F/A-22 Raptor: Meaning (information, definition, explanation, facts)

For information about the video-game see F-22 Raptor (game).

The F/A-22 Raptor is a highly stealthy combat jet aircraft built by Lockheed Martin and Boeing Integrated Defense Systems, intended to be the leading United States advanced tactical fighter (ATF) in the early part of the 21st century. The first test flight of the Raptor occurred on September 7, 1997. The first production F/A-22 was delivered to the Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, on January 14, 2003. Fifty-one F/A-22s are in service, with 22 more paid for under Fiscal Year 2004.

General information

The Raptor is designed to carry its air-to-air missiles in internal bays to avoid disrupting its stealthiness. The missiles are launched by hydraulic arms that hurl them away from the jet so quickly that the weapons-bay doors pop open for less than one second. It could also carry bombs such as the large JDAM and the new SDB (Small Diameter Bomb) GPS-guided bombs to attack enemy air defense radars and systems, because of its stealth.

The United States Air Force originally planned an order of 750 ATFs, with production from 1994. Following the 1990 Major Aircraft Review, production was to begin in 1996 for a total of 648 aircraft. By 1994 the figure stood at 442 planes for service entry in 2003/2004. A DoD report in 1997 stated that 339 was the final number. Currently there is significant debate over the exact number of units affordable, though in 2003 the USAF said that it could buy 277 given a $43 billion cost limit.

Based on the F/A-22, the swing-wing NATF was proposed for the U.S. Navy to replace the F-14 Tomcat, though the program was subsequently cancelled in 1993.

• Role: single-seat air superiority fighter
• Engines
  • Two Pratt and Whitney F119-PW-100 turbofans each rated at 155.69 kN (35,000 lb_f) static thrust class with afterburning, capable of supercruise and thrust vectoring. The exact maximum thrust is classified, though most sources place it at about 39,000lb. Thrust vectoring is in the pitch axis only, with a range of +/- 20 degrees.
• Performance
  • Speed
    • Maximum level speed "clean" at optimum altitude - Mach 1.58 in supercruise mode; maximum speed with afterburners is mentioned at "approx M2.0" (2,120 km/h). Due to the absence of variable intake ramps, M2.0+ speed may be unreachable. In addition it has been speculated that the computerized flight control system (FLCS) limits the top speed to prevent the skin of the aircraft from deforming at such high temperatures.
  • Service Ceiling
    • Classified: >50,000 ft (15,240 m)
• Avionics
  • Radar: Raytheon and Northrop Grumman AN/APG-77 Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA)
• Weights
  • Classified
• Armament (internal)
  • Six AIM-120C AMRAAM (Advanced medium-range air-to-air missiles) or
  • Two AIM-120C AMRAAMs, two AIM-9 Sidewinders and two 1,000-lb. (450 kg) Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM)
  • One M61A2 20-mm Gatling gun + 520 rounds
• Armament (external)
  • Four external stations for weapons or fuel tanks
• Cost: $152M (based on September 2003 estimate of build 276 aircraft at USD 42 bn [1])