Mission
The F-22A Raptor is the Air Force's newest fighter aircraft. Its combination of
stealth, Supercruise, maneuverability
F-22 Raptor PTS ARF - Grey F-22 Raptor PTS ARF - Grey
F-22 Raptor PTS ARF - Grey
F-22 Raptor PTS ARF - Grey
variability, and integrated avionics, coupled with
improved supportability, represents an exponential leap in combat capabilities.
The Raptor performs both air-to-air and air-to-ground missions allowing full
realization of operational concepts vital to the 21st century Air Force
Missions.
The F-22A , a critical
component of the Global Strike Task Force, is designed to project air dominance,
rapidly and at great distances and defeat threats attempting to deny access to
our nation's Air Force, Army, Navy and Marine Corps. The F-22A cannot be matched
by any known or projected fighter aircraft.
Features
A combination of sensor capability, integrated avionics, situational awareness,
and weapons provides first-kill opportunity against threats. The F-22A possesses
a sophisticated sensor suite allowing the pilot to track, identify, shoot and
kill air-to-air threats before being detected. Significant advances in cockpit
design and sensor fusion improve the pilot's situational awareness. In the
air-to-air configuration the Raptor carries six AIM-120 AMRAAMs and two AIM-9
Sidewinders.
The F-22A has a
significant capability to attack surface targets. In the air-to-ground
configuration the
aircraft can carry two 1,000-pound GBU-32 Joint Direct Attack
Munitions internally and will use on-board avionics for navigation and weapons
delivery support. In the future air-to-ground capability will be enhanced with
the addition of an upgraded radar and up to eight small diameter bombs. The
Raptor will also carry two AIM-120s and two AIM-9s in the air-to-ground
configuration.
Advances in
low-observable technologies provide significantly improved survivability and
lethality against air-to-air and surface-to-air threats. The F-22A brings
stealth into the day, enabling it to not only protect itself but other assets.
The F-22A engines produce
more thrust than any current fighter engine. The combination of sleek
aerodynamic design and increased thrust allows the F-22A to cruise at supersonic
airspeeds (greater than 1.5 Mach) without using afterburner -- a characteristic
known as Supercruise. Supercruise greatly expands the F-22A 's operating
envelope in both speed and range over current jet fighters, which must use
fuel-consuming afterburner to operate at supersonic speeds.
The sophisticated F-22A
aerodynamics, advanced flight controls, thrust vectoring, and high
thrust-to-weight ratio provide the capability to outmaneuver all current and
projected aircraft. The F-22A design has been extensively tested and refined
aerodynamically during the development process.
The F-22A's
characteristics provide a synergistic effect ensuring F-22A lethality against
all advanced air threats. The combination of stealth, integrated weapons systems
and Supercruise drastically shrinks surface-to-air missile engagement envelopes
and minimizes enemy capabilities to track and engage the F-22A . The combination
of reduced observability and Supercruise accentuates the advantage of surprise
in a tactical environment.
The F-22A will have better reliability and maintainability than any fighter
aircraft in history. Increased F-22A reliability and maintainability pays off
in less manpower required to fix the aircraft and the ability to operate more
efficiently.
Background
The Advanced Tactical Fighter entered the Demonstration and Validation phase in
1986. The prototype aircraft (YF-22 and YF-23) both completed their first
flights in late 1990. Ultimately the YF-22 was selected as best of the two and
the engineering and manufacturing development effort began in 1991 with
development contracts to Lockheed/Boeing (airframe) and Pratt & Whitney
(engines). EMD included extensive subsystem and system testing as well as flight
testing with nine aircraft at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. The first EMD
flight was in 1997 and at the completion of its flight test life this aircraft
was used for live-fire testing.
The program received approval to enter low rate initial production in 2001.
Initial operational and test evaluation by the Air Force Operational Test and
Evaluation Center was successfully completed in 2004. Based on maturity of
design and other factors the program received approval for full rate production
in 2005. Air Education and Training Command and Air Combat Command are the
primary Air Force organizations flying the F-22A . The aircraft designation was
the F/A-22 for a short time before being renamed F-22A in December 2005.
General Characteristics
Primary Function: Air dominance, multi-role fighter
Builder: Lockheed-Martin, Boeing
Power Plant: Two Pratt & Whitney F119-PW-100 turbofan engines
with afterburners and two-dimensional thrust vectoring nozzles.
Thrust (each engine): 35,000-pound class.
Length: 62 feet, 1 inch (18.9 meters).
Height: 16 feet, 8 inches (5.1 meters).
Wingspan: 44 feet, 6 inches (13.6 meters).
Speed: Mach 2 class.
Ceiling: Above 50,000 feet (approximately 15 kilometers).
Empty Weight: 40,000-pound class (approximately 18,000
kilograms).
Armament: One M61A2 20-millimeter cannon with 480 rounds; side
weapon bays can carry two AIM-9 infrared (heat seeking) air-to-air missiles and
main weapon bays can carry (air-to-air loadout) six AIM-120 radar-guided
air-to-air missiles or (air-to-ground loadout) two 1,000-pound GBU-32 JDAMs and
two AIM-120 radar-guided air-to-air missiles.
Crew: One
Initial Operational Capability: December 2005
Inventory: Active force, 91 |
