The F-22 Raptor Fighter Is About to Get Even Better

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Key Points: The F-22 Raptor, one of the world’s stealthiest fighter jets, is receiving a $1 billion upgrade by RTX to enhance its sensors, maintaining its edge against adversaries like China and Russia.

-This upgrade, part of a $7.8 billion modernization program, aims to improve situational awareness with advanced Infrared Search and Track pods while ensuring stealthiness.

Despite being 26 years old, the F-22 remains a critical asset until the expensive Next-Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program materializes.

-While its costs are high, its unmatched performance, as noted by pilots, ensures its role in maintaining U.S. air superiority.

The F-22 Raptor: Upgraded and Ready for the Next Battlefront

The F-22 Raptor – what many consider the best fighter jet on Earth today – is not going away anytime soon.

Once thought to be a victim of differing priorities and penny-pinching by the Air Force, the stealth warbird is getting a second look from appropriators and attention from a principal defense contractor who just won a bid to refurbish the fighter, which is entering middle age.

Let’s Add to Its Survivability

RTX won a contract recently to upgrade the F-22. Worth $1 billion, it will help improve the Raptor’s sensor package to make its situational awareness top-notch. The upgrades for the fleet of F-22s will not happen soon, it will take around four years to get the job done. But it is good news for the fighter that is expected to become a champion in any conflict with countries like China.

This Upgrade Could Help the NGAD

One interesting tidbit about the upgrade package is that these new sensors could possibly be used on the Next-Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) fighter. This is a 6th generation program that is currently on pause until its unit costs come down below $100 million each (instead of the eye watering $300 million price tag). The NGAD also has question marks about its design and will need a hefty investment in research and development.

This Is a Fairly Advanced Acquisition Program

Meanwhile, the F-22 is aging, and it needs a middle tier acquisition program of upgrades that is expensive but necessary to maintain its combat edge over rival fighters from Russia and China.

“The F-22 team is working really hard on executing a modernization roadmap to field advanced sensors, connectivity, weapons, and other capabilities. We’re executing that successfully, and that will lead to […] a rapid fielding in the near future,” said Brig. Gen. Jason D. Voorheis, the Program Executive Officer for Fighter and Advanced Aircraft.

The new sensors will consist of Infrared Search and Track pods that will still maintain the jet’s stealthiness but will give it better survivability in contested environments.

The Raptor Leads the World In Stealthiness

In fact, the F-22 is likely the world’s stealthiest fighter and has a radar cross-section that is many times smaller than the F-35. This is why Air Force watchers often yearn for the sneaky Raptor warbird to be upgraded instead of being retired.

The latest upgrade contract will add to the $7.8 billion in spending by 2030 for the F-22, which includes $3.1 billion for research and development and $4.7 billion in acquisition.

The F-22 Raptor first flew over 26 years ago, so it is looking for enhancements to maintain its freshness and relevance for the next few decades before the NGAD is ready.

Does the F-35’s Multinational Use Give It a Leg Up on the F-22?

I like the Raptor, but I prefer the F-35 because it is a multinational fighter that gives the Lightning II global interoperability.

This is important because the F-35 can be used by so many allies that it is a force multiplier in Europe and East Asia since there are a substantial number of countries that can fly it. The F-22, on the other hand, was never built for export and it is forbidden to be sold to other countries.

Both airplanes have been drains on the U.S. Treasury. Until the NGAD comes onto the scene, they will both cost trillions to keep in the air over the next several decades.

Check Out What the F-22 Pilot Says

Pilots seems to love the F-22. Aviation guru Alex Hollings at Sandboxx relayed an interview with Raptor test pilot Mike ‘Dozer’ Shower for an article about the F-22 this week. Dozer had this to say about the Raptor compared to the F-15.

“In an F-15 you’re a sensor operator, you’re working the radar; you’re the guy working this all out and managing the systems and putting together the 3D picture in your head. That’s the difference with the F-22 Raptor. It does it all for you,” Shower recalled. “You could take four weapons instructors in an F-15 each and you could have some lieutenant who is ‘weapons clueless’ and he’s gonna find them all and kill them all. Then you put one really good guy in an F-15 against a Raptor and he’s still gonna get killed; there’s that much of a difference in technology.”

So, the F-22’s performance is not a problem if you ask pilots, but bean counters in the Pentagon and Congress may want to keep an eye on the ballooning cost of these upgrades. The price tag is substantial and when you add the F-35 and NGAD into the mix, you are talking about real money.

However, war planners have Russia and China to worry about, so the United States needs as many combat-ready stealth fighters as possible.

About the Author: Dr. Brent M. Eastwood

Brent M. Eastwood, PhD, is the author of Don’t Turn Your Back On the World: a Conservative Foreign Policy and Humans, Machines, and Data: Future Trends in Warfare, plus two other books. Brent was the founder and CEO of a tech firm that predicted world events using artificial intelligence. He served as a legislative fellow for U.S. Senator Tim Scott and advised the senator on defense and foreign policy issues. He has taught at American University, George Washington University, and George Mason University. Brent is a former U.S. Army Infantry officer. He can be followed on X @BMEastwood.