Current as of January 05, 2026
Mission
The F-22A Raptor's combination of low observability (LO), supercruise, maneuverability and integrated avionics, coupled with improved supportability, represents an exponential leap in warfighting capabilities. The Raptor is capable of performing both air-to-air and air-to-ground missions, allowing full realization of operational concepts vital to the 21st-century Air Force. The F-22A is designed to project air dominance rapidly and at great distances and to defeat threats attempting to deny access to our nation's Air Force, Space Force, Army, Navy and Marine Corps.
Features
A combination of sensor capability, integrated avionics, situational awareness and weapons provides a first-kill opportunity against threats. The F-22A possesses a sophisticated sensor suite allowing the pilot to locate, 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 or eight 250-pound GBU-39 small-diameter bombs. The Raptor uses on-board avionics for navigation and weapons delivery support and carries two AIM-120s and two AIM-9s in this 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 low observability into the day, enabling it not only to 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 Mach 1.5) without using an afterburner, a characteristic known as supercruise. Supercruise expands the F-22A’s operating envelope in both speed and range over current fighters, which must use a fuel-consuming afterburner to operate at supersonic speeds.
The sophisticated F-22A aero design, 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 its lethality against all advanced air threats. The combination of LO, integrated avionics 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 has demonstrated excellent reliability and maintainability, which 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 the better 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, the 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 the maturity of the design and other factors, the program received approval for full-rate production in 2005. Air Combat Command and Pacific Air Forces are the primary Air Force organizations flying the F-22. The aircraft designation was F/A-22 for a short time before being renamed F-22A in December 2005.