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F-22 Raptor Related News »

• JEFX 08 demonstrates F-22 Raptor sensor capabilities
• Holloman prepares for Raptor
• Northrop Receives Contracts Totaling $252M for the F-22 Raptor Program
• Australia to push US on supply of Raptor fighter
• Alaska's first F-22 total force deployment successful

Two prototypes of both the YF-22 and YF-23 were constructed, one demonstrator of each aircraft being powered by Pratt & Whitney F119 and the other by the General Electric F120 turbofan engine, allowing the Air Force to select the best airframe/propulsion arrangement.
The second YF-22 prototype, fitted with the Pratt & Whitney engines, demonstrated the ability to cruise at Mach 1.58 without afterburner and Mach 1.7 with afterburner.
This combination was deemed the most desirable and both Lockheed and Pratt & Whitney were issued contracts to proceed with production. The first F-22 fighter aircraft was unveiled in April 1997 and was given the name Raptor.

The end of the Cold War greatly reduced the perceived military threat faced by the United States, therefore the House Appropriations Committee recommended termination of the F-22, based in part on concerns over cost growth and unrealistic budgeting.
The Air Force told the Committee that development of the then called ATF would cost around $14 billion, already 900 million dollars more than estimates provided half a year earlier.
In the years that followed the costs continued to rise, and was estimated at $23 billion in 1999.

Dispite the cost overruns and cuts in the total number of aircraft that will be purchased, the F-22A Raptor achieved Initial Operational Capability, and passed its 'mission capable' flight test in mid-January 2006.

In late-February Gen. Ronald Keys, commander of Air Combat Command (ACC), revised plans to procure a fleet of 183 Raptors, and will give the service about 126 combat-ready jets.

The Raptor's twin Pratt & Whitney F119-PW-100 engines are leading-edge powerplants. The F-119's ability to provide supersonic cruise without afterburner provides the F/A-22 with one of its most important capabilities, with supercruise at Mach 1.5+ demonstrated in flight tests. It has a high power-to-weight ratio (PWR) of 1.4:1, and can deliver 156 kN (15,900 kgp / 35,000 lbf) afterburning thrust. The F119 has a minimized parts count and has been designed for maintainability. Important components, harnesses, and plumbing were placed on the bottom of the engine to improve ground crew access, and all components can be removed or replaced with one of six standard tools. The digital engine control modules are redundant, with two controllers per engine and two computers per controller, to improve reliability.

The F/A-22 is constructed of titanium alloys (39% by weight); composites (24%); aircraft aluminum alloy (16%); and thermoplastics (1%). Advanced titanium welding techniques and composite fabrication are used in the aircraft's construction. "Radar absorbent material (RAM)" is used in critical locations to reduce the aircraft's radar signature, and the aircraft's contours are intended to make it less conspicuous to radar. Apertures, such as weapons bay and landing gear doors, have zigzag edges to break up radar returns. A overall coating reduces the aircraft's infrared signature as well. While older stealth aircraft require substantial maintenance, careful handling, and protection from weather to keep them stealthy, the F/A-22 will not require extraordinary efforts to maintain its stealth characteristics.

Recent developments:

May. 13th, 2008 | JEFX 08 demonstrates F-22 Raptor sensor capabilities

LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va. (ACCNS) -- F-22 Raptors recently demonstrated its viability in transferring real-time intelligence data between other aircraft and an air operations center as part of a joint experiment in a warfighting environment. The data transfer was part of the third quarter Air Force Joint Expeditionary Force Experiment 2008, at Nellis AFB, Nev., April 15 to 25. JEFX 08-3 combined real-world air and ground forces, simulation, and technology insertions as a venue for com...
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May. 4th, 2008 | Holloman prepares for Raptor

HOLLOMAN AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. (ACCNS) -- After retiring the F-117A Nighthawk officials at Holloman are now preparing for the arrival of the F-22A Raptor. "One of the projects we have going on is phasing out tools used exclusively for the F-117," said Chief Master Sgt. James Harris, chief of the 9th Aircraft Maintenance Unit. "Then phasing in, getting our support section spun up with the F-22 equipment and tools," There is a self help project called the West Area Revitalization Team, said...
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Apr. 24th, 2008 | Northrop Receives Contracts Totaling $252M for the F-22 Raptor Program

SAN DIEGO, April 23, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) has received multiple contracts totaling $252 million from Lockheed Martin since Jan. 1, 2008 for the communications, navigation and identification (CNI) subsystem of the U.S. Air Force's F-22 Raptor fighter program. The awards include F-22 Production Lots 7, 8, 9 and spares, and modernization efforts for the CNI systems. Northrop Grumman's integrated CNI system provides 14 critical functions, including adv...
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Mar. 25th, 2008 | Australia to push US on supply of Raptor fighter

Once again the Australian Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon has signaled his desire to purchase the F-22 Raptor, to replace the ageing F-111 Aardvarks. Fitzgibbon told ABC Radio: "I will continue to push for it so that it can become an option as part of our mix of considerations," he said. [...] "If you don't ask, you just don't know." On Feb 17th last year, the US flatly ruled out the possibility of exporting the stealthty fighter. But as more nations (Japan, Israel) began pushing, and t...
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Feb. 23rd, 2008 | Alaska's first F-22 total force deployment successful

ELMENDORF AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska -- Elmendorf's 3rd Wing and Air Force Reserve Command's 477th Fighter Group here combined for its first F-22A Raptor deployment to Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., for Combat Archer. The successful integration of both reserve and active duty Airmen was showcased Feb. 2 to 17, when approximately eight aircraft and 132 Airmen took part in the Weapons System Evaluation Program training. The Airmen worked side-by-side to accomplish the mission during Combat Arch...
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F-22 Raptor Related News »

• Lockheed Awarded $182M for F-22 Sustainment for 2008-2009
• Northrop Successfully Demonstrates New SAR Capability for F-22 Raptor
• Pentagon eyes F-35 fighters, not pricier F-22s
• F-22 Raptor crew chiefs begin training
• Tyndall squadron prepares for 'pipeline' Raptor pilots
• Elmendorf takes step toward IOC
• Reserve Airmen train Guardsmen on Raptor
• Museum unveils F-22 public display
• Defense Department plans to request more F-22s
• 4 new pilots begin F-22 training
• Australia wants the US F-22 Raptor for RAAF
• U.S. ban forces Japan to modernize F-15 fighters
• Defense contractors, allies on Hill press Gates to extend F-22
• BAE Systems Dedicates New Facility for F-22 and F-35 Production
• F-22 receives FOC status at Langley
• F-22 endures 3-week, cold-weather test at Eielson
• Design Flaws Force Changes to USAF Raptor
• Debris causes $1M in damage to Raptor engine
• Bulldogs take on Raptors: 3rd Wing activates second F-22 squadron
• No extra F-22s, C-17s for USAF in 2009

All F-22 Raptor News Articles »

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