Cost was the primary factor behind the shuttering of the F-22’s production line.
The Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor is the most dominant air superiority fighter ever flown. With an unrivaled combination of stealth, super cruise, super maneuverability, and sensor fusion, the F-22 is the closest thing aviation history has ever had to an “apex predator”; an aircraft so dominant that it has effectively gone unchallenged by any other throughout its service life.
However, despite the platform’s remarkable success, it is actively being phased out of service. The world’s preeminent air superiority fighter is likely to be retired before it was ever truly tested in air-to-air combat.
The F-22 Raptor’s Specifications
- Year Introduced: 2005
- Number Built: 195 total (187 operational aircraft + 8 test/prototypes)
- Length: 62 ft 1 in (18.90 m)
- Height: 16 ft 8 in (5.08 m)
- Wingspan: 44 ft 6 in (13.56 m)
- Weight:
- Empty weight: ~43,340 lb (19,700 kg)
- Maximum takeoff weight (MTOW): ~83,500 lb (38,000 kg)
- Engines: Two Pratt & Whitney F119-PW-100 afterburning turbofans with thrust vectoring (~35,000 lbf each with afterburner)
- Top Speed: Mach 2.0+ (≈1,500 mph / 2,414 km/h)
- Supercruise Speed: Mach 1.5 (≈1,000 mph / 1,610 km/h) without afterburner
- Range: ~1,600 nmi (2,960 km; 1,840 mi) ferry range
- Service Ceiling: 65,000 ft (20,000 m)
- Loadout / Equipment:
- Internal weapons bays (stealth configuration) + 4 underwing pylons (non-stealth)
- Air-to-air: Six AIM-120 AMRAAM + two AIM-9 Sidewinder
- Air-to-ground (secondary): JDAM, SDBs
- One 20 mm M61A2 Vulcan cannon (480 rounds)
- Advanced AN/APG-77 AESA radar, integrated avionics, and electronic warfare suite
- Aircrew: 1 (pilot)
The F-22 Raptor Costs Way Too Much
The reasons behind the F-22’s retirement are both practical and political. The F-22’s production line was closed in 2012, having been shuttered after fielding only 187 operational aircraft—far short of the Air Force’s original plan for 750 aircraft.
The official explanation for the production line closure was cost. In 2012, with the US military still dominant around the world, the Pentagon made the determination that a fifth-generation fighter was not an effective use of its limited resources. At that time, the United States was embroiled in two wars in the Middle East and was more focused on countering insurgents than on establishing air dominance over a near-peer adversary.
Each F-22 carried a substantial price tag, combined with equally substantial maintenance costs. With the prospect of large-scale production gone, the F-22’s cost per unit soared. Moreover, throughout the 2010s, the Pentagon’s shift in focus towards drones, counterterrorism, and the fifth-generation multirole fighter, the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II, led to the atrophy of the F-22 fleet.
The US Air Force is set on replacing the F-22 with the upcoming Boeing F-47 Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) fighter. Slated to be the world’s first sixth-generation fighter, the F-47 is expected to enter service sometime in the 2030s.
The US Air Force Is Betting Big on the F-47
International developments have affected how the US Air Force thinks about its fleet, too. China and Russia in particular are actively developing their own air superiority and air defense capabilities.
The United States, which was the first country to field a fifth-generation fighter, remains well ahead of its near-peer adversaries in aircraft development and aims to maintain a generation’s lead over all near-peer competitors. However, the Air Force might be getting ahead of itself by abandoning the F-22, as the path to the NGAD is fraught and expensive. The F-47 will need to exceed the F-22 in terms of raw capability; anything short of a marked advancement over the F-22 would make the F-47 an expensive failure, leaving a capability gap.
The F-22’s retirement highlights the pitfalls of modern defense planning, which requires the military to look not just years ahead but decades ahead.
About the Author: Harrison Kass
Harrison Kass is a senior defense and national security writer at The National Interest. Kass is an attorney and former political candidate who joined the US Air Force as a pilot trainee before being medically discharged. He focuses on military strategy, aerospace, and global security affairs. He holds a JD from the University of Oregon and a master’s in Global Journalism and International Relations from NYU.
Image: Wikimedia Commons.
