The US Air Force’s F-22 “Super Raptor” is making a powerful return. Originally, the Air Force planned to buy 750 F-22s, but budget cuts and the wars following 9/11 reduced the fleet to fewer than 200 aircraft.
Now, with the uncertain future of the sixth-generation NGAD program and the rapid military buildup of Russia and China, the US intends to keep upgraded F-22s flying well into the 2060s and beyond.
Continuous upgrades to software, sensors, weapons, and data links keep the Raptor ahead of global adversaries, but its small fleet size remains its biggest weakness. The F-22 is still the world’s top “first-shot, first-kill” air-dominance fighter. Many experts argue the US made a strategic mistake by not building a much larger fleet.
What makes the F-22 so dominant? Its round thrust-vectoring exhaust nozzles give it the world’s best thrust-to-weight ratio—1.37—allowing unmatched acceleration and maneuverability. Russia’s upgraded Su-35 is the closest competitor, but falls far behind in sensors, stealth, and weapons. The Raptor’s advanced radar and IRST (infrared search and track) systems allow it to maintain target lock even in harsh electronic-warfare environments.