Built to replace the legendary F-15 Eagle and F-16 Fighting Falcon, the development of the F-22 Raptor from commencement of R&D to first flight only took around 16 years. With the improvement and implementation of better radar and missile guidance systems in the late 20th Century, the need for a multi-disciplined stealth fighter jet was made apparent, and the mission statement of “first look, first shot, first kill” would guide the development of the F-22 Raptor into the feat of engineering we see today.
According to the US Air Force, “The F-22 cannot be matched by any known or projected fighter aircraft”, as it has an extremely high thrust-to-weight ratio which allows it to outmanoeuvre all other aircraft. In addition to its top-class manoeuvrability, the F-22 produces more thrust than any other known aircraft, with the ability to break the sound barrier and cruise at speeds greater than 1.5 Mach without using its afterburners, thus using less fuel and extending its capable combat range. The Raptor was also designed with a radar cross-section, meaning that little to no conventional radar equipment would be able to accurately identify the jet as little more than a bee.
Currently, there are around 180 active Raptors in the US, each capable of carrying a payload of 480 twenty-millimetre rounds for its main cannon, two AIM-9 heat seeking air to air missiles, six AIM-120 radar air-to-air missiles, and/or two 1000-pound GBU-32 JDAM bombs. I find it appropriate at this time in the article to mention that each F-22 Raptor costs a small fortune of $143 million USD each, not to mention fuel, maintenance costs, and the wages for everyone involved.
On the 4th of February 2023- a whopping 18 years after its first mission capable flight- the F-22 Raptor scored its first air-to-air kill by shooting down an (alleged) Chinese spy balloon over the coast of South Carolina. This kill must have been quite important, as there are now rumours that the US Department of Defence/War will continue to maintain its fleet of Raptors until the 2060’s.
Call me a futurist, but with the slim possibility of flying cars and air travel becoming a normal thing around that time, I’d hope that we can pick up an old Raptor from Facebook Marketplace and joyride it around like it was a third-gen Camaro with ripped seats and cracked dash.
Either way, the F-22 is easily the coolest jet fighter jet ever and I don’t even care what you F-35 maniacs think, and I’ll just say this – Michael Bay chose the Raptor for three Transformers movies, and we never saw the F-35 in a single scene.
Noah
Writer & Editor – HellYeah
Photographer – FourWheel Media
Hell Yeah 