The F-22 Raptor celebrates its 25th birthday, the world's first fifth-generation fighter, at a cost of $66.7 billion in development
On September 7, 2022, the F-22 Raptor celebrated its 25th birthday. It is the first ever fifth generation fighter aircraft. The development of the aircraft lasted six years.
The U.S. Air Force formulated a list of requirements for the new fighter in 1981. A competition to create the design of the aircraft began in 1986. Two teams of manufacturers participated. The winner was Lockheed Martin, Boeing and General Dynamics.
Cleared for takeoff! Celebrating 25 years of #RaptorNation. ???? The #F22 first took flight on Sept. 7, 1997 after six years of development. The Raptor continues to provide our nation and allies air superiority and is a pathfinder to the next generation of air dominance. pic.twitter.com/nH7Iz9vnGf
- Lockheed Martin (@LockheedMartin) September 7, 2022
The companies created the first pre-production aircraft on Sept. 7, 1994, and exactly three years later the aircraft made its first flight. In 1999, the debut production fighter went to Nellis military base.
The cost of the development program of the F-22 Raptor was $66.7 billion. Serial production of fighters began in 1997 and lasted until 2011. During that time, 187 production aircraft were produced (195 total). The price of one F-22 Raptor is almost $150 million, not including research and development costs.
For a long time the plane was used only in the USA and was not exported. However, in 2014 the United States used the F-22 Raptor for the first time in Syria, where it performed more than a hundred combat missions in a few months. In the fall of 2020, the United States approved deliveries of several dozen aircraft to the Israeli Air Force. The cost of the contract was more than $10 billion.
The F-22 is equipped with two Pratt & Whitney F-119-PW-100 engines. It has a maximum flight speed of Mach 2.25 (2,410 km/h), but in peacetime it is limited to 2,124 km/h (M=2). The non-force peak speed is 1,800 km/h (1.7 Mach), and the cruising speed is 850 km/h (0.8 Mach).
The Raptor has a combat radius of 760 km. The fighter's practical operating ceiling is 20 km. The aircraft's arsenal includes a 20-mm M61A2 Vulcan gun with 480 rounds, Joint Direct Attack Munition, as well as two AIM-9M Sidewinder missiles and six AIM-120C AMRAAM air-to-air missiles.
F-22 Raptor fighters have been involved in several flying accidents over 25 years. The most recent occurred in the spring of 2022, when an F-22A of the 325th U.S. Air Force Wing crashed while landing at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. The aircraft crashed when it ran off the runway, causing the main landing gear strut to collapse.
The United States is already working on a replacement for the F-22 Raptor. Next-Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program was started for this purpose with participation of aircraft-building companies and the Air Force. It is assumed that the sixth generation fighters will appear in the 30s of the 21st century.
Images: analisidifesa, erikgveld, wikipedia, lockheed martin
