircraft. There is great precedent for this, as the F-22 weapons capabilities were greatly enhanced across the entire fleet years ago through a software upgrade known as 3.2b; this improved the weapons interfaces and fire control for the aircraft and greatly improved the range and accuracy of the AIM-120D and AIM-9X air-to-air and air-to-ground weapons.
New weapons are also planned for the F-22, and software and computing upgrades could increasingly enable the Raptor to integrate new generations of air-fired weapons. The emerging high-speed, long-range, precise air-fired AIM-260, for instance, is planned for the F-22. This is significant as it could potentially enable the fighter to destroy targets with great precision from stand-off ranges and fire munitions capable of adjusting course in flight as needed. Upgraded and next-generation air-to-air weapons integrated into the F-22 will likely be hardened to operate in a contested electromagnetic warfare environment as well. An F-22 Super would not only fire laser weapons as they become available for fighter-jet integration, but it would also be armed with hypersonic weapons as well. The Air Force intends to arm the F-22 with the fast-arriving MAKO air launched hypersonic missile.
While there continue to be great advances in the realm of stealth and external configurations of fighter aircraft, such as that which can be seen with the F-47, many of the most impactful fighter jet enhancements can reside in the areas of computing, software, electronics and sensing. Essentially, an aircraft can become an almost entirely different platform without having to change its hardware to a large degree, due to rapid advances in AI-enabled computing, sensing and electronics.
Aerial Quarterback
An F-22 Super would clearly benefit from new generations of sensing and transport layer communications technology. The Raptor has been described by pilots as an “aerial quarterback,” meaning it can connect intelligence data and targeting information with 4th-generation fighters and other aircraft. In recent years, the US Air Force has made great progress enabling secure two-way connectivity between the F-22 and F-35, something which has a substantial combat multiplying effect. New generations of an F-22 Super would likely build upon this and further streamline, organize and accelerate time-sensitive data sharing. AI-enabled sensors, for example, could gather, organize and analyze critical combat information from otherwise disaggregated or separated systems. With networking enhancements, an F-22 could be engineered to fly in tandem with the emerging F-47, with both aircraft able to seamlessly share data in-flight.
Concept of Operation
All of these improvements would doubtless reinforce the fundamental concept of operation informing the F-22 referred to as “first-shot, first-kill.” The intent with the F-22 is to ensure the aircraft can use stealth, speed and agility to deliver high-intensity lethal “strikes” upon enemy targets at the beginning of a military conflict. Years ago, the Air Force pioneered a critical “Rapid Raptor” program designed to deploy an F-22 anywhere in the world within 24 hours. The effort involved specific forward-stationing of F-22s and small maintenance crews in key strategically vital locations throughout the world. The Rapid Raptor program supports the fundamental concept of operation woven into the core idea of the F-22, something which an F-22 Super would build upon.
Kris Osborn is the 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