The F-22 Raptor Fighter Almost Flew From Navy Aircraft Carriers

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Key Points and Summary: The concept of the F-22 Sea Raptor, a navalized version of the F-22 Raptor, could have revolutionized carrier aviation by offering the U.S. Navy stealth capabilities earlier than the F-35C.

-However, significant design challenges, including strengthening the fuselage for carrier launches and adding swept wings for safer landings, were barriers to its feasibility.

-While the F-35C ultimately became the Navy’s stealth fighter, the prolonged development timeline raises the question of whether modifying the F-22 could have been faster and more cost-effective.

-Although unrealized, the Sea Raptor concept highlights the importance of innovative thinking in military aircraft development.

Could F-22 Sea Raptor Changed the Game in Naval Aviation? 

You know it as the F-22 Raptor, which has become famous for its high stealth attributes and great speed and maneuverability. But what if I told you there was once a concept for the F-22 to be the “Sea Raptor” with the potential to take off and land from aircraft carriers? 

This capability never came to fruition, but it would have given the U.S. Navy quite an advantage and could have beaten the F-35C to the punch, giving the aircraft carrier added power and versatility.

Could the Idea Have Worked?

This idea wasn’t bad. 

The Air Force had a wealth of test and evaluation data for the F-22.

 It could have transferred this to Navy technicians to help transform the Raptor into the Sea Raptor. The Sea Raptor could have replaced the F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet or the older F/A-18 Hornet and given the Navy a much-needed stealth warbird to make a great addition to carrier air wings.

In the early 1990s, the Raptor had all the potential in the world. It would be so stealthy that the Americans would not allow it to be exported. 

The F-22 was planned to be a dominant fifth-generation jet. It had just emerged as the product of tough competition and endless possibilities.

Not an Easy Conversion for F-22 Raptor Fighter 

While the carrier version of the F-22 sounded good on paper, it would pose a considerable challenge for designers and engineers. 

Technicians were worried that the F-22 did not have a strong enough fuselage to be launched and recovered by a catapult. So, that was the first thing on the to-do list: strengthening the airplane’s body.

It Would Have Been Dangerous Without the Modifications 

The F-22 would also need swept wings to make the landing, otherwise, it would come into the carrier landing too fast, making the maneuver dangerous. 

Without this modification, the F-22 could have crashed on deck or overshot the carrier altogether. The F-14 Tomcat had swept wings, but they cost substantial time and money to maintain.

These modifications to the F-22 were not insurmountable, but the U.S. military opted to go with the F-35C naval variant of the Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter program. The problem is that this airplane had significant schedule slips and cost overruns. 

The F-35C did have the stronger fuselage needed for the catapult and folding wings for better storage on the carrier, and those were pluses. It is just that the F-35C took over 20 years to come to fruition before it was finally carrier-ready.

The F-22 Sea Raptor Could Have Been Ready Before the F-35C

Could it have been quicker to modify the F-22 into the Sea Raptor? This might have worked, but the F-35C wouldn’t have been necessary. The F-22 may have been ready before the F-35C, saving the Navy badly needed funds and time.

The F-22 Sea Raptor would have had problems, though. The changes to the fuselage and wings may have hurt its stealthiness. 

This could have also affected speed and maneuverability, even though dog fighting wasn’t necessary during the Global War on Terror. 

However, with the growth in air power exhibited by China and Russia and, to a lesser extent, North Korea and Iran, full stealthiness and excellent dog-fighting ability are necessary.

Good to Have Creative Minds in Aircraft Acquisition Circles

The F-35C, although it took longer and was extremely expensive, turned out to be the better option. However, it is interesting to speculate about the F-22 becoming the Sea Raptor. 

Sometimes, creativity can save time and money during the acquisition process. I would have liked to have seen whether the F-22 could have been modified to land and launch off carriers. This would have given the Navy stealth flight much sooner. 

The Super Hornet is a great airplane but a fourth-generation ++ jet without stealthiness. The Sea Raptor could have replaced or augmented it in the fleet and offered excellent radar-evading capability.

Now the Navy finally has a stealth fighter, and the maritime branch is working on the next-generation F/A-XX that is showing early promise and has forged ahead of the U.S. Air Force’s Next-Generation Air Dominance fighter, which is on operational pause until the Trump administration does a procurement review. 

With the F-35C and the new F/A-XX, the Super Hornet can ride into the sunset. Therefore, the F-22 was not needed to be carrier-borne. The only thing the Navy lost was time. It didn’t have a stealth fighter taking off and landing from carriers for many years. 

It is important to ponder whether the F-22 could have been modified during the two decades it took to get the F-35C operational. We will never know if the F-22 could have done the job, but it was a concept worth the time and effort to pursue, at least for a while.

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.