Clipping the F-22’s wings not only weakens America, but incurs the massive financial and strategic costs involved with canceling the program now and trusting in a sixth-generation warplane later.
The F-22 Raptor stands as the pinnacle of modern fighter jet technology. If the United States faced an advanced adversary equipped with fifth-generation aircraft, such as China’s J-20 or even Russia’s Su-57, the outcome would be catastrophic without the Raptor’s stealth and other technological advantages.
Yet whispers abound that the F-22 Raptor is scheduled for early retirement, with the 2025 defense budget proposing divestments of this incredible plane. This would be a major error. The US military should not even think about retiring the F-22 Raptor. Its unmatched capabilities, strategic indispensability against rising threats, and cost-effective upgrade path make it the key to America’s air defense.
The F-22 Raptor Is the Greatest Fighter Jet of All Time
Scrapping the F-22 would undermine American air superiority for decades—especially as there remains a high degree of skepticism that the Pentagon’s sixth-generation warplane plans will ever be fulfilled, as the new “Department of War” believes.
The F-22’s supremacy begins with its stealth technology, rendering it nearly invisible to radar. Unlike the F-35, which prioritizes multirole versatility—and interoperability with allied states—the Raptor was engineered purely for air dominance. As a result, that plane boasts a radar cross-section smaller than a bumblebee, allowing it to penetrate enemy airspace undetected, strike high-value targets, and escape before foes even know they’re under attack.
Some have suggested that the F-22s are relics of the 1990s and 2000s. In fact, the 2025 modernization efforts undertaken for some of the F-22s clearly show that these planes will have dominance over America’s foes for decades to come. Indeed, the Air Force’s FY2025 budget allocates funds for advanced infrared search-and-track systems and electronic warfare upgrades, ensuring the F-22 remains lethal against next-generation threats (such as China’s J-20 or Russia’s Su-57).
Stealth technology has been around for decades, and the United States military has been at the forefront of that technological revolution. Of course, the United States today has real challengers to its dominance, and stealth is not the ace-in-the-hole technology it once was. Nevertheless, it is still an area where the United States is head-and-shoulders over its closest competitors in today’s increasingly contested battlespace.
And the F-22’s stealth technology, coupled with the other technological accoutrements unique to the fighter, still ensure that it is lightyears ahead of the competition. That is why every time it is deployed into a combat zone, such as the Indo-Pacific, the Chinese military freaks out. Of course, the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) has developed their own fifth-generation birds—notably the Chengdu J-20 “Mighty Dragon”—but these systems are untested and are still being improved. The F-22, on the other hand, is nearly perfect as it is.
This F-22 possesses speed as well as stealth. It has a killer supercruise—sustained supersonic flight without afterburners—that allows it to outpace many threats. When it cannot outpace those threats, its thrust-vectoring engines give it extreme maneuverability. In some cases, the plane is able to execute an astonishing 9G turn that would shred lesser pilots. Its sensor fusion integrates data from multiple sources, allowing for what some call a “God’s Eye” view for the pilot—this enhances the pilot’s situational awareness and gives that pilot higher processing than typical human reflexes.
China’s aggressive expansion in the Indo-Pacific, and Russia’s revanchist ambitions, demand a fighter that can neutralize peer competitors from afar. The F-22’s long-range missiles, like the AIM-120D, allow it to engage enemies beyond visual range (BVR), preserving the F-22 while degrading foes.
Retiring the Raptor would cede the skies to adversaries who have studied its weaknesses. Beijing’s growing J-20 fleet—now numbering roughly 300—mirrors the Raptor’s stealth, but thus far lacks its sensor suite.
Without F-22s, US carriers and bases would become more vulnerable to China’s growing anti-access/area-denial (A2/AD) threat than they already are. Similarly, in Europe, Raptors are a key counterweight to Moscow’s increasing hypersonic threats, as recent NATO military drills have shown.
If the Pentagon Won’t Keep the F-22, Congress Should Force It To
One of the peculiarities of the US defense acquisition process is that Congress is able to overrule the Pentagon on its spending priorities. Oftentimes generals will recommend that a piece of equipment be retired, only to be told by the Hill that it must be kept. This process has sometimes come under fire in the past, with the accusation that members of Congress are primarily motivated to preserve defense industry jobs in their districts rather than put America’s security first.
Yet in this case, Congress can provide a critical check on the Pentagon’s myopia. Congress has recognized the importance of the F-22, despite repeated attempts by the Pentagon to start retiring the older airframes of this model. In 2024, for instance, the House of Representatives blocked F-22 retirements, mandating retention to counter global dangers.
The Air Force’s pivot away from the 2030 divestment plans, backed by $7.8 billion in investments through FY 2029, was a result of Air Force leaders realizing that Congress wasn’t going to let them retire these birds without a fight, and that even if they were given the full resources for their preferred project, the hallowed F-47 sixth-generation warplane, it would be years before those birds were even online—leaving a significant strategic gap if the Air Force retired the F-22s in the near future.
Critics cite the F-22’s unenviable maintenance costs—peaking at $44,000 per flight hour—as justification for the bird’s retirement. But this overlooks the economics of replacement. Restarting the Raptor’s production line more than a decade before its untimely cancellation would cost billions more than simply upgrading the current F-22 fleet of 180 airframes.
As for those who say that the Pentagon should focus on the F-35, the other major fifth-generation warplane in America’s arsenal, they are simply wrong. Not only is the F-35 nowhere near as potent as the F-22, but the F-35 is not even fully combat ready—despite the exorbitant cost of the program and the excessive time given to Lockheed Martin, the developer of the aircraft, to build the planes. Indeed, the F-35 has gone over-budget and overtime.
The F-22 Raptor Is More than Just a Fighter Jet
The F-22 isn’t simply another fighter jet. It is the embodiment of US technological might, forged in the fires of post-Cold War ambition—yet designed to compete in a near-peer conflict, of the kind that threaten the United States military today. From Syrian no-fly zones to Pacific patrols, the F-22’s deployments have deterred aggression without firing a shot. To retire it before its time would be a slight to the airmen who fly it and the taxpayers who built it.
That’s no small thing to say. But considering that every wargame where even a pair of F-22s show up, it tips the balance of power in that engagement in America’s favor, the potency of these planes should not be underestimated.
Policymakers must heed evidence like this in the midst of surging threats, Congressional safeguards, and commit to upgrading the F-22 fleet continuously rather than entertaining notions of mothballing this plane.
In 2025, air superiority simply isn’t optional. It is existential. Keep the Raptor aloft. Clipping the F-22’s wings not only weakens America, but incurs the massive financial and strategic costs involved with canceling the program now and trusting in a sixth-generation warplane to come online later—if it ever does.
About the Author: Brandon J. Weichert
Brandon J. Weichert is a senior national security editor at The National Interest. Recently, Weichert became the host of The National Security Hour on America Outloud News and iHeartRadio, where he discusses national security policy every Wednesday at 8pm Eastern. He is also a contributor at Popular Mechanics and has consulted regularly with various government institutions and private organizations on geopolitical issues. Weichert’s writings have appeared in multiple publications, including The Washington Times, National Review, The American Spectator, MSN, The Asia Times, and others. His books include Winning Space: How America Remains a Superpower, Biohacked: China’s Race to Control Life, and The Shadow War: Iran’s Quest for Supremacy. His newest book, A Disaster of Our Own Making: How the West Lost Ukraine is available for purchase wherever books are sold. He can be followed via Twitter @WeTheBrandon.
Image: Wikimedia Commons.
