The Air Force’s F-22 Raptor Fighter Nightmare Will Never Get Better

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The Nightmare Is Simple to Understand – Not Enough F-22 Raptor Fighters and No Way to Fix It: The F-22 Raptor, the world’s first fifth-generation stealth fighter, set unparalleled standards in agility, speed, and air dominance.

-Developed by Lockheed Martin and Boeing, this marvel of Cold War engineering boasted revolutionary stealth technology and advanced avionics.

-Despite its unmatched capabilities, F-22 production ceased in 2011, with only 195 jets built. High costs, shifting post-Cold War priorities, and U.S. export restrictions led to its untimely cancellation. While the F-35 emerged as a more flexible and widely-exported alternative, the F-22 remains a vital symbol of air superiority.

-As geopolitical threats evolve, its legacy endures in modern aerial combat strategy.

The F-22 Raptor’s Rise and Fall: A Stealth Fighter Ahead of Its Time

The F-22 Raptor, developed by Lockheed Martin and Boeing for the United States Air Force, is widely considered one of the most advanced fighter jets ever built — it’s also the world’s first fifth-generation, stealthy air superiority fighter. The F-22 combines high agility, speed, and stealth unparalleled in the history of combat aviation. However, despite the F-22’s technological superiority over other fighter jets, production stopped in 2011, and the F-22 program ultimately yielded a paltry 195 jets.

F-22 Raptor Fighter: Revolutionary Design

The F-22 Raptor was a product of the Cold War-era, designed to go toe-to-toe with the best of the Soviet Union’s fighters and air defenses and dominate. The Raptor’s stealth technology afforded the platform near-invisibility against Soviet radar and allowed the jet to penetrate air defenses.

The F-22 would have also excelled in dogfights thanks to a supercruise capability and high maneuverability.

Combined with an advanced sensor suite, the F-22 situational awareness allows the jet to track multiple targets at extreme distances.

The Raptor’s agility, supported by thrust-vectoring engines, made it highly maneuverable, while its advanced materials and coatings contributed to its stealth and durability.

Despite the Raptor’s remarkable capabilities — which arguably remain unparalleled today — the jet’s production was cut short due to a combination of high manufacture and operation costs, a shift in defense priorities, and geopolitical changes.

Money, Money, Money

The research and development costs for the F-22 were astronomical, as were the stealthy jet’s production and maintenance. Each jet’s price tag was approximately $150 million, and the total program cost — including research and development — was in excess of $67 billion.

The maintenance and operational expenses further added to its hefty lifecycle costs. These financial considerations made it difficult to justify producing the originally planned 750 units.

Post-Cold War Realignment

By the time the F-22 entered service in the mid-2000s, the Cold War was history. The need for an extremely high-end, stealthy air superiority fighter diminished greatly. With the so-called “end of history” came the end of the need for the F-22.

Combined with a shift in military operations to the Middle East following the 9/11 attacks and an uncontested air environment, the F-22’s capabilities were not needed for a war where airpower primarily provided close air support, striking ground targets.

Export Restrictions

In stark contrast to the United States’ other stealthy fighter, the F-35, substantial export restrictions were imposed on the F-22 platform to protect its advanced stealth and avionics technology by prohibiting sales overseas, even to America’s closest allies.

The move, while protecting the Raptor program from espionage, limited the program’s economic feasibility and meant that all project costs would have to be borne by the United States instead of distributed amongst allies.

Indeed, the rise of the F-35 program, the other fifth-generation fighter program of the United States, was intended from the outset for wide export to NATO members and other allies. Combined with the platform’s greater flexibility in ground attack, reconnaissance, and other mission sets, that fighter could better address an array of needs that the F-22 could not.

The F-22: A Legacy

Though production of the F-22 has long since ceased, the stealthy fifth-generation fighter nonetheless remains a vital component of the United States Air Force’s air superiority capabilities — its air dominance, especially in contested environments, remains unparalleled.

However, the United States military can maintain sustained air superiority missions, especially in the face of emerging threats, particularly from China, which has its own fifth- and potentially sixth-generation fighters in development.

In the end, the decision to shut down production of the F-22 is a reflection of a lack of clear application for what is still arguably the world’s most capable fifth-generation fighter and the interplay between budgetary constraints and shifting geopolitical realities.

About the Author: Caleb Larson 

Caleb Larson is an American multiformat journalist based in Berlin, Germany. His work covers the intersection of conflict and society, focusing on American foreign policy and European security. He has reported from Germany, Russia, and the United States. Most recently, he covered the war in Ukraine, reporting extensively on the war’s shifting battle lines from Donbas and writing on the war’s civilian and humanitarian toll. Previously, he worked as a Defense Reporter for POLITICO Europe. You can follow his latest work on X.