Type: Air dominance, ground attack, electronic warfare
and signals intelligence stealth fighter (5th generation)
Primary Contractor: Lockheed Martin Aeronautics
First Flight: 7 September 1997
Year Deployed: 2003
Entered Active Service: 2005
Unit cost: 137.5 million dollars (2008 dollars)
Crew: 1
-Length: 18.92 m (62.07 ft) -Wingspan: 13.56 m (44.49 ft) -Height: 5.08 m (16.67 ft) -Internal Fuel Capacity: 8,200 kg (18,000 lb) - Wing Area: 78.04 m² (840.02 ft²)
-Empty Weight: 19,700 kg (43,430 lb) -Loaded Weight: 29,300 kg (64,460 lb) -Payload: Unknown -Max. Takeoff Weight: 38,000 kg (83,500 lb)
Max. Load to Wing Area: Unknown Max. Thrust: estimated about 156 kiloNewtons (35,000 lbf) Thrust/Weight (with 100% fuel): 1.08 Engines: 2 Pratt & Whitney F119-PW-100 pitch thrust vectoring (with ±20 degrees deflection) afterburning turbofans
-Max Speed: Mach 2.42 (2,965 km/h, 1,842 mph) -Cruise Speed (Supercruise, without external weapons): Mach 1.82 (1,963 km/h, 1,220 mph)
-Combat Radius (flying while fully armed): 795 km (410 nautical miles, 471 miles) -Ferry Range (optional fuel tanks, no ordnance): 3,219 km (1,738 nautical miles, 2,000 miles) -Max. Flying Height (“Ceiling”): 19,812 m (65,000 ft)
-Durability: +9 g or -3 g -Max. Alpha: 60 degrees
One 20 mm (0.787 inch) M61A2 Vulcan gatling gun
-Up to 6 Aim-120 AMRAAM (152 kg, or 335 lb each) -Up to 2 Aim-9 Sidewinders (91 kg, or 190 lb each)
-Up to 2 JDAM (Joint Direct Attack Munition), 450 kg (1,000 lb) each -Up to 2 WCMD (Wind Corrected Munitions Dispensers) -Up to 8 GBU-39 (110 kg, or 250 lb each) No. of serving aircraft (only the exact type/variant): 135
-United States, United States Air Force- Total of 135 F-22 Raptors
The F-22 is United States latest air superiority fighter. As a 5th generation jet fighter it features stealth qualities along with ground attack, electronic warfare and Signals intelligence abilities, including the capability to function as a Wi-Fi access point and an AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System), though not as good as the original E-3 Sentry AWACS platform. Its extreme aerodynamic stability prevents it from entering spins and other dangerous unwanted maneuvers, and it performs both air-to-air and air-to-surface roles with multiple times the efficiency of the 4th generation aircraft (F-15 Eagles) it is intended to replace. While the main downside of the F-22 is its high price (which in recent years reached the lowest rate- 137.5 million dollars), its excellent performance justifies the cost, and according to the U.S.A.F. “it is truly the best combat airplane in the world”, and it can’t be matched by any other existing or projected aircraft.
-radar warning receiver (RWR) -AN/ALR-94 -AN/AAR 56 Infra-Red and Ultra-Violet MAWS (Missile Approach Warning System) -AN/APG-77 Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar -2 Raytheon Common Integrated Processors (CIPs) -Over 463 km (250 nautical miles, 288 miles) Radar Warning Receiver (RWR) -Radar with 200-240 km (125-150 miles) for 1 m2 (11 ft2) targets -IEEE-1394 "FireWire" data bus system